UNBRIDLED OPTIMISM. Uncontrolled enthusiasm, feeling good. Owners of new businesses and inventors of new products frequently are blinded by unbridled optimism.

 

“It added that Mr. Stellato initially didn't seek to leave after allegedly blowing the whistle but instead expressed ‘unbridled optimism’ about Knight's future.” (Wall Street Journal, < xml="true" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" prefix="st1" namespace="">Sept. 24, 2004, p. C.3)

UNBUNDLE (TO). Separate the costs of the various operations in a business.

UNCLE SAM. The United States government. During the War of 1812, a New York pork packer named “Uncle Sam” Wilson shipped so many barrels of pork to troops with his first two initials on each barrel that his name came to symbolize the U.S. government itself.

UNDERCUT (TO). Price lower than competitors.

 

“The U.S. charges that European government subsidies have allowed Airbus to undercut Boeing prices, giving Airbus an unfair advantage in the marketplace and harming the U.S. aerospace industry.” (Wall Street Journal, Nov. 8, 2004, p. A.3)

UNDERDOG. A firm that is not expected to be a major competitor.

UNDER THE GUN. Under pressure to deliver or perform.

UNDER THE TABLE/COUNTER. Secret, illegal. The phrase is associated with bribes passed under the table, the opposite being an ABOVE BOARD agreement.

“The suits accuse the brokers of failing ‘to adequately disclose . . . under-the-table payments or kickbacks’ received from insurers. As a result, they allege, "defendants are able to reap tens of millions of dollars in additional fees while purporting to provide independent and unbiased brokerage advice." (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 11, 2004, p. C.3)

 

UNDERWRITE.  To purchase securities at set price from an issuer and then resell the securities in the financial market.

UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES (UL). Company that reviews the safety of electrical products.

 

UNINSTALLED.  Euphemism for being terminated.

 

UNIT BALANCE. Total number of mutual fund shares.

 

“Jargon: unit balance           Translation: total number of shares” (Wall Street Journal, January 4, 1999, p. R8)

UNITED PARCEL SERVICE (UPS). A large, privately held package delivery company headquartered in the United States.

UNITED WAY. Cooperative nonprofit organization that solicits donations from local businesses and distributes the funds to local charities.

UNLOAD (TO). Get rid of/dispose of. Managers try to unload unwanted products, divisions, or employees.

 

“If you wait too long to unload your stocks, you could get caught up in one of these rotten patches and find yourself selling shares at fire-sale prices.” (Wall Street Journal, Nov. 7, 2004, p. 3)

UNQUALIFIED OPINION. An independent auditor’s opinion of a company’s records.

UNWIND A DEAL. To cancel or withdraw from.

UP AND RUNNING.  Now working, newly operational.

UP A TREE. A difficult situation, predicament. Like a stranded animal, managers sometimes find themselves up a tree.

UP FOR GRABS. Available. In a dynamic, changing economy, new opportunities are up for grabs.

UP FRONT. In advance; honest, open.

 

“So it soon could pay for itself, especially after getting a rebate up front.” (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 31, 2004, p. 10)

UP-FRONT MONEY. Money paid in advance. When making sales to new customers or expensive customized products, businesses often require up-front money.

UPSELL. Persuading customers to buy more expensive models or versions of a product than they originally intended to purchase.

UP TICK/UPSWING. An increase in stock market prices, or the economy in general.

UP TO PAR. Meets standards. An analogy to golf, where par is considered the normal number of strokes to take on a hole.

 

“For our own gift hunt, we went looking for heirloom-quality frames in sterling silver. (No ‘World's Best Mom’ numbers for us.) To make sure the presentation was up to par, we shopped at catalogs such as Tiffany and Martha by Mail that we assumed would have pretty, Mom-pleasing gift wrap.” (Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2002, p. W.10)

UP TO THE MINUTE. The latest, most current.

UPGRADE (TO). Improve. In airline travel, to switch from economy to higher-class seating.

UPSCALE. Superior, better quality, often more expensive.

 

“The target population was defined for the study as educated, upscale professionals in the state of Iowa.” (Association For Computing Machinery, July 2004. p. 73)

USED CAR SALESMAN. Fast-talking promoter.

 

“‘The financial-aid administrators are very sensitive to being treated as used-car salesmen,’ said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Finaid.com, a financial-aid Web site.” (Wall Street Journal, April 29, 2003, p. D.2)

USER-FRIENDLY. Designed for easier use. The term is frequently used in discussions of computer software, but manufacturers are redesigning many products to be more user-friendly as a means to increase customer satisfaction.