black marketn.
/blak ˈmɑːkɪt/, U.S. /ˌblæk ˈmɑrkət/ Illegal traffic or trade in officially controlled goods or currencies, or in commodities in short supply; a place where this trade occurs. Now frequently in on the black market: in illegal trade; illegally. Also figurative. Cf. also grey market n., white market n. at white adj. and n. Compounds 1f.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > illegal or immoral trading > [noun] > black market
black market1727
black marketeering1942
black marketing1942
grey marketing1945
grey market1948
magendo1977
1727 D. Defoe Compl. Eng. Tradesman (ed. 2) I. Suppl. ii. 21 But the weaver wanting the money immediately..goes to another kind of market, and which I may say is a black market of thieves to him.
a1783 D. Swift Monks of Trinity (1795) 23 A sale of Scholars! a Black-market of Pupils!
1833 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag Oct. 504 A whole wild continent offered a black market, which barbarous life kept in a perpetual glut.
1852 Missouri Courier (Hannibal) 2 Dec. 1/1 It was..well known that Le Requin, when the ‘black’ market was slack..did a little in the way of ordinary admitted piracy.
1931 Economist 10 Jan. 60/1 The growth of an unofficial or ‘black’ market in sterling exchange.
1941 New Statesman 26 Apr. 430/2 There is evidence of a ‘black market’ where food can be bought without restriction if the price is high enough.
1970 Oxf. Mail 8 Apr. 1/8 About 60 lb. of pure cannabis resin, worth about £30,000 on the black market.
2007 Reveal 17 Mar. 32/2 Organ traders..sell body parts..on the black market for up to £100,000 a time.
Compounds
General attributive.
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1920 Bull. Amer. Warehousemen's Assoc. Apr. 144 The Black Market Bill would forbid the transaction of business in foods without a license.
1935 Economist 5 Oct. 662/2 ‘Black market’ quotations of Lit. 65–75 are reported in London.
1942 Ann. Reg. 1941 96 The Government..took active steps to suppress the so-called ‘black market’ transactions in foodstuffs [etc.]..which..were also a matter of grave scandal,..particularly to those who could not afford ‘black market’ prices.
2003 S. B. Rae in J. F. Peppin & M. J. Cherry Regional Perspectives Bio-ethics ii. 32 The laws that prevent payment to birth mothers were designed to prevent black market adoptions.
Derivatives
black ˈmarketer n. = black marketeer n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > trader > [noun] > black marketeer or boot-legger
bootlegger1889
blind-pigger1894
legger1926
black marketeer1941
blacketeer1942
black marketer1942
1942 New Republic 13 Apr. 490/2 The most skilled black marketer..is the sort of man who used to be a confidence man or other City hanger-on.
1957 New Statesman 2 Nov. 554/1 Scruffy black-marketers..offered me wads of escudos for my ticket.
2004 Manisha Profiles Indian Prime Ministers iii. 53 Knowing how corruption had spread like an uncontrollable virus, he [sc. Nehru] declared: ‘l will hang every black-marketer from the nearest tree.’
black ˈmarketing n. = black marketeering n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > illegal or immoral trading > [noun] > black market
black market1727
black marketeering1942
black marketing1942
grey marketing1945
grey market1948
magendo1977
1942 Times 6 Jan. 8/4 The Chairman said the defendants' system of selling was definitely ‘black marketing’.
1991 Film Comment Mar.–Apr. 79/2 The special police department dealing with misappropriation and black-marketing has discovered a hoard of foodstuffs.
2006 Townsville (Austral.) Bull. (Nexis) 18 Apr. 16 Dumbed-down drinking laws that will only lead to yet more..black marketing of illegal alcohol.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1727