Coined by American authorO. Henry in 1901 in his short storyMoney Maze, set in the fictional "Anchuria", which was based on his 1896–97 stay inHonduras.
bananarepublic (pluralbanana republics)
- (politics, idiomatic, derogatory) A smallcountry, especially one inCentral America or theWest Indies, that is dependent on a singleexportcommodity (traditionallybananas) and that has acorrupt,dictatorialgovernment.
- Hypernym:kleptocracy
- Near-synonym:republiqueta
1901 May, O. Henry, “Money Maze”, inAinslee's Magazine[1], volume vii, number 4, New York, page305:At that time we had a treaty with about every foreign country except Belgium, and thatbanana republic, Anchuria.
2001, Cindy Forster,The Time of Freedom: Campesino Workers in Guatemala's October Revolution, University of Pittsburgh Press,→ISBN, page117:The banana workers of this formerbanana republic were exceptionally well organized and effective in their demands from the very beginning of the revolution.
2007 September 10, Marcel Berlins, “Media have rushed to judge Portuguese police”, inThe Guardian[2]:The McCanns, it is hinted and sometimes expressed explicitly, cannot possibly be treated fairly under this inadequate Portuguese system. There is a touch of arrogantxenophobia here, as if Portugal was some backwardbanana republic[…]
Unadapted borrowing fromEnglishbanana republic.
banana republic f (invariable)
- (rare, politics, idiomatic, derogatory)banana republic
- Synonym:repubblica delle banane
banana republic on Wikipedia.Wikipedia