risky business
9
4.4
- noun
- Informal
:
negocio arriesgado
- Being a journalist in a war zone is a risky business due to the dangers involved.
Making art is a risky business, and all choices carry their risks.
- Making art is a risky business, and all choices carry their risks.
- And these are sort of risky businesses that are taking on really high interest short term debt that's bad.
- But I would argue it's very risky business.
- So there's a a variety of reasons, but I have to say this, it's a very risky business.
Examples
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Diplomacy can be a risky business in parts of the world.
Blog text (12) -
Attempting to uphold a semblance of basic humanitarian rights under Assad's rule is risky business.
Blog text (15) -
The music industry is a risky business.
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Making art is a risky business, and all choices carry their risks.
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Investors nationwide should take note and end their support of this risky business.
Blog text (21) -
A group of my neighbors, my family, and I began the risky business of cleaning up the road.
Blog text (1) -
From a business standpoint, that makes helping mankind a very risky business.
Fiction book (1990) -
Now human rights defenders understand that there is a risky business, that there are inherently risks involved in doing this work.
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Really, if you've ever tried to pull one off, you know guerrilla marketing campaigns are risky business.
Blog text (12) -
For the threespine stickleback, mating can be a risky business.
Academic text (1990)
Synonyms
271
5.1
A business or project that involves risk and possible loss
65
3.5
A risky action with an uncertain result that may depend on chance
44
2.9
A time when people could be hurt or killed
13
3.8
An area or situation where people are likely to be hurt
4
5.5
A situation with very big risks and important results for people involved
1
4.6
An activity or plan that may fail and cause a big loss
1
6.3
An action or plan that has a high risk of causing serious harm
An activity that is risky and has an uncertain result
A situation that has big risks and serious results for the people involved, like a trial or business deal
How Risky
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'risky' modifies 'business' to indicate an activity or matter involving risk or danger. The noun 'business' in the sense of 'affair/activity' is a common, cross-linguistically available sense, so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the phrase's meaning.
Etymology
Risky business shows a simple image: a business, an activity or deal, that is risky, like carrying a bag of money down a dark street. So, it means 'a situation with a lot of risk'.