9. Catchphrases, Part 1

Catchphrases, Part 1


“Gin you up” or “Gin’d up”

Definition: Give you craploads of work to do in a short amount of time.

Associate, use it in a sentence: “Tim, I know your busy and I don’t want to gin you up, BUT, do you think you can update these pages for me in the next hour? We really need them. Thanks.”

Analyst, use it in a sentence: “Wish I could help you, but I’m all gin’d up. Oh, I can’t say that or I won’t be seeing a bonus? Alright, yeah, definitely I’d love to help. Thanks!”

Comment: This phrase is great because it is used by associates and other higher ups usually to ask how much work an analyst has, and is almost always followed by a request to do more work. Why even ask me if I’m “ginned up”? Just give me the god damn work and stay the hell away for me. Thanks!


“Throw under the bus”

Definition: To rat someone else out or someone else a scapegoat.

Associate, use it in a sentence: “Hey analyst, sorry for throwing you under the bus in that meeting but you should have double-checked your numbers beforehand. Sure, that’s my job in all of this, but when it comes down to it, you were the one who did it.”

Analyst, use it in a sentence: “Hey fellow analyst, you forgot to update the numbers in the model. The VP asked why they weren’t updated, so I just told him I must have forgotten to print the latest version. Didn’t want to throw you under the bus for something we can update in a second.”

Comment: This phrase has become commonplace in the U.S. in the past year from its usage in the sports and political spheres. In the steroid controversy, you have players and trainers throwing each other under the bus to deflect blame from themselves. In politics, aides may be fired for making comments that reflect candidates’ views, but the candidates cannot be connected to the comments. In investment banking, we learn from day one that it is an unspoken rule to not throw another analyst under the bus. If an associate asks where a fellow analyst is, I will say “I think he went to get a drink” instead of telling the truth the analyst went to a Yankees game or to an interview. Associates know this rule as well, but in a tough market where associates are the ones being fired, these scumbags don’t seem to mind going against the grain. If it means saving his own ass, an associate will always choose to throw an analyst under the bus. The job of the associate in most cases is just to be an editor of analysts’ work, yet when something is messed up in the numbers, an associate will not hesitate to heap the blame on the measly analyst. Thanks d-bag!