Dead Cat Bounce

Meanings of “Dead Cat Bounce”

The phrase “dead cat bounce” means a temporary recovery from some financial crisis. It is mostly used in the financial markets where after a slump, a temporary recovery ensues for a time, and then the crisis might set in again.

Origin of “Dead Cat Bounce”

The phrase “dead cat bounce” has emerged from appeared even before the Iraqi war. Its first printed usage has been traced to The Financial Times used by Christ Sherwell in his article. The article was published on the 7th of December, 1985. The phrase was used as in the mentioned context that the experts were discussing the recall falls in the market, calling the previous rise a “dead cat bounce” as stated by a broker.

Examples in Literature

Example #1

April 29 by David Lehman

God bless Wellbutrin
I see the market’s down
A hundred and forty points
But I don’t care I know
It will go up again tomorrow
Thanks to the Dead Cat Bounce
As “the street” terms it
Still I refuse to invest in El Nino
By buying soybean futures
On the Chicago Options Exchange

These lines present the marketing scenario of Chicago state and how the stock exchange has responded to it. The lines explain the economic situation of the Chicago Options Exchange where the poet thanks the “Dead Cat Bounce,” using it as the major point for his refusal to invest as he does not see any good prospect and senses that this is a temporary trap. The phrase is used in the literal sense with the direct meaning.

Example #2

The Absurd or The Jungle Gives A Colder Stare by Thomas Griffith

The case of war is that
We want to escape from reality,
But reality is not ours
To do with as we so wish,
And it doesn’t just get back to us
No, it gets even,
With a vengeance.

There are no atheists in foxholes.
The dead cat bounce.

I don’t believe that devil is
The source of all evil.
I believe individuals are perfectly capable of figuring out
How to be evil and employ the powers of darkness
All on their own.

These lines explain that human beings want to escape the reality of such falls and rises but it does not mean that every fall or evil should be attributed to the devil. Everybody has a mind to understand things better and is able to do evil things. The phrase is used as an extended metaphor to show the temporary recovery of a person from falling into the pit of an irreligious situation.

Example #3

Walls of Silence: A Novel by Philip Jolowicz

“No e-mails to speak of,” Paula declared, as I bounced into my office at around noon. The bounce was a manifestation of the irrational optimism that I would need to get through the day.
It was a dead cat bounce.
“Keenes took most of the mail,” Paula continued. “He left a few flyers for seminars and courses, said you might like to choose a few, highlighted the ones he was speaking at. Keep your hand in, he said. That some Brit expression?

In this passage, Paula speaks to the narrator telling him that there is no email over which he feels somewhat elated but declares that it is a “dead cat bounce.” The phrase proves a denotation here as she immediately informs him that Keenes has taken some email but left some flyers and courses for him to take care of. Hence, the phrase shows its literal meanings.

Example #4

Dead Cat Bounce by Seth Freedman

The novel presents an anonymous character, who suffers from borderline disorder, who started working for the Israeli secret service in the garb of a Londoner journalist. His plans involved various types of jobs that he wants to do but finally ends up his life with the Israeli army. This is the point that proves a dead cat bounce for him, but ultimately he plans to do many things. the phrase has been used about his temporary recovery from his borderline personality, and then reversion to it.

Example in Sentences

Example #1: “When the marketer arrived in his office was like a dead cat bounce but immediately turned pale when he threw a glance at the screen and saw the stocks plunging after a brief recovery. His jolly mood also sank back into despair after this dead cat bounce.”

Example #2: I feel dead cat bounce but not very much like all others. In fact, my whole life in the stock exchange has taught me that this dead cat bounce is short-lived and not a long-term recovery. Therefore, I always see a prolonged recession in this phenomenon.”

Example #3: “After passing through a long bad patch, the dead cat bounce proved an elixir for him, though, he does not know that it would take him to the pits of suffering.”

Example #4: “The markets always show dead cat bounce and dogged recovery after some hiatuses.”

Example #5: “Volatile dead cat bounce does not bounce back shortly after its arrival.”