Idiom
banana republic
Meaning
A small country, especially one in Central America or the West Indies, that is dependent on a single export commodity (traditionally bananas) and that has a corrupt, dictatorial government.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The country is a banana republic with no real laws.”
“The dictator runs the country like a banana republic to get rich.”
“The citizens protested against the corrupt leaders, claiming their nation had become a banana republic controlled by foreign companies.”
“Critics argue that when a single fruit company owns all the land and pays off the police, the nation functions as a banana republic.”
“Investors are often afraid to put money into a banana republic because the laws change whenever the leader needs more cash.”
“Economic instability and systemic corruption transformed the once-prosperous nation into a classic banana republic, where the government served only the interests of a few wealthy exporters.”
Examples
simple
“The country is a banana republic with no real laws.”
“The dictator runs the country like a banana republic to get rich.”
contextual
“The citizens protested against the corrupt leaders, claiming their nation had become a banana republic controlled by foreign companies.”
“Critics argue that when a single fruit company owns all the land and pays off the police, the nation functions as a banana republic.”
“Investors are often afraid to put money into a banana republic because the laws change whenever the leader needs more cash.”
complex
“Economic instability and systemic corruption transformed the once-prosperous nation into a classic banana republic, where the government served only the interests of a few wealthy exporters.”
Origin
Coined by American author O. Henry in 1901 in his short story Money Maze, set in the fictional "Anchuria", which was based on his 1896–97 stay in Honduras.
Key words
Related idioms
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