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under the hammer



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Idioms and Phrases

For sale, as in These paintings and Oriental rugs must come under the hammer if we're to pay the mortgage . This expression alludes to the auctioneer's hammer, which is rapped to indicate a completed transaction. [Mid-1800s]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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