He's a bad credit risk

[Silverobama]

Hi,

What does the "s" mean? Has or Is?


He's a bad credit risk.


Thanks a lot

 

[Barb_D]

He is a bad credit risk. You are taking a risk if you extend credit to him.

 

[LiuJing]

He is a bad credit risk. You are taking a risk if you extend credit to him.

Could we just drop the adjective 'bad' and retain the same connotation?

 

[BobK]

You wouldn't be misunderstood, as the context (the word 'risk', if nothing else) makes the meaning clear; but the 'bad' is usual.

It might be useful to compare these expressions:

He's a bad credit risk. [=if you lend him money, you might lose it]
He's a good credit risk. [=if you lend him money, you can be pretty sure of getting it back]

On the other hand:

Your Honour, the defence opposes bail, as the accused is a flight risk. [Note - not 'good' or 'bad' - he might run away.]

b

 

[Silverobama]

So what does the "risk" mean here?

Thanks a lot

 

[BobK]

Something might happen. -?...)

b

 

[SoothingDave]

Every act of lending money carries some risk that the loan will not be repaid. Those with good credit histories are numerically a good risk, while those with no or poor history with repaying loans are a bad risk.