flight to cash
n.— «But there were persistent rumors in 1974 that the banking system was in danger, Mr. Richardson said. Without the boost of confidence from the Lifeboat, those rumors might have become self-fulfilling, and if one major bank had collapsed, I do not know where we would have stopped. At the time, stock market and property values were collapsing after a long upsurge begun in the 1960s, touching off a flight into cash.» —“British financial crisis averted by ‘lifeboat’” in London, United Kingdom Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) January 20, 1978. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The word budget derives from French bougette, “leather bag.” An old phrase in English to open one’s budget, meant “to speak one’s mind.” The word purse is related to French bourse, a word for the stock market. This is part of a complete episode...
Mark in Bismarck, North Dakota, spent years as a sailor, and wonders about the term sea painter, meaning “a rope attached to a lifeboat.” Why painter? The word may derive from Middle French pendeur meaning “a kind of rope that hangs,” literally...