bad business
11
5.3
- noun
:
prácticas empresariales poco éticas
- Dropping so much functionality in the name of streamlining isn't just frustrating; it's bad business.
- bad business decisions
- bad business deals
- bad business practices
So I think gig of Own was more a victim of its own bad business practices versus like a trend of these things going on.
- So I think gig of Own was more a victim of its own bad business practices versus like a trend of these things going on.
- And then things like being aware of and I and I say shady, I mean, like they were doing some bad business and I had to distance myself from that.
Examples
-
Printing money allows a bad business to stay open without making changes.
Blog text (30) -
IT'S SIMPLY BAD BUSINESS PRACTICE.
-
It's bad business turning us away.
-
And they had a family gift for bad business decisions.
Fiction book (1992) -
Failure to do so is just bad business; no, make that TERRIBLE business.
Blog text (7) -
If it took any more, then that would be a bad business model.
Blog text (9) -
With all the bad business going on down at Special Branch.
Fiction book (2002) -
I am tired of bad business practices, and I do not take these things lightly anymore.
Blog text (33) -
Bank presidents began realizing that dealing with money launderers was simply bad business.
Academic text (1994) -
Turning a blind eye to unethical practices is considered bad business in the industry.
Synonyms
355
4.8
Dishonest or illegal actions by people in power, like taking bribes
4
5.6
Dishonest actions in business or money matters
1
6.3
Dishonest behavior in business or money matters
How Ethical
11
5.3
355
4.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a direct composition of 'bad' (morally wrong/poor) + 'business' (commercial activity), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to unethical, harmful, or poorly managed commercial practice. This adjective+noun pattern is compositional and cross-linguistically common rather than idiomatic, making the meaning immediately accessible from the parts.
Etymology
Bad business may come from the simple image of a shop or company that treats customers badly, where bad describes the business's actions, like selling poor goods, cheating people, or failing to keep promises. So calling something bad business means it is 'unfair', 'harmful', or 'dishonest'.