sell like hot cakes, to

sell like hot cakes

To sell very quickly. We had to order a second shipment of shirts because they have just been selling like hot cakes!See also: cake, hot, like, sell

sell like hot cakes

BRITISH or

sell like hotcakes

mainly AMERICANIf things sell like hot cakes, people buy large quantities of them in a short time. The software is selling like hot cakes. Her products sold like hotcakes. Note: You can also say that things go like hot cakes. The salesman says they've been going like hot cakes. Note: In American English, `hotcakes' are pancakes, while in British English `hot cakes' are cakes which have just been baked. See also: cake, hot, like, sell

sell (or go) like hot cakes

be sold quickly and in large quantities.See also: cake, hot, like, sell

sell like hot cakes, to

To be a great commercial success. Hot cakes, an American name for griddle cakes or pancakes since the late seventeenth century—William Penn wrote of “hot cakes and new corn” in 1683—are an extremely popular item at church sales, fairs, and similar events where food stands play an important role. Consequently, they tend to sell out as quickly as they are cooked. By the mid-nineteenth century the term had been transferred to any item that was selling extremely well. Just before the outbreak of the Civil War, O. J. Victor wrote (Southern Rebellion, 1860), “Revolvers and patent fire-arms are selling like hot cakes.”See also: hot, like, sell