blank-check company
n.— «One niche in which the company already leads are officially called a Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation (SPAC). In everyday parlance, they’re known as blank-check companies. What are those? Back in ancient times—notably the dot-com era of the 20th century—entrepreneurs came up with a dream and sold it to the eager public through an initial public offering of stock, sometimes before they had profits or even revenue. That’s old school. New school in this, the 21st century, is having an IPO for a SPAC. They have no profits and no revenue. In fact, they don’t even know what they’re going to spend their money on—hence the name “blank check.”» —“A new player in investment banking” by John Dorschner Miami Herald (Florida) Nov. 5, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Episode Archives
One-Armed Paper Hanger (episode #1518) 02/18/2019: The emotional appeal of handwriting and the emotional reveal of animal phrases. Should children be taught cursive writing in school, or is their time better... [more]
Hair on Your Tongue (episode #1517) 02/11/2019: If you speak both German and Spanish, you may find yourself reaching for a German word instead of a Spanish one, and vice versa. This... [more]
Train of Thought (episode #1516) 02/04/2019: Chances are you recognize the expressions Judgment Day and root of all evil as phrases from the Bible. There are many others, such as the... [more]
Colonial English (episode #1515) 01/28/2019: The anatomy of effective prose, and the poetry of anatomy. Ever wonder what it'd be like to audit a class taught by a famous writer?... [more]
Space Cadet (episode #1514) 12/24/2018: We have books for language-lovers and recommendations for history buffs. • How did the word boondoggle come to denote a wasteful project? The answer involves... [more]
You must log in to post a comment.