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flea market

 
Dictionary: flea market
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n.
A market, usually held outdoors, where antiques, used household goods, and curios are sold.

[Translation of French marché aux puces, market with fleas.]


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Business Dictionary: Flea Market
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Home > Library > Business & Finance > Business Dictionary

An open-air display of goods, usually secondhand.

Idioms: flea market
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Home > Library > Literature & Language > Idioms

A market, usually held outdoors, where used goods and antiques are sold. For example, We picked up half of our furniture at flea markets. The term is a direct translation of the French marché aux puces and presumably implies that some of the used clothes and furniture might be flea-infested. [1920s]

Wikipedia: Flea market
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"Swap Meet" redirects here. For CSI episode, see Swap Meet (CSI).
Flea Market in Germany
Wolff's Flea Market in the United States

A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent.[1] The flea market vendors may range from a family that is renting a table for the first time to sell a few unwanted household items to a commercial operation including a large variety of used merchandise, scouts who rove the region buying items for sale from garage sales and other flea markets, and several staff watching the stalls.

Many flea markets have food vendors who sell snacks and drinks to the patrons,[2] and may be associated with carnivals or concerts.[3] Some have become infamous as outlets for bootleg movies and music[4][5] or knockoff brand clothing, accessories, or fragrances.[6][7]

History

The origins of the term are disputed,[8][9] but some have observed that buyers and sellers may be as active as fleas,[10] or that the original people and goods were infested.[11] According to Word and Phrase Origins, the term was derived from the "Vallie Market" of Manhattan.[12]

The original flea market may be the Marché aux puces ("market with fleas" in French) of Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is a large, long-established outdoor bazaar, one of four in Paris. From the late 17th century, the makeshift open-air market in the town of Saint-Ouen began as temporary stalls and benches among the fields and market gardens where ragpickers exchanged their findings for a small sum.[13]

See also

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Flea markets

References

  1. ^ Berman, Barry; Joel R. Evans (2000). "F Glossary". Retail Management: A Strategic Approach. Prentice-Hall, Inc.. http://www.prenhall.com/rm_student/html/glossary/f_gloss.html. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  2. ^ "How to Become a Flea Market Vendor". StyleCareer.com. Afton Institute, LLC. 2008. http://www.stylecareer.com/about_us.shtml. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  3. ^ Panizzi, Tawnya (July 3, 2008). "Residents flock to festivals, flea markets, concerts". YourFoxChapel.com (The Tribune-Review Publishing Co). http://www.yourfoxchapel.com/herald/article/residents-flock-festivals-flea-markets-concerts. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  4. ^ Mitchell, Bob (2008). "Police bust nets $800K in pirated DVDs". TheStar.com (Toronto Star). http://www.thestar.com/News/article/248396. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  5. ^ Roberts, Bob (December 17, 2005). "Swap-O-Rama Raid Spoils Christmas Shopping For Bootleg Recordings". WBBM Newsradio 780 (CBS Radio). http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/857.php. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  6. ^ Jonsson, Patrik (February 14, 2007). "Flood of knockoff merchandise triggers a wider crackdown across US". The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0214/p02s01-usec.html. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  7. ^ Coleman, Toby (January 28, 2007). "Flea market busted for fakes". The News & Observer. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/537153.html. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  8. ^ Stokes, Jerry (2008). "Origin of the term flea market". Helium.com. Helium, Inc.. http://www.helium.com/items/676847-origin-of-the-term-flea-market. Retrieved 2008-10-11. 
  9. ^ Oliver, Margie and Richard (2006). "Origin Of The Term “Flea Market”". Antique Clock Guy. The Clock Guy Antique Brokerage. http://www.clockguy.com/SiteRelated/SiteReferencePages/FleaMarket.html. Retrieved 2008-10-11. 
  10. ^ "RL Glossary: F". RL Style Guide. Ralph Lauren. August 23, 2005. http://style.polo.com/glossary/default.asp?letter=F. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  11. ^ "What is a Flea Market?". wiseGEEK. Conjecture Corporation. 2008. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-flea-market.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
  12. ^ "Flea Markets in Arkansas". Arkansas Arts and Crafts. Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism. 2006. http://www.arkansas.com/arts-crafts/flea-markets/. Retrieved 2008-10-11. 
  13. ^ "Paris Flea Market Tips and Hints". ParisPerfect. http://www.parisperfect.com/paris-flea-markets/text/paris-flea-markets.html. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Business Dictionary. Dictionary of Business Terms. Copyright © 2000 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Flea market".  Read more