sell someone a bill of goods
sell (one) a bill of goods
To attempt to convince one of a lie, especially in order to take unfair advantage of them; to swindle or con one. He said he would sell my bike and bring me back the profits, but he sold me a bill of goods—I never heard from him again! So you told me you would study harder if I got you that new video game, but your grades got even worse. Looks like you sold me a bill of goods!
See also: bill, good, of, sell
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
sell someone a bill of goods
deceive or swindle someone, usually by persuading them to accept something untrue or undesirable.A bill of goods is a consignment of merchandise.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) There was no production bonus…We were sold a bill of goods.
See also: bill, good, of, sell, someone
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
sell someone a bill of goods, to
To cheat or defraud someone. A “bill of goods,” in commercial language, is a quantity or consignment of merchandise. Selling it here means persuading someone to accept something undesirable. The term dates from the early twentieth century. The playwright Eugene O’Neill used it in Marco Millions (1924), “Selling a big bill of goods hereabouts, I’ll wager, you old rascals?” Or, in the Toronto Globe and Mail (Feb. 17, 1968), “There was no production bonus . . . we were sold a bill of goods.”
See also: bill, of, sell, someone
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- 1FTR
- drive (one) out of office
- force (one) out of office
- force out of office
- give (one) (one's) head
- give head
- give somebody their head
- give someone their head
- cooking for one
- get/put one over on somebody/something