Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Swedish term or phrase:
att arbeta svart
English translation:
work in the black ecomomy
Added to glossary by
stephen mewes
Apr 18, 2006 14:41
18 yrs ago
Swedish term
United Kingdom
MA, BA, 20 years' freelance experience
Native in: English
Works in: Swedish to English, Danish to English, Norwegian to English
att arbeta svart
Swedish to English
Social Sciences
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
I don't think that 'working on the black' is very good English.
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+1
28 mins
Selected
work in the black ecomomy
Working in the black economy is a fairly standard expression in the UK. It is more than just the black market - it means any economic activity that does not come to the attention of the authorities, and ranges from drug smuggling at the criminal end, to arguably lesser crimes like translators doing a translation job for an overseas client but not reporting it to the Inland Revenue.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 29 mins (2006-04-18 15:11:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
it's the economy, not the ecomomy, stupid !
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 29 mins (2006-04-18 15:11:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
it's the economy, not the ecomomy, stupid !
Reference:
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+3
8 mins
Working on the black market
seems reasonably common
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Lars Jelking
2 hrs
|
|
thank-you
|
|
| agree |
Lucia M
5 hrs
|
|
thank-you
|
|
| agree |
Helen Johnson
17 hrs
|
|
thank-you
|
+2
9 mins
Kathy Saranpa
Finland
Finland
Native in English
Works in field
Finland
Yale PhD, legal/medical spec.
Native in: English 
Works in: Swedish to English, Finnish to English, German to English, and 1 more.
to work under the table
either because you don't have the proper permit or because you don't want the tax liability
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
lo nathamundi
: if you would rather not use a particular color as a way of describing what is legal and illegal, then 'under the table' seems like a good choice. ojinaga's suggestion also seems like a good direct description of what it is. untaxed? nontaxed?
9 hrs
|
| agree |
Thor Truelson
: This is the proper American term for this phenomenon. I don't know what they say in the UK.
1 day 1 hr
|
40 mins
have an undeclared employment
That is what it means as the ones engaged in this kind of activities do not declare their income to avoid income taxes.
2 days 5 hrs
Madelen Neikter
Native in Swedish
Specializes in field
Highly professional
Native in: Swedish
Works in: English to Swedish, Swedish to English
working for cash in hand/doing a foreigner
...cash in hand - surely!!??!!
Discussion