# The word "uptick" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410 "2018-07-23T03:50:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/1 "2018-07-23T03:50:08Z")
This word gets used dishonestly - to minimize bad news - almost every time it’s used at all. A formal definition of “less than one tenth of one percent” and misleading uses getting called out, would help. Or just people being honest and saying “increase” when that’s what they mean. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/2 "2018-07-23T04:53:01Z")
Economists writing financial reports often need synonyms for increase and decrease. Uptick is one of them. It comes from the stock market: see [uptick rule](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/uptickrule.asp). > **[Definition of UPTICK](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uptick)** > > an increase, rise, or upward trend; a stock market transaction at a price above the last previous transaction in the same security… See the full definition > **[uptick | Etymology, origin and meaning of uptick by etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/uptick)** > > UPTICK Meaning: "upward trend," 1962, an economist's term, from up (adv.) + tick (v.), in reference to some recording… See origin and meaning of uptick. > **[Definition of uptick | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/uptick)** > > Uptick definition, a rise or improvement in business activity, in mood, etc. See more. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/3 "2018-07-23T15:21:38Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > A formal definition of “less than one tenth of one percent” and misleading uses getting called out, would help. Would you happen to have a citation for this “definition”? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/4 "2018-07-23T15:41:49Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > A formal definition of “less than one tenth of one percent” and misleading uses getting called out, would help. Is this like saying that the formal definition of “decimate” is 1 out of 10 killed and any other usage is misleading? If so, language is a living thing and definitions change. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/5 "2018-07-23T16:14:07Z")
This misuse of language makes my head literally explode. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/6 "2018-07-23T16:20:02Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Would you happen to have a citation for this “definition”? He’s not saying that is the definition, he’s saying that it should be. I did a quick check and no definition quantifies it, but all say small, some incremental. And Bryan Ekers, sorry about your head.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/7 "2018-07-23T16:29:17Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > A formal definition of “less than one tenth of one percent” and misleading uses getting called out, would help. > [@Telemark](#): > > Is this like saying that the formal definition of “decimate” is 1 out of 10 killed and any other usage is misleading? If so, language is a living thing and definitions change. It doesn’t rise to that level, because uptick has _never_ meant what DavidwithanR suggests. > [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Or just people being honest and saying “increase” when that’s what they mean. It’s not dishonest _per se_. It refers to an increase with the connotation that all we know is that the latest data point is higher than the prior data point - it may not signify a broader trend. As others have pointed out, it comes from a stock market regulation regarding short selling. The regulation went into effect in 1938, and Google ngram looks like this: > **[Google Books Ngram Viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=uptick&year_start=1900&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cuptick%3B%2Cc0)** > > Google Books Ngram Viewer ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/8 "2018-07-23T17:19:17Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > This misuse of language makes my head literally explode. Your grotesque mangling and utter destruction of the English language, the most beautiful and melodic language in the entire universe, makes me want to kill everyone in my neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/9 "2018-07-23T17:46:53Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It doesn’t rise to that level, because uptick has _never_ meant what DavidwithanR suggests. Awesome. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/10 "2018-07-23T19:18:03Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Economists writing financial reports often need synonyms for increase and decrease. Uptick is one of them. It comes from the stock market: see [uptick rule](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/uptickrule.asp). > > [Uptick Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uptick) The paragraph in Merriam-Webster explaining this usage was rather strangely written: Upticks are most important when it comes to short-selling stocks. The “uptick rule,” which was in place from 1938-2007, required every short-sale transaction be entered on an uptick. This rule was instated to keep short sellers from putting unjust pressure on a stock’s price, adding to a security’s downward spiral. To me the whole thing reads like it was written by someone whose first language is not English. The words or phrases “most”, “be entered on”, “instated”, and “unjust” are not the ones that a reasonable writer would have chosen, IMO, and the second sentence is unnecessarily cryptic (mainly due to the odd phrase “be entered on”). The “uptick rule”, quite simply, prohibits a broker from making a short sale at less than the last trade price. He must only make a short sale either at (a) the same price as the last trade, if that price was an uptick, or (b) a higher price than the last trade. This is to prevent short selling from forcing a stock price downward and destabilizing the market. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/11 "2018-07-23T20:56:49Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Is this like saying that the formal definition of “decimate” is 1 out of 10 killed and any other usage is misleading? If so, language is a living thing and definitions change. No, that’s not what it’s like. It’s like complaining when people start saying “extra large” to mean “regular size” and expecting everyone else to understand. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/12 "2018-07-24T14:21:13Z")
Or complaining that the smallest cup of coffee on the menu is called the “tall”? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/13 "2018-07-24T15:04:27Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > No, that’s not what it’s like. It’s like complaining when people start saying “extra large” to mean “regular size” and expecting everyone else to understand. Except there’s almost no evidence that anyone knows the usage of “uptick” that you claim is standard. The Uptick Rule isn’t the only usage of the word, and it appears the word was actually coined in 1962, long after the rule was created. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-uptick/818410/14 "2018-07-24T19:57:37Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The paragraph in Merriam-Webster explaining this usage was rather strangely written: > Upticks are most important when it comes to short-selling stocks. The “uptick rule,” which was in place from 1938-2007, required every short-sale transaction be entered on an uptick. This rule was instated to keep short sellers from putting unjust pressure on a stock’s price, adding to a security’s downward spiral. > To me the whole thing reads like it was written by someone whose first language is not English. The words or phrases “most”, “be entered on”, “instated”, and “unjust” are not the ones that a reasonable writer would have chosen, IMO, and the second sentence is unnecessarily cryptic (mainly due to the odd phrase “be entered on”). The “uptick rule”, quite simply, prohibits a broker from making a short sale at less than the last trade price. He must only make a short sale either at (a) the same price as the last trade, if that price was an uptick, or (b) a higher price than the last trade. This is to prevent short selling from forcing a stock price downward and destabilizing the market. Except an entered order ≠ an executed order. An entered order is a request to buy (or sell) a stock. (Overly simplifying: ) Only after it’s accepted by the other party does it become an executed order. IOW, having worked in that business, I totally understand that sentence & don’t see it awkward phrasing. Jargony perhaps, but not awkward phrasing.