exploding ARM
n.— «The man Bob Woodward called “Maestro” actually advised Americans to shun fixed-rate loans for adjustable-rate mortgages. Dubbed “exploding ARMs” to describe the impact of upwardly adjusting interest rates on monthly payments, the loans are a staple of subprime mortgages.» —“Who’s to blame for foreclosure crisis?” by Pat Beall Palm Beach Post (Florida) Oct. 21, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In some places, you call those bedclothes and blankets a pallet. This word comes from an old term for “straw.” And: What’s the story...
Are there words and phrases that you misunderstood for an embarrassingly long time? Maybe you thought that money laundering literally meant washing drug-laced dollar bills, or that AM radio stations only broadcast in the morning? • A moving new...