stock-jobber

[Dan Goncharoff]

I would point out that "stock-jobber" was a defined role on the London
Stock Exchange until 1986. In the US, however, the word was used more
as a desirory slang word for speculators and other securities traders.

in Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (1923) you find this line:
"Nevertheless public spirited men in Boston were denounced  as
stock-jobbers..."

DanG

On Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 12:44 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:      stock-jobber
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> While browsing the 1834 newspapers in connection with the US Bank
> scandal (think of it as the ACA of the period, complete with claims of
> unconstitutionality), I came across several references to "stock-jobber"
> and "stock-jobbing". This would be quite unremarkable, as OED has both
> with the range going in both directions by 50-200 years from that point.
> The trouble is, there is a bit of loose change here that needs to be
> accounted for. All the references, by the nature of the search, are to
> public transaction--essentially federal deposits to the Bank of the
> United States and their withdrawal on the orders of Andrew Jackson. 1828
> Webster's--only 6 years prior--has a dual definition for "stock-jobber":
>
>> One who speculates in the public funds for gain; one whose occupation
>> is to buy and sell stocks.
>
> The second part, complete with "contemptuous", is in the OED, but not
> the first. There is no reference to "public funds" anywhere in the OED
> definitions in either "stock-jobber" or "stock-jobbing".
>
> Please let me know if these references are worth pursuing and I will
> track them down again. Otherwise, I shall assume the issue to be too
> minor and unworthy of attention.
>
>     VS-)
>
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