| contempt. |
a small country, especially one in Central America or the West Indies, that is dependent on a single export commodity traditionally bananas and that has a corrupt, dictatorial government (The phrase "banana republic" was coined in 1904 by the American writer O. Henry: At that time we had a treaty with about every foreign country except Belgium, and that banana republic, Anchuria. (O. Henry, 1901) • The banana workers of this former banana republic were exceptionally well organized and effective in their demands from the very beginning of the revolution. (2001)  wiktionary.org) |
