toxic waste
n.— «Basis Capital had assets worth $1 billion as recently as May, before reporting that its Aust-Rim Fund and Yield Fund lost 9 percent and 14 percent, respectively, in June. The funds ran into trouble by investing in the unrated, riskiest portions of collateralized debt obligations. These portions, often referred to as “toxic waste” by bankers, are first in line for any losses when borrowers miss mortgage payments.» —“Bear Stearns seems to weather hedge fund debacle well” by Laura Cochrane in Melbourne, Australia International Herald Tribune (Paris, France) July 24, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
While reading Great Expectations (Bookshop|Amazon) by Charles Dickens, a listener in Arlington, Texas, is surprised when one of the characters inherits some money, which Dickens describes as a cool four thousand. Were they really using cool that way...
An anadrome is a word that forms a whole new word when you spell it backwards. For example, the word “stressed” spelled backwards is “desserts.” Some people’s first names are anadromes. There’s the girl named Noel...