"cockroach theory" meaning in English

See cockroach theory in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proper name

Forms: the cockroach theory [canonical]
Etymology: From the idea that spotting one cockroach indicates that more are probably nearby. Head templates: {{en-prop|def=1}} the cockroach theory
  1. (business) A theory which states that unexpected negative news from a business is possibly an indicator that more negative news is incoming. Categories (topical): Business Related terms: where there's smoke, there's fire
    Sense id: en-cockroach_theory-en-name-Esk~a3jP Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Topics: business
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  "etymology_text": "From the idea that spotting one cockroach indicates that more are probably nearby.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the cockroach theory",
      "tags": [
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    }
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  "head_templates": [
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
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          "source": "w"
        },
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Business",
          "orig": "en:Business",
          "parents": [
            "Economics",
            "Society",
            "Social sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Sciences",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A theory which states that unexpected negative news from a business is possibly an indicator that more negative news is incoming."
      ],
      "id": "en-cockroach_theory-en-name-Esk~a3jP",
      "links": [
        [
          "business",
          "business"
        ],
        [
          "theory",
          "theory"
        ],
        [
          "unexpected",
          "unexpected"
        ],
        [
          "negative",
          "negative"
        ],
        [
          "news",
          "news"
        ],
        [
          "indicator",
          "indicator"
        ],
        [
          "incoming",
          "incoming"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(business) A theory which states that unexpected negative news from a business is possibly an indicator that more negative news is incoming."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "where there's smoke, there's fire"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "business"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "cockroach theory"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "From the idea that spotting one cockroach indicates that more are probably nearby.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the cockroach theory",
      "tags": [
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    }
  ],
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        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English proper nouns",
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      ],
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        "A theory which states that unexpected negative news from a business is possibly an indicator that more negative news is incoming."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "business",
          "business"
        ],
        [
          "theory",
          "theory"
        ],
        [
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          "unexpected"
        ],
        [
          "negative",
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        ],
        [
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          "news"
        ],
        [
          "indicator",
          "indicator"
        ],
        [
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        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(business) A theory which states that unexpected negative news from a business is possibly an indicator that more negative news is incoming."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "business"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "cockroach theory"
}

Download raw JSONL data for cockroach theory meaning in English (1.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-10 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (df33d17 and 4ed51a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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