sold ice to Eskimos

Convinced unlikely buyers

To have sold ice to Eskimos is to have persuaded someone to buy something they manifestly don't need—the ultimate proof of salesmanship.

The phrase captures both admiration for the skill and skepticism about the ethics: That guy could sell ice to Eskimos.

Sometimes appears as a hypothetical: She could sell ice to Eskimos.

The Inuit variation is increasingly common.

Related

sales pitch · satire · incongruity · metaphor · influence · cultural sensitivity · humor · hyperbole · wit · chutzpah · colloquialism · psychology · stereotype · rhetoric · marketing · exaggeration · tall tale · pitch

Opposites
sales ability/persuasiveness

sold ice to Eskimosunconvincing

Not able to persuade

hard sell · unpersuasive · struck out · ineffective

difficulty of task accomplished

sold ice to Eskimosdropped the ball

Failed at crucial moment

underachiever · choked

difficulty of the sale

sold ice to Eskimosslam dunk

Forceful basket from above

low-hanging fruit · no-brainer · soft sell

Family

sold, sellers, ices, iciest, iciness, Eskimo, Eskimos

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG