land-office business

[ land-aw-fis, -of-is ]

noun

1. a lively, booming, expanding, or very profitable business.

land-office business

noun

1. informal.
   a booming or thriving business

Word History and Origins

Origin of land-office business¹

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Idioms and Phrases

A thriving, expanding, or very profitable concern or volume of trade. For example, After the storm they did a land-office business in snow shovels and rock salt . This term, dating from the 1830s, alludes to the throng of applicants to government land offices through which Western lands were sold. It has been used for other booming business since the mid-1800s.

Example Sentences

“It has the highest per capita consumption of ‘gourmet’ coffee beans … Now there are 35 Starbucks in the Seattle area that continue to do a land-office business.”

From Seattle Times

For days, department stores, electrical appliance stores, the Sherman Clay piano store, even the jewelry store Weisfield & Goldberg had been doing a land-office business selling new Philco 61F Olympic Special cabinet radios.

From Literature

Almost since the label was founded in 2008 it has done land-office business.

From New York Times

“They seem to be doing a land-office business,” observed Walter.

From Project Gutenberg

He even had letter heads and envelopes printed as though he might be doing a land-office business in purchasing such commodities.

From Project Gutenberg