'Stonks' Isn’t the Only WallStreetBets Lingo: Other Terms Explained

The WallStreetBets forum behind the GameStop surge is a mystery to many of us, but the terminology that Reddit users throw around doesn’t make anything clearer. So, here's a WallStreetBets lingo guide.

Please be forewarned: WallStreetBets users are notorious for homophobic and ableist language, as Vox reported earlier this month. We’ve censored their slurs below, but feel free to skip the first section if mentions of homophobia are triggering.

Here’s where some WallStreetBets users show their uglier side. “FD” seems to be an initialism for a certain homophobic slur plus the word “delight.” 

One user defines that offensive term as “out-of-the-money options expiring very short term … basically named because only massive f--s would YOLO significant amounts of money betting on large movements in short time frames [and] then delight in getting [expletive] when the trade doesn’t work out.”

WallStreetBets user Mohammad Rajjaque explained on The Conversation that “DD” stands for “due diligence” and refers to the detailed analysis of the possible trading opportunities, “just like the kind of analysis that the now famous Keith Gill—aka DeepF--kingValue—would later post on computer games retailer GameStop, which led to the 100-fold price surge that has recently taken the world by storm.”

According to another user, DD can also mean “double down” when WallStreetBets members are “telling you to throw all your money at it because it’s a promising investment looking to increase in value.”

“ATH” appears to stand for “all time high.” In November 2020, one WallStreetBets user posted a meme video showing Donald Trump dancing and Joe Biden playing a bongo drum while the Vibing Cat bops its head approvingly. “Me and the boys after DOW hits ATH,” that user captioned the clip.

The term “HODL” isn’t exclusive to WallStreetBets. As Investopedia reports, the term originated as a misspelling of “hold” and is used to mean buy-and-hold bitcoin and cryptocurrency forums. Apparently, it all started when a user wrote “I AM HODLING” on Bitcointalk.org after enjoying “some whiskey.” 

Twitter user @WSBgod elaborated in February 2020 and wrote, “What does it mean to HODL? HODLing is a low-stress strategy and state of mind that comes from being in for the long haul. The price (whether high or low) doesn’t affect a HODLer, because they know that everything that happens between now and their future sell point is just noise.”

“DFV” refers to the aforementioned Reddit user DeepF--kingValue, who posted about making call options for GameStop stock (NYSE:GME) and became the “granddaddy” of the GME stock surge, as Roystone Capital analyst Shiv Abrol told Esquire.

So what about the other jargon popular on WallStreetBets? As Reuters reported, “stonks” are an intentional misspelling of stocks; “YOLO” stands for “you only live once” and refers to people who invest heavily in a certain stock; “diamond hands” are WallStreetBets members’ characterizations of their strong positions, and “to the moon” is a rallying cry for certain stocks.