wolf of wall street
/ˈwʊlf‿əv ˈwɔl ˌstɹit/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.23 in modern English
28
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
(A name for) an aggressive, prominent, and wealthy financier; specifically (derogatory), one who swindles or takes unfair advantage of people.
American usage
Example Sentences
- "It seems funny that a man should be apprehended by the Department of Justice for impersonating a congressman. It seems funnier that any one should want to impersonate a congressman. But David Lamar, "The Wolf of Wall Street," has had various forms of mental aberration attributed to him before."
- "Not for nothing had Regan been named by his associates the Wolf of Wall Street. While usually no more than a conservative, large-scale player, every so often, like a periodical drinker, he had to go on a rampage of wild enduring stock-gambling. At least five times in his long career he had knocked the bottom out of the market or lifted the roof off, and each time to the tune of a personal gain of millions."
- "He [Ernest Whitworth Marland] always felt that he had been euchred out of control of his Marland Oil Co. by unscrupulous financiers and when in 1932 he was elected to Congress, he kept up a steady racket against "the wolves of Wall Street.""
- "I recall one old-timer who had been, in his way, one of the minor wolves of Wall Street. He said that SEC [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] espionage gave him a temptation he could barely resist — to go honest."
- "Larry [Ballentine]'s Voice: Greta's Aunt Martha, who hated me — Mrs. Bowman, who bored me — and her husband, "Speed" Bowman, Yale, '24, who'd parlayed a touchdown against Harvard into a million-dollar brokerage business... / Bowman: If it ain't the Wolf of Wall Street: Come in, Wolf, and drink at the spring."
- "In the spring of 1897, Baruch made his first "killing," laying the foundation for a subsequent fortune and a reputation as "The Wolf of Wall Street'." Staking his slender resources on the chance that the Senate would not lower the sugar tariff, Mr. Baruch bought 100 shares of American Sugar Refining on thin margin. His supposition about the tariff was correct and the stock's price began to rise."
Etymology
From wolf (“any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing”) + of + Wall Street (“American financial institutions or financial markets as a whole; big-business interests”).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwʊlf‿əv ˈwɔl ˌstɹit/
- British English: /ˈwʊlf‿əv ˈwɔːl stɹiːt/
Usage
- American usage