down economy

[Dan Goncharoff]

Actually, "down economy" used to mean an economy experiencing a
decline in GNP or some other national economic measure. At least, that
is how it was used in the mid-70s.

This would be strongly associated with a recession, which requires two
consecutive negative quarters, but you can have a down economy without
a recession.

I have no doubt that non-economists would use "down economy' to mean
"an economy that sucks", but no economist would.

DanG



On Wed, Aug 24, 2011 at 9:43 AM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: down economy
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> It's kind of a "depressed" economy, but they don't want to say that because
>
> 1. that sounds like an economic depression
>
> 2. strictly speaking, the economy isn't even "depressed"; it's just growing
> very slowly and there's a lot of unemployment
>
> 3. "depressed" sounds too depressing
>
> 4. "depressed" has too many letters and syllables.
>
> "Sluggish" is a frequent choice, but that also has too many letters and
> syllables. What's more, "sluggish" implies limited, occasional progress,
> whereas "down" suggests a dead stall. It sounds like your computer.  Only a
> geek or something from the cloud can fix it.
>
> But it's still less depressing than "depressed," which may suggest a
> long-term condition.
>
> JL
>
> On Wed, Aug 24, 2011 at 4:58 AM, victor steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:
>
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>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       victor steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      down economy
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> "Down economy" seems to be a fairly common phrase right now. For example,
>> this is the latest headline in Corporate Counsel:
>>
>> Down Economy and Increased Regulation Impact Corporate Fraud, Reports Say
>>
>> http://goo.gl/wDk8m
>>
>> This seems to have a somewhat archaic sound. Of course, there is little
>> formality to stop the use of "up" and "down" as adjective in reporting. The
>> Corporate Counsel article compounds that illusion by citing Walter Scott in
>> the very first line: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we
>> practic=
>> e
>> to deceive."
>>
>> All the related down adj. subentries in the OED lack recent examples:
>>
>> 1. a. Directed downwards; descending. Also fig.
>>
>> > [1647-1894]
>> >  b. Of looks or aspect: Directed downwards.
>> > [1565-1716]
>> >  2. In a low condition of health or vitality. rare.
>> > [1690-1885]
>> > =E2=80=A03. Downcast, dejected. Obs. (exc. predicatively: see down adv.
>> 1=
>> 8).
>> > [1644]
>>
>>
>> There are also two entries that mention "down trip"--one direct (1.e.) and
>> one more expansive, under "draft additions)--certainly they are related and
>> may need to be merged. Both are linked to down n.3 Draft Additions 1993 a.,
>> but in opposite directions--one points TO it, the other is pointed to from
>> there.
>>
>> But it is one of these that "down economy" appears to most closely
>> resemble=
>> :
>>
>>  U.S. slang. Causing or characterized by depression, despondency, or lack
>> > of vigour; down trip, an unpleasant or depressing hallucinatory
>> experienc=
>> e
>> > induced by the drug LSD. Cf. down n.3 Additions a.
>>
>>
>> I just can't get past the disconnect between "down economy" and "down
>> trip"--they certainly don't feel related. ;-) One is depressed, the other
>> one's depressing.
>>
>> VS-)
>>
>> PS: Totally off-topic, but the article mentions an interesting conclusion
>> o=
>> n
>> profiles of "typical fraudsters":
>>
>> > * A 36- to 45-year-old male in a senior management role in the finance
>> un=
>> it
>> > or in a finance-related function;
>> > * An employee for more than 10 years who usually would work in collusion
>> > with another individual.
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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