Going Short, page-190

It's a 'bit like', with the bit typically differing in time frames. Hence the reason why short selling is quite often shortened to just short and long buying is quite often shorts end to just long: because you get far more (or at least you used to) long buying than short buying and you hardly ever hear of someone long selling. In the same way that those that short buy usually cut their paper loses early, when they have them, sellers usually cut their losses early even more often (given the risks involved in being wrong) and to hear someone whose sold carrying their paper losses past 20% is almost unheard off. In fact for a broker to let someone have sold and carry paper losses of 20% is very uncommon, especially outside of sophisticated investor circles.