bazooka

What it means

1. entertainmentA primitive trombone having wide tubes.
2. engineeringA shoulder-held rocket launcher used as an antitank weapon, developed by America during World War II and so-called from its resemblance to the bazooka musical instrument.
3. broadlyAny shoulder-fired rocket grenade launcher.

In a sentence

Suppose the EFSF buys some bonds. That will push down yields for awhile.^([sic]) But what happens when the money starts to run out? Yields will go back up. A firebreak/firewall/bazooka needs unlimited funds to work.

2012 June 21, Matthew O'Brien, “Why the Euro Crisis Will Never End in 1 Chart”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2013

Where it comes from

1. Dutchbazuin“trumpet”
2. Englishbazooka

From an extension of the word bazoo (“mouth, boastful talk”), which ultimately probably stems from Dutch bazuin (“trumpet”). In the finance sense first used by policymakers during the European debt crisis (2010).