[Lexicog] bull, bear markets

[fieldworks_support at SIL.ORG]

I cannot find any comment on the origin of "bull market". It seems to make
sense as an extension of the sense of "bull" meaning a strong aggressive
person, who as an investor would buy lots of stocks so the prices would
rise.
The problem with this is the contrary of "bull market" is "bear market",
and it seems harder to come up with an explanation for this.  Although
contemporary English does have the expression that situation X "was a real
bear", meaning it was a difficult situation.


Steve White, Jaars language software support
704-843-6337, 1-800-215-7813





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