Idiomatic for Sales force

5 Shopping Idioms for Black Friday

written by Miranda González

This Thursday is a big deal in the U.S. because it’s Thanksgiving! (Mmm…pumpkin pie!) However, serious shoppers may be even more excited about the day that follows, Black Friday. If you love looking for a good sale (or even if you don’t!), you’ll enjoy learning about these idioms that are all about shopping.

To be in the black – to be making a profit

It used to be that accounting ledgers had two types of ink: red for expenses, and black for income. Thus, if you are in the black, you are not in debt and your income is more than your expenses.

Example: It’s called Black Friday because retailers are in the black after a large amount of shoppers spend money at their stores.

Doorbusters - unusually low-priced items used to attract customers to a store

If a sale is really good, customers will often line up at the door to wait for a store to open. When an employee finally opens the store, shoppers burst through the doors  (practically breaking them) to make sure that they get one of the cheap items before they run out.

Example: Wow, a pair of jeans for $5? That really is a doorbuster!

To slash prices – to decrease the price of something dramatically

Retailers love to use this idiom to show that you will be getting a really good deal. To use this term, prices should be reduced by a significant amount, like 25, 50, or even 75 percent.

Example: We’ve slashed the price on this blender. It was $40, but now it’s only $20!

To go window-shopping – To look at items without buying them

Some stores have a window where a display of merchandise is set up. You can look through windows to admire things you might buy at some point in the future, but you don’t plan to buy right then. This idiom can now also be used for looking at items anywhere in the store with no intention to buy; it doesn’t necessarily have to be through a window.

Example: Vicky did a lot of window-shopping several weeks before Black Friday so that she would know exactly what to buy when the sales began.

To shop till you drop – to go on a long, exhausting shopping trip

If you go to a lot of stores and spend a lot of time and energy shopping, you quite literally might drop (collapse) from exhaustion.

Example: I’m not going home until I get all of my Christmas shopping done. I’m going to shop till I drop.

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Speaking of shopping

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