sell like hot cakes
sell like hot cakes
Meaning
- be a great commercial success
- to dispose of something very quickly and with little effort
- to sell or get rid of large quantities of something very easily
Example Sentences
- These books are selling like hotcakes.
- John says that the new cars are selling like hotcakes.
- It is very hot outside. These ice lollies will sell like hotcakes.
- I am making cupcakes for the school fete. They always sell like hotcakes.
- The 2K model cars by BMW sold like hot cakes, and it was hard to produce them by company to fulfill the demands.
Origin
Hotcakes are an American invention dating back to the 1600s. It is the same thing as a crepe that has been around since the 1400s. They were loved by the English when encountered at French fairs. The term has been used since about 1839.
There is no clear origin. However, hotcakes are always a stable at any fair and sells out rather quickly. It is easy to believe that this has been the trend since they were first invented.
An alternate origin story is that it hails from Shrove Tuesday. This is the day before lent. On this day people would cook all of the things that they would be denying themselves during lent. This included butter, fat and all such things. People would then overindulge in things like hotcakes.