The idiomatic meaning of "a tough sell" is that something is difficult to convince someone of, or that it will be hard to get someone to accept or buy it. It implies resistance or skepticism that needs to be overcome through persuasion.
While the phrase uses words related to sales, it's almost always used figuratively. It rarely refers to the literal act of selling something in a physically challenging environment.
The register of "a tough sell" is generally neutral. It can be used in both formal and informal contexts, though it leans slightly towards the informal side.
"A tough sell" is a flexible idiom that can be modified and negated. You can use it with various tenses and auxiliary verbs. Here are some examples:
Using the phrase too literally or in the wrong context can sound unnatural. For example, describing a sales job at a physically demanding location as "a tough sell" would be a literal, but unusual, use of the phrase.
"It's a tough sell." — The New York Times - Arts
"Vermouth remains a tough sell." — The New York Times - Food
"But it is a tough sell here." — The New York Times
"Gainsborough can be a tough sell." — The New Yorker
"Reality is a tough sell." — The New York Times
Examples sourced from https://ludwig.guru/s/a+tough+sell
| Phrase | Context |
|---|---|
| an uphill battle | Implies a difficult struggle against opposition. |
| a hard sell | Very similar in meaning, often interchangeable. |
| difficult to swallow | Suggests something is unpleasant or unacceptable to believe or accept. |
| challenging to promote | Focuses on the difficulty of marketing or advertising something. |
| faces resistance | More formal; emphasizes the opposition encountered. |
| not an easy task | A more general expression indicating difficulty. |
| a tough proposition | Suggests a difficult situation or undertaking. |
| Expression | Idiomatic Meaning | Register | Avoid In |
|---|---|---|---|
| a tough sell | Difficult to convince someone of something; hard to get someone to accept or buy something. | Neutral | Situations requiring extremely formal language; literal descriptions of physically demanding sales jobs. |
No, "a tough sell" is almost always used figuratively. It describes the difficulty of persuading someone, not the physical challenges of selling.
Both phrases describe a difficult situation, but "a tough sell" specifically refers to the challenge of persuasion or acceptance. "An uphill battle" is broader, implying a difficult struggle against any kind of opposition, not necessarily involving convincing someone.
No, that's a common misunderstanding. "A tough sell" refers to the difficulty of convincing someone to accept or buy something, not the physical conditions of the sales process. It's about the resistance you face from the person you're trying to persuade.
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