Subscribe to America`s largest dictionary and get thousands of other definitions and an advanced search – ad-free! “Wildcatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wildcatter. Retrieved 8 December 2022. A wild diffuser is a person who drills wild wells, which are exploratory oil wells drilled in areas that are not known to be oil fields. [1] Glenn McCarthy, Thomas Baker Slick Sr., Mike Benedum, Joe Trees, Clem S. Clarke and Columbus Marion Joiner[1]; The latter was responsible for the discovery of the East Texas oil field in 1930. These sample phrases are automatically selected from various online information sources to reflect the current use of the word “wildcutter”. The views expressed in the examples do not represent the views of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us your feedback. According to tradition, the origin of the term in the oil industry comes from Wildcat Hollow, now in Oil Creek State Park near Titusville, Pennsylvania. Wildcat Hollow was one of many productive fields from the early oil era. A speculator who risked his luck drilling in this narrow valley shot a wild cat, had it stuffed and put it on his drilling rig. The mounted cat gave its name to the hollow.
Because the area was largely untested and slightly off Oil Creek Flats, the term wildcatter was coined, which describes a person who risked drilling in an unproven area. The term comes from the early days of the oil industry in western Pennsylvania. Oil wells in unproven territory were called “wild wells” beginning in the mid-1870s, and those who drilled them were called “wildcats” in 1876. [2] [3] For example, the Titusville Herald noted in 1880: “The discovery of the liquid in New York State was the signal of a general exodus of wild chatters from all parts of the oil-rich country.” [4] Docking with a wild cat, such as a lynx, can be quite a risky endeavor, but feral cats have only played an indirect role in the development of the word wild chatter. This term has been used in English since the late 19th century, with the verb “wildcat”, which refers to the risky practice of drilling experimental oil wells in areas not known to produce oil. “Savage” English-speaking associates in risky ventures after a number of U.S. banks fraudulently issued banknotes with little or no capital to guarantee them. Apparently, the notes issued by a particular bank bore the image of a panther or, as it was locally called, a “wildcat”, and it was these risky notes that led to the financial risk-taking of “wild cat” and “wild cat”.
An old-fashioned rule that we can no longer stand. Wildcat, however, was American slang for any risky commercial venture in 1838, long before the rise of the oil industry. [5] An example was the Wildcat Bank in the 1850s. The directors of the Midwest`s wild banks were known as “wild chatters” before Edwin Drake`s discovery of oil in Pennsylvania. [6] Wildcatting informally refers to a practice introduced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that requires industry-wide scrutiny when critical issues are detected in one or two companies in that sector. This term is derived from the oil industry, where companies drill test wells for oil in unexplored or wilderness areas. The purpose of this practice with respect to the securities industry is to investigate areas or practices of concern to the SEC, even if there is no clear evidence of wrongdoing. As part of this initiative, the SEC has conducted investigations in many industries, including the oil, cable television, and video game industries. This policy was born after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which provided more transparency to investors. Joshua Stamper`s 2006©New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP The SEC may investigate a number of critical issues with a particular company, including accounting irregularities, executive compensation, and the use of derivative transactions, and incorporate this investigation into an investigation of other companies in the same industry.