English

Alternative forms

• bucketshop

Noun

bucket shop ‎(plural bucket shops)

1. (finance, pejorative, obsolete) A stockbroking firm which takes small orders from clients and takes them on its own account rather than actually transmitting them to the market. Prevalent in the US 1870s to 1920s; often setup as shop-fronts in the 1920s.
2. (pejorative, finance) A stockbroking firm which sells stock to clients when it has an undisclosed relationship with that company or its owners.
3. (travel, dated) a travel agency selling discounted airfares, usually in defiance of existing minimum fare arrangements. Now usually refers to any small cheap agency.
4. (law) a legal services firm selling heavily discounted legal services and documents made in large volume from boilerplate text and clauses, sometimes as a white labelled loss leader

Usage notes

(Law / Finance) Traditionally understood as pejorative and with implications of fraud.

See also

• wirehouse