Fire sale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A fire sale is the sale of goods at extremely discounted prices, typically when the seller faces bankruptcy or other impending distress. The term may originally have been based on the sale of goods at a heavy discount due to fire damage.
A fire sale may or may not be a closeout, the final sale of goods to zero inventory.
The sports term and attack method are derived from this term.
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[edit] History
According to Dictionary.com, the term originated in 1890-95 in New Zealand. The fire at Whitcombe and Tombs in Dunedin resulted in a "Fire Sale."
[edit] In popular culture
[edit] Arrested Development
Tobias Funke, a character from Arrested Development (TV series), auditioned for a commercial advertising an upcoming fire sale. However, Tobias did not realize that there was no actual fire involved in the sale. His audition piece consisted of a monologue by a character trapped in a burning building and trying to evacuate school children before eventually being killed by the blaze.
[edit] Live Free or Die Hard
In the film Live Free or Die Hard, fire sale was used as a hacker term meaning an attack on the infrastructure of the United States that would bring down all power, water, traffic, and other computer-controlled systems.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, referenced here by Peter Fonda
