monopoly

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have a monopoly on (something)

To be the only one who has or possesses something. If that company thinks that they can have a monopoly on telephone service, they're in for a rude awakening!
See also: have, monopoly, on

Monopoly money

1. A sum of money that has little or no importance to a person. A reference to the paper play money used in the board game Monopoly. He dropped nearly 30 grand on a single watch, but he's so loaded that it's just Monopoly money to him
2. Bills of currency printed on bright, multicolored paper. (In contrast to the simple green and white color of American currency.) Even after four years, I could never get used to the Monopoly money they use up in Canada.
See also: money, monopoly
References in periodicals archive ?
prohibited government-granted monopolies in their state constitutions,
Monopolies and the constitution: a history of crony capitalism
Zurabyan pointed out that the monopolies existing in the country are the result of the Government's criminal activities.
Head of parliamentary group of Armenian National Congress accuses Government of patronizing monopolies and fostering corruption
However, patent and product-based monopolies are becoming less and less effective, for a number of reasons.
"Monopoly thinking" can make your R&D more effective: situational monopolies rely on changing customer needs and competitor inertia to generate superior growth and profits, often in mature, "commodity" industries
Public-interest advocates don't want to risk releasing power to the monopolies built up by past legislation.
Electric Visions
Many of the complaints about Standard came from medium-sized refiners that lost cozy local monopolies to Standard's rationalizing and price cutting.
The new trustbusters: what's behind the resurgence of antitrust activism - and why it's bad news for consumers
It illustrated how new technology and consumer demand are transforming telecommunications, overcoming barriers to competition, and undermining old monopolies.
Talk is cheap
And, of course, private companies without legally protected monopolies can't just raise their prices when costs climb.
Mail fraud
Franchise rules and entry regulation shore up existing monopolies.
Communication cleanup: a freedom of information act
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