David and his colleague Emily were discussing recent market trends and their company's investment strategies. Talking about the sharp decline in the stock market, Emily said:
"The stock market dropped unexpectedly, and many investors caught a cold."
Many investors "Caught a cold"? David is confused, what does this have to do with the stock market?
1. The stock market dropped unexpectedly, and many investors caught a cold.
(X) The stock market fell without warning, and many investors caught a cold.
(O) The stock market fell without warning, and many investors lost money.
The word Cold is very common, meaning "low body temperature" or "sick", for example:
- You'll feel cold if you don't wear a coat.
- I've got a cold.
But when "catch a cold" is used in business or financial scenarios, it does not refer to a stick. It refers to an investment that is not as good as expected, resulting in a loss of funds, just like a physical cold. For example:
- Do commodity markets catch a cold from stock markets?
"Catch a cold" here is a metaphor for the commodity market being affected by the stock market, a bit like a decline in one market being "contagious" to another.
"Catch a cold" is close to "take a hit" or "take a loss". It is a more euphemistic way of saying it, with the meaning of "unexpected" or "unpredictable", implying that this kind of loss was not planned. in.
2. He was out cold.
(X) He was standing outside in the cold.
(O) He lost consciousness/passed out.
"It's cold out." can mean "it's cold outside." out means outside, and the whole sentence is equivalent to "It's cold outside."
But if the order of cold out is reversed, out cold means "total loss of consciousness", "coma, lethargy".
- He was out cold after working 18 hours straight.
Loss of consciousness, possibly due to alcohol:
- Four beers and he was out cold.
3. He got cold feet before signing the contract.
(X) He felt his feet were cold before signing the contract.
(O) He chickened out before signing.
"Cold feet" on the surface means "cold feet", which is a metaphor for "frozen feet" and people cannot move forward. This expression is used to describe people "feeling uneasy or shrinking at the last moment, timid, losing confidence and courage", with Yu describes a person who feels hesitant about important decisions.
Let's take a look at a conversation:
A: Shoot! I'm too nervous to get on stage.
B: You've prepared so hard. You can't get cold feet now.
4. In this job, you have to be prepared to cold-call.
(X) In this job, you have to take cold calls.
(O) To do this job, you must be prepared to do unfamiliar development.
"Cold call" is a common marketing term, which refers to "stranger development, stranger visit" and promoting products or services to strangers. Cold call has both noun and verb usage.
Noun usage:
- My previous job was to make cold calls to prospective clients.
Verb usage:
- We need to cold call 50 companies to pitch our new service.
