Meanings
- derogatoryA policy that prohibits building anything that could disturb those who already reside in an area.
Clearly it is tempting to say "no more pipelines" or to adopt the BANANA principle — Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody.
1994, United States Congress House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Energy and Power, Pipeline safety3 more examples
When it comes to nuclear facilities, the NIMBY (notin-my-backyard) principle has evolved into the BANANA principle; “build-absolutely-nothing-anywhere-near-anything.”
2008, Tamás Farkas, The Investor's Guide to the Energy Revolution, →ISBN, page 61Faburel (2003) describes a general trend away from the NIMBY ('not in my backyard') attitude towards the BANANA principle ('build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody').
2009, Saulo Cwerner, Sven Kesselring, John Urry, Aeromobilities, →ISBNIn an uncommon show of humor in a government report, it says this: "What used to be termed the 'not-in-my-backyard' (NIMBY) principle has evolved into the 'build-absolutely-nothing-anywhere-near-anything' (BANANA) principle, which is increasingly being applied to facilities of any type, including low-income housing, cellular phone towers, prisons, sports stadiums, water treatment facilities, airports, hazardous waste facilities, and even new fire houses."
2011, Joel Salatin, Folks, This Ain't Normal, →ISBN
Origin
Initialism of "build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything".
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
BANANA principle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/BANANA%20principle
“BANANA principle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/BANANA%20principle. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “BANANA principle,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/BANANA%20principle.
Source: BANANA principle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.