Chrysti The Wordsmith: Sell Like Hotcakes

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith. When I asked a vendor at a recent farmer's market if he had any corn left he explained. Nope all gone they sold like hotcakes this morning. I smiled at the image of corn selling like hotcakes. I don't know about you but I've never witnessed a frantic trade in those confections. Nevertheless I have faith in the idea of something selling like hotcakes even corn on the cob. Why. Well because the expression is solidly entrenched in American English. According to the Oxford English Dictionary one of the earliest citations of this phrase occurs in 1839 which means my great great grandmother may have heard or used the expression selling like hotcakes. The various phrase an idiom dictionaries that I consulted outline similar origins of the explanation. I like what James Rodgers says in his dictionary of cliches published in 1905 by wings books. Quote The hot cake isn't a notably big seller in modern times but the phrase dates back from the

19th century before the hot dog and the ice cream cone were available in public places such as fairs presumably the hot cake then had much less competition on quote. And so any popular item that moves effortlessly in great quantity sells like the hot cakes in our great grandmother's day. And according to the vendor at my local farmer's market like fresh picked corn on the cob. I'm Christie the wordsmith from Montana State University in Bozeman Christie the wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.