a banana republic
Meaning: A small, politically unstable country dominated by a corrupt elite or foreign business.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Rigging the vote like that is what you'd expect in a banana republic.”
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Coined by the American writer O. Henry in Cabbages and Kings (1904), about a fictional Central American country modeled on Honduras, whose economy depended on banana exports controlled by foreign companies.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Une république bananière — literally: A banana republic
More idioms — Food & Drink
- drain the cup to the dregs — To endure a hardship or humiliation to the very end.
- the icing on the cake — An extra good thing added to something already good.
- take with a grain of salt — To be skeptical about something; not to take it entirely at face value.
- I could eat a horse — I am extremely hungry.
- there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip — Many things can go wrong before a plan succeeds.
- born with a silver spoon in one's mouth — Born into a wealthy, privileged family.
More English idioms
- pick holes in — To find small faults in something, often unfairly.
- go under the knife — To have a surgical operation.
- take someone down a peg — To make an arrogant person more humble.
- you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy — People keep the habits and character of where they grew up.
- go to Canossa — To humble oneself and submit to an opponent.
- a captain of industry — A powerful business leader who runs a major company.
From our compliments & insults
- Du hast ein Händchen dafür — You have a real knack — a natural gift that makes difficult things look easy.
- Du hast Köpfchen — You're sharp and clever — you use your brain well.
- Du bist klasse — You're brilliant — excellent, impressive, top-notch.