Pulling In Their Horns

The name of an extremely difficult skateboarding trick? The title of a 1970s adult film? Nope. It's a figure of speech that occasionally comes up on Wall Street.

In general, the phrase "to pull in your horns" means to act more cautiously. And that's just what it means in relation to Wall Street. It refers to a situation where stocks have been posting strong gains for a while, but investors have started to get a little wary that further gains are possible. Traders are still bullish, but they're starting to mix a little skepticism with their bullishness.

Get it? Less bullish...pulling in their horns. Those wacky Wall Street types.

What happens when people are bearish and become...less bearish? They "eat less salmon." Er..."get ready to hibernate." We'll have to workshop that one a bit more.