cottage industry

American  

noun

1. the production, for sale, of goods at home, as the making of handicrafts by rural families.

2. any small-scale, loosely organized industry.

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cottage industry British  

noun

1. an industry in which employees work in their own homes, often using their own equipment

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Etymology

Origin of cottage industry

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

There’s a whole cottage industry dedicated to determining which 15- and 16-year-olds are going to turn into the best football players in college, but every year someone extraordinary falls through the cracks.

From The Wall Street Journal

Preparing for the test is sufficiently daunting that it has spawned a cottage industry of specialized agencies that help AI companies pass, much like preparing for an SAT exam, people familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal

So much has been written about “Heat” that individual scenes have become cottage industries.

From Los Angeles Times

Thankfully, a cottage industry of podcast sages has sprung up to parse the chaos for us.

From Los Angeles Times

The trend has spawned a cottage industry of e-books, Zoom workshops by “vaccine friendly” doctors offering alternative schedules, bespoke inoculations and post-vaccine detox regimens.

From Los Angeles Times