to sell the family silver

8.6

Give up valuable family items to solve money problems

idiom

: vender los bienes familiares

During the economic downturn, he regrettably chose to sell the family silver inherited from his grandparents.

Examples

Yes, he has smashed the piggy bank and sold the family silver.

Seabiscuit (2003)
They decided to sell the family silver to pay for their daughter's education.
In desperate times, many people are forced to sell the family silver just to make ends meet.

Synonyms

to sell off

vsto sell the family silver

57 3.5

To quickly get rid of things by offering them at low prices

is about parting with valuable sentimental things to get emergency cash

to liquidate

vsto sell the family silver

Specialized

25 7.3

To sell a company's goods and property to pay debts

is a personal sacrifice of sentimental possessions to raise emergency money

to sell up

vsto sell the family silver

1 5.5

Get money for all your things, often to move away or close a business

is narrower, focusing on parting with sentimental items to survive a short crisis

to liquidate investment

vsto sell the family silver

Specialized

6.4

To sell investments to get cash

is about parting with sentimental items to solve a short-term money crisis

to sell your birthright

vsto sell the family silver

8.2

To give up something very important for little or no value

is about sacrificing sentimental assets specifically to raise cash in hardship

to sell down

vsto sell the family silver

5.9

To find buyers for part of your shares or investments so you own less

is a choice to give up cherished items to meet urgent financial needs

Antonyms

to retain

236 3.4

To keep having something such as a job or possession

to hold on

72 1.6

To keep something instead of selling or giving it away

How Desperate

to sell the family silver

8.6

to sell up

1 5.5

to sell off

57 3.5

to sell

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

sell the family silver infinitive

sold the family silver past

sold the family silver past participle

selling the family silver present participle

sells the family silver third person singular

Morphology

sell + the + family + silver

The individual words ('sell' + 'family' + 'silver') transparently evoke the idea of selling valuable family-owned silver, so a B1 learner can infer selling important possessions. However, the idiomatic extension—that it means selling sentimental or long-term assets to resolve a financial crisis and can apply to non-silver items—is a figurative, culturally specific shift that is not fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom sell the family silver paints a simple picture: a family must sell its old silver plates or spoons, items kept in the family for many years, to pay urgent bills. So sell the family silver now means 'to sell valuable or special family things to get quick money in a crisis'.