| 释义 |
drug on the market drug on the marketSomething that is not in great demand because it is abundantly available. Mobile phones are a drug on the market these days, which is why they're so affordable.See also: drug, market, ona drug on the market and a glut on the marketsomething that is on the market in great abundance. Right now, small computers are a drug on the market. Twenty years ago, small transistor radios were a glut on the market.See also: drug, market, ondrug on the marketA commodity whose supply greatly exceeds the demand for it. For example, Now that asbestos is considered dangerous, asbestos tile is a drug on the market. The use of the noun drug in the sense of "something overabundant" (as opposed to a medicine or narcotic) dates from the mid-1600s, but the first record of the full expression, put as drug in the market, dates only from the 1830s. See also: drug, market, ona drug on the market an unsaleable or valueless commodity. Drug in the sense of ‘a commodity for which there is no demand’ is recorded from the mid 17th century, but it is not clear from the word's history whether it is the same word as the medicinal substance. 1998 Spectator Merchant banks are a drug on the market these days. See also: drug, market, ondrug on the marketAn overabundant commodity or service for which there is little or no demand. This expression clearly predates modern times, since drugs on the market, both illegal and legal, now are very profitable indeed. The English clergyman Thomas Fuller (The History of the Worthies of England, 1662) wrote, “He made such a vent for Welsh cottons, that what he found drugs at home, he left dainties beyond the sea.” The OED suggests that “drug” here has some different meaning but does not come up with a convincing explanation. Another writer suggests it may come from the French drogue, for “rubbish,” which makes more sense.See also: drug, market, on |