释义 |
free enterpriseSomething that one pursues, often illegally, as a means to personal gain. Did you hear that she's started dabbling in some free enterprise and selling things on the black market? free enterpriseAlso, private enterprise. An undertaking on one's own behalf, especially a shady or illegal one. For example, The city treasurer didn't bother with competitive bids; the spirit of free enterprise just led him to his brother-in-law , or The sergeant indulged in a little private enterprise, selling cigarettes on the black market . This sarcastic application of a term that has meant, since about 1885, the freedom of private businesses to operate competitively for profit with a minimum of government control, dates from the mid-1900s. |