subs. phr. (common).—A swindling association, enterprise or project. The South Sea BUBBLE will occur to mind in this connection: see BUBBLE.
1754. B. MARTIN, English Dictionary (2 ed.). BUBBLE … (5) (in Commerce), a cant name given to certain projects for raising money on imaginary grounds.
1880. HAWLEY SMART, Social Sinners, xix. My inheritance disappears as if it had been invested in a BUBBLE company.
