Title and, essentially, the main non-person character of an Iain Banks book published in 1999. The business is a centuries-old corporation which quietly runs much of the world. At one point, briefly, it owned the Roman Empire.

The Business, as described in the book, is probably the single fuzziest and good-hearted conspiracy theory going. It also is a view of globalisation which disputes a blind watchmaker.

A term used to give praise to something — in the same family as "the cat's pajamas" or "the bee's knees".

For the best effect it should be voiced in italics.

Example of correct usage:

"This bruscetta is the business!"

I was first introduced to this phrase by an English woman I met in Kathmandu, Nepal.

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