sell (redirected from selling up)

be past your sell-by date

if someone is past their sell-by date, they are not wanted or useful any more because they are too old. There's plenty of time to have a baby, I'm not past my sell-by date yet.

See also: date, past

go/sell like hot cakes

if things are going like hot cakes, people are buying a lot of them very fast. The book has only just been published and copies are already selling like hot cakes in both Britain and America. (often in continuous tenses)

See also: cake, hot, like

the hard sell

a method of trying very hard to persuade someone to buy something even if they do not want to. All I did was ask for a price list and a carpet salesman started giving me the hard sell.

See also: hard

pile it/them high and sell it/them cheap (mainly British)

to sell large amounts of something at cheap prices. The shops at the lower end of the clothing market have survived by piling it high and selling it cheap.

See also: cheap, high, pile, them

sell someone a bill of goods (American)

to make someone believe something that is not true. Politicians have sold all of us a bill of goods, that if we put more people in prison we're going to be safer. The electrician said I'd need the outdoor lighting on a different circuit - is he just selling me a bill of goods?

See also: bill, good

sell someone down the river

to do something which harms or disappoints someone who trusted you, in order to get an advantage for yourself. A lot of people feel they have been sold down the river by a government who have failed to keep their pre-election promises.

See also: down

sell someone/something short

to not value someone or something as much as they deserve to be valued. I'm fed up with people selling this country short. 'Who'd employ me at my age?' 'Don't sell yourself short! You're intelligent and you've got loads of experience.' (often reflexive)

See also: short

sell your soul (to the devil)

to do something bad in order to succeed or get money or power. As far as Mike was concerned, he badly wanted the job and he'd sell his soul to the devil to get it.

See also: soul

the soft sell

the hard sell - a method of trying very hard to persuade someone to buy something even if they do not want to. We prefer to use the soft sell on our customers. We simply explain the insurance packages and leave them to decide for themselves.

See also: soft

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sell someone a bill of goods

to lie about something. He sold the FBI a bill of goods to stay out of jail himself.

See also: bill, good

sell someone down the river

to do something that hurts someone who trusted you. Workers complained that their leaders sold them down the river in the latest contract negotiations.

sell out someone/something

See also: down

sell like hotcakes

to sell quickly and in large numbers. Since word got out about the Perry case, the book has been selling like hot cakes.

See also: like

sell out

to accept money to stop following your principles. So many musicians simply sell out to the demands of the industry and abandon their art.

sell out (of something)

to sell all of something, so that there is none left. We sold out of the souvenir T-shirts in the first couple of hours. During the summer the campgrounds are sold out each night. Her cruises regularly book up months in advance and almost always sell out.

sell out someone/something

to stop being loyal to someone or something. He accused Congress of selling out the American people to lawyers who opposed the bill. I could sell you all out and go straight to the police with this information.

Usage notes: often money is the advantage that is gotten: Anyone who would sell out his own country for money deserves to go to prison for life.

sell someone/something short

to not appreciate the qualities of someone or something as much as they deserve. I think her presentation really sold Morocco short.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the form sell yourself short not have reasonable confidence in your abilities: She doesn't succeed in interviews because she always sells herself short.

See also: short

sell your soul (to the devil)

to accept immoral behavior in order to succeed. If the day comes when I begin to sell my soul like the other managers do, that's the day I'll quit.

Etymology: from the literal idea of exchanging your soul (= spirit) with the devil (= the origin of evil) to get something you want

See also: soul