dirty business
A phrase that covers a lot of ground depending on tone and context.
Seen in the wild
Dirty Business: Extent of public anger at water companies and regulators revealed in Defra analysis www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/...
I didn't watch Dirty Business but I did see the Led By Donkeys video from Tory times. Not sure the films have the same message but it was enough! Disgusted from Tunbridge Wells. youtu.be/ui90HkEhvs0?...
SURPRISE! Learning Japanese with Pokemon Red will be TONIGHT at 6:30 PM ET instead of Friday! Let's put a stop to the mafia's dirty business under Celadon's Game Corner! お会いできるのを楽しみに! #Pokemon #LearnJapanese YouTube:…
UK’s Dirty Business: Extent of public anger at water companies and regulators revealed in Defra analysis. blue-community.net/b...
Definitions
A phrase that covers a lot of ground depending on tone and context. In its everyday sense, dirty business refers to underhanded, unethical, or morally compromised dealings — the kind of shady conduct that makes people uncomfortable. In more explicit slang use, it's a euphemism for anal sex. The beauty of the phrase is how cleanly it inhabits both registers, letting speakers be deliberately ambiguous. Which meaning is intended usually becomes clear quickly from context and the company you're keeping.
He admitted it was dirty business, but claimed everyone in the industry operated the same way.
Comments
(slang) anal sex.
“Dirty Business: Extent of public anger at water companies and regulators revealed in Defra analysis www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I didn't watch Dirty Business but I did see the Led By Donkeys video from Tory times. Not sure the films have the same message but it was enough! Disgusted from Tunbridge Wells. youtu.be/ui90HkEhvs0?...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“SURPRISE! Learning Japanese with Pokemon Red will be TONIGHT at 6:30 PM ET instead of Friday! Let's put a stop to the mafia's dirty business under Celadon's Game Corner! お会いできるのを楽しみに! #Pokemon #LearnJapanese YouTube: youtube.com/live/c0PxFPS... Twitch: www.twitch.tv/dylusc”
— Bluesky· May 2026“UK’s Dirty Business: Extent of public anger at water companies and regulators revealed in Defra analysis. blue-community.net/b...”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
Show 1 more dictionary-style sense (imported)
the practice of unethical methods.
Comments
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Other words near "dirty business" (D)
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(slang) Sexual intercourse or other sexual activity.
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(slang, idiomatic) ; misconduct; underhandedness.
- do the dirty on67%
(idiomatic, transitive, UK, Australia, informal) To treat (someone) in an unfair manner; to cheat or betray.
- do business67%
(slang) to urinate or defecate.