to fly off the shelf
7
3.9
- phrasal verb
:
venderse como pan caliente
- These things keep flying off the shelves as fast as we can stock them.
- merchandise is flying off the shelves
- toys fly off the shelves
- products are flying off the shelves
So those have been flying off the shelves.
- So those have been flying off the shelves.
- But the modern exotic stuff was absolutely flying off the shelves.
Examples
-
Give us a good 'Pixar' quality movie I can take my kids to, and Transformer toys will fly off the shelves.
Blog text (12) -
I sell a wine called Mangria, which is flying off the shelves.
Blog text (17) -
You need to bring your book tour to Chicago because your books would fly off the shelves!
Blog text (17) -
The book flew off the shelves to become the most successful zombie-themed fiction to that point.
Academic text (2010) -
Orchid Seed's figures seem to almost always be popular, and they often get recolors that also fly off the shelves.
Blog text (21) -
Grocery stores hum as delicacies of the season fly off the shelves.
Blog text (15) -
Whoa, boss, these Mojo Dojo Casa Houses are literally flying off the shelves.
-
"Smaller units are flying off the shelf," said Matt Steenhoek, Associate Development Director with Hoffman-Madison Waterfront.
Blog text (5) -
The Hazelwood High Trilogy by Sharon Draper flies off the shelf as well.
Blog text (13) -
The latest smartphone model is flying off the shelves due to its innovative features.
Synonyms
86
3.0
To become successful or popular very quickly
26
3.4
To become very popular quickly, often online
23
4.4
To quickly become very popular and liked by many people
5
3.7
To become very popular quickly, especially online
1
3.3
To be bought quickly by many people
1
7.2
Many people buy it very quickly
To sell very quickly in large numbers
Become very popular or successful very quickly
To become very popular with customers and sell a lot very quickly
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally evokes items rapidly moving away from a shelf—combining 'fly' (move quickly) + 'off' (away from) + 'shelf' offers a clear image that something leaves the shelf fast. However, mapping that image to the specific commercial sense 'to sell very quickly' is a metaphorical/pragmatic shift that may not be fully predictable without some real-world (retail) knowledge, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Fly off the shelf may come from the picture of products that look like they fly off a store shelf when many customers grab them quickly. That's why it now means 'to sell very quickly' or 'become suddenly very popular'.