Re: Black market
Posted by ESC on June 16, 2003 In Reply to: Origin of term black market
posted by Frances Dujon-Reynolds on June 16, 2003
: Do you know the origins of the term black market?
BLACK MARKET - "as originally used during World War II meant the
market in buying and selling stolen military supplies, such as clothing,
blankets, food, and truck tires.The term had also seen some use
in World War I, when it entered English as a translation of the
German 'Schwarzmarkt.'" From "I Hear America Talking" by Stuart
Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1976). Another
source says the phrase got its start in 1931 and meant "unauthorized
dealing in commodities that are rationed or of which the supply
is otherwise restricted. After a slow start in the 1930s, mainly
in the area of currency dealing, the term really took off in the
disrupted economic circumstances of World War II." From "20th Century
Words: The Story of New Words in English Over the Last 100 Years"
by John Ayto (Oxford University Press, New York, 1999).
- Re: Black market James Briggs
06/17/03 (
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