Bullpen

Just like in baseball, where the relief pitchers warm up before they enter the game, rookies in the finance world are often assigned seating in a particular area of the office called the bullpen. Less chance of an errant line drive though.

Picture everyone in a big room with cubicles (if they’re lucky) on the phone making big deals. Once the newbies prove themselves and are promoted, they might be given nicer office space.

The bullpen was so named because, in the '70s and '80s, when Wall Street culture was all about working 197 hours a week, relief 'pitchers' had to be rotated out of that bullpen area as they crunched numbers for investment banker presentations...all night long.

Cue Lionel Richie.