"Flat is the new up", and other great Ross lines

You might have seen a line in the DTM a few days ago that sounded awfully familiar: “Flat is the new up,” said Craig Wright, Chief Economist of The Royal Bank of Canada.

It is. As we pointed out last December in a post titled “Small caps finding equity despite market mayhem“, our friend, the late Ross McMaster, had been the first to use that line on the telephone from his post at Thomas Weisel Partners.

And now it is part of Bay Street’s lexicon. This serves as a jumping off point to reflect on many of the other lines that made so many of his colleagues and clients smile over the years.

Other great lines:

Who has the Glengarry leads? (Which was always used when an equity offering was slogging and needed a new lease on life.)

ElectroFuel? You mean ElectroZero.

Firmbuy? You mean FirmBust.

Certicom? You mean Certibomb.

If you want to sell, just get out and sell.

Is that the sports car you bought after laying out Frank on that trade?

[With that guy, there’s] no back too small to stab. (Although Earl may deserve credit for it.)

You’re on the golf course. I’m stuck at the office. I need the trade.

I’ve never ‘laid it up’ in my life.

[My hair] grows on company time, and it gets cut on company time.

If you’re not in the room, you’re not in the deal.

We miss him every day.

MRM