Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of or being a small business that is typically owned and run by members of a family: a mom-and-pop grocery store.
- adj. Resembling or evocative of the small-scale, homelike, or informal atmosphere of such a business: "toasted the advantages of mom-and-pop journalism” ( Newsweek).
Wiktionary
- adj. Small or unsophisticated, as a business that is run by a couple.
Examples
“Apparently Occupy Wall Street protesters around the country are planning protests at big box stores and other national retailers in order to either A) help spur on the imminent downfall of capitalism or B) protest consumerism in a materialist world or C) divert shoppers away from their shopping location of choice and toward so-called mom-and-pop shops.”
“It created a market for stock funds in Korea--changing the way mom-and-pop investors thought about stocks--where before all the action was in bond funds.”
“Chong Sik Lee, president of The Korean-American Grocers Association of New York, tells the Times that his membership has decreased by half from a decade ago and that "In 10 years, there will be no more Korean mom-and-pop stores.”
The Huffington Post: A New York Fixture, Korean Stores Are Closing Across New York
“Meanwhile, bread-and-butter trading clients from hedge-fund managers to mom-and-pop investors are doing less buying and selling, depriving firms of commissions and fees.”
“Private mom-and-pop landowners own about 60% of Georgia's forests, and their timber investments are often family heritages, their children's college tuition funds or their retirement savings.”
The Wall Street Journal: Fires and Drought Fell South's Timber
“Banks are usually faster than mom-and-pop sellers to cut prices in order to unload properties quickly.”
The Wall Street Journal: Rental Options Sought On Foreclosed Homes
“Most of these businesses—the small mom-and-pop operations—I'm going to guess don't have the luxury of that type of insurance coverage," says Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden.”
“Alibaba operates consumer-bartering website Taobao Marketplace and retail website Taobao Mall, where businesses ranging from mom-and-pop operators to well-known retail like Gap Inc. sell goods.”
The Wall Street Journal: China Objects to U.S. 'Notorious Markets' Designation for Taobao
“It not only shapes the blocks and writes the skyline, but also aims to curb obesity by offering incentives for fresh-food markets in low-income neighborhoods; buck up the mom-and-pop store; and promote an astonishing range of other quality-of-life benefits.”
“CBS Sports executives are now hoping to create a hub for this universe of mom-and-pop fantasy operators by letting them build products that will live on CBSSports.com.”
The Wall Street Journal: CBS Sports Opens Site to App Makers
Lists
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Tweets
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chained_bear I know my Dad didn't invent this phrase, but it makes me think of him whenever I hear it. Oct 10, 2007