'long-suffering business'?

[Mehrgan]

Hi,
Can 'long-suffering' be used for 'things' too? I've googled the combination and there were just a few examples, which I'm still not sure about. Thanks in advance.

 

[SoothingDave]

Can a business suffer? I think it can.

 

[Mehrgan]

Thanks for the reply. Please kindly correct me if I'm wrong. I think as long as business refers to a commercial organisation it could be a long-suffering one, but maybe it's not the right choice when it refers to the act of trade. Is that right?

 

[SoothingDave]

I think it is possible either way, but more likely to be talking about a particular organization.

 

[Mehrgan]

I'm so sorry if I'm pushing it too far! :-( Could you, as a native speaker, please give me one or two other words (things) which you've heard used with 'long-suffering'? I usually check them in BNC, but no results this time. Cheers!

 

[SoothingDave]

I can't think of any off-hand. It is unusual, that is for sure. The only things I can think of are "things" that are actually organizations or groups of people.

 

[Rover_KE]

The first few pages of the FrazeIt website entry for 'long-suffering' finds examples including franchise, construction sector, financial sector, auto industry and US housing market.

I'm sure there are many more.

Rover