COCKROACH PROBLEM

n.

A problem that is bigger than it initially appears.

"Well, Terry, Procter & Gamble has a cockroach problem, and, you know, we know what that means; in other words, you've got one little piece of bad news, and there is always more, just like those little bugs."

—Andy Serwer, quoted in "In the Money," CNN, June 8, 2000

"In the intermediate term, you know, we will get a tech correction one of these days.And when we do, there's not really any fundamental underpinnings for this very expensive price. So I would pause. Go ahead and watch it. And you know, if it came down dramatically from here, sure. I don't think it's going to be what we call a cockroach problem, that there's something broken in Legato's business model. But this isn't the right price to pay given the fundamentals."

—Nick Moore, "Tech Stock Analysis," CNNfn, January 27, 2000

banana problem

binary problem

champagne problem

nailing jelly to a tree

toy problem

Buzzwords

Idioms

Jargon and Buzzwords