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Smithfield match

A 1703 phrase for marriage of convenience, from a London livestock market

Smithfield in London hosted both the meat market (from the 12th century to today) and the Bartholomew Fair (1133–1855), which was the city’s biggest commercial fair. A “Smithfield match” came to mean a marriage struck primarily for money, on the metaphor that both spouses were being valued and traded like livestock at market. First recorded use 1703.

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