A species of stocks which are bought and sold to a great extent in New York. Unlike articles of merchandise, which may be seen and examined by the dealer, and which always have an intrinsic value in every fluctuation of the market, these stocks are wholly wrapped in mystery; no one knows anything about them, except the officers and directors of the companies, who, from their position, are not the most likely men to tell you the truth. They serve no other purpose, therefore, than as the representative of value in stock gambling. Nearly all the fluctuations in their prices are artificial. A small fluctuation is more easily produced than a large one; and as the calculations are made on the par value, a fluctuation of one per cent. on stock worth 20 a share, is just five times as much on the amount of money invested, as it would be on a par stock. Consequently, if a "Flunkie" can be drawn in, he may be fleeced five times as quick in these, as in good stocks.--Week in Wall St. p. 83.
a collection of sheaves of corn, being ten, set up together, and covered by two. N. Called also thra...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
n. an unusual form for Stock-man (q.v.). 1862. F. J. Jobson, `Australia,' c. vi. p. 145: «We saw ...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose