Re: Black market
Posted by James Briggs on June 17, 2003 In Reply to: Re: Black market posted by
ESC 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).
The term was well recognised at the start of WW2 and was familiar
to the public - at least in the East End of London. Only very rarely
did it involved military items, mainly consumer goods that were
very hard to find, and often stolen.
Two related terms spring to mind;
1.'Under the counter' where goods in short supply were kept away
from display and only made available to special/regular customers.
2. 'Spiv' - said to be a reversal of 'Vips' - persons who touted
suspect goods, often in street makets. Became common just after
WW2.
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