encyclopedia salesman
Door-to-door bookman
An encyclopedia salesman is someone who sells encyclopedias door-to-door, a once-common occupation now largely extinct.
Before the internet made information freely accessible, families purchased multivolume encyclopedia sets—often expensive—from traveling salespeople.
The phrase now evokes mid-twentieth-century American domesticity and aggressive sales tactics: He had the patter of an encyclopedia salesman.
It sometimes appears as shorthand for obsolete professions or pushy persuasion.
- door-to-doorDirectly between residences
- cold callingUnsolicited sales contact
- BritannicaComprehensive general encyclopedia
- canvasserOne seeking opinions door-to-door
- front porchCovered entry deck
pitch · hard sell · subscription · volumes · installment · easy payments · hustle · persuasion · commission · knocker · briefcase · demo · slick · persistent · quota · rejection · homemaker · living room
- door-to-door salescanvassing, soliciting, solicitation, door knocking, direct selling
- salespeoplesalesperson, salespeople, telemarketer, pitchman, saleswoman
- peddlerspeddler, hawker, vendor, street vendor, pushcart
encyclopedia salesmanlibrarian
Collection manager at reading hall
public librarian · reference librarian · library volunteer · archivist · teacher
encyclopedia, encyclopedias, encyclopedic, encyclopedist, salesman, salesmen, sales, seller