Ben Bernanke’s Hippie Roots

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It turns out that the man whose very choice of words directly influences the fate of our economy long ago had a different sort of way with words. At his South Carolina high school Ben Bernanke authored a hippie dictionary; Bloomberg lists some of its content:

Bird – a lady as in “cute chick” or “henpecked”

Dig – to like, to enjoy, as “The hippie undertaker digs his work.”

Down trip – a drag

Drag – a down trip

Hang-up – a neurosis or fetish

In gear – the cat’s pajamas

Lie-In – a form of peaceful protest that often fails when demonstrators go to sleep

Square – someone who stays home New Year’s Eve to hear Guy Lombardo play “Auld Lang Syne”

Straight – as in “stiff” (see “dig”)

Swing – what someone does who thinks Guy Lombardo is a football coach (see square)

Trip – a rocket flight without the rocket

You dig?

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