Black Friday

noun

• 1(in the US) the day after Thanksgiving, noted as the first day of traditional Christmas shopping, during which crowds of consumers are drawn to special offers by retailers: folks were lining up to buy $30 DVD players at Wal-Mart on Black Friday

  [originally with reference to the congestion of shoppers in commercial districts; later explained as a day when retailers’ accounts went from being in the red to being in the black]

• 2Friday, September 24, 1869, when an attempt by a few speculators to corner the US gold market was thwarted by President Ulysses S. Grant’s release of government gold for sale, making gold prices plummet and creating a panic in the stock market.