Long Put

When you own a put, you are long it.

That is, you paid, say, a buck a share for the right to sell DIS(ney) for $110 any time in the next few weeks, before that put option expires. With the stock trading now at $117, it's likely that the put never executes, but they are reporting their quarter tomorrow and you're a bit nervous. And DIS is a huge part of your portfolio's exposure and performance for the quarter in the hedge fund you run. You really want to clip a big fat carry profit participation coupon for the quarter (your new husband is high maintenance; he likes Porsches).

So you buy "portfolio life insurance" on that stock, paying that dollar to guarantee that, at worst, if DIS craps the bed in its Q, and goes to $100, you're protected at a minimum down number to your porftolio of $110. You got there by being long this put option.