wildcatter

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The Word of the Day for April 28 is: 

wildcatter   \WYLD-katt-er\   noun
    *1 : one that drills wells in the hope of finding oil in territory not 
known to be an oil field 
     2 : one that promotes or sells stock in unsafe and unreliable enterprises; 
especially : one that sells stocks in such enterprises

Example sentence:
     Her father was a lucky wildcatter with an instinct for drilling gushers.

Did you know?
     Messing with a wild cat, such as a lynx, can be a pretty risky 
undertaking, but ferocious felines played only an indirect role in the 
development of the word "wildcatter." That term has been used in English since 
the late 19th century, along with the verb "wildcat," which refers to the risky 
practice of drilling experimental oil wells in territory not known to produce 
oil. English-speakers associated "wildcat" with risk-taking ventures after a 
number of U.S. banks fraudulently issued banknotes with little or no capital to 
back them up. Supposedly, the banknotes issued by one particular bank bore the 
image of a panther or, as it was known locally, a "wild cat," and it was those 
risky notes that led to the financial risk-taking senses of "wildcat" and 
"wildcatter."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 




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