News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on What I learned from reading a thousand emergency room bills. Parent comment

Re:What I learned from reading a thousand emergency room bills by Arubis on Wednesday December 19, 2018 @04:32PM (#18719892)
Indeed, this is the origin of the term "fire sale".
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:What I learned from reading a thousand emergency room bills by kbutler on Wednesday December 19, 2018 @04:53PM (#18720100)
This appears to be incorrect, and the usual interpretation of "sale of goods damaged in a fire" is the original.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fire-sale

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:What I learned from reading a thousand emergency room bills by btilly on Wednesday December 19, 2018 @04:50PM (#18720071)
I'm pretty sure not. The term "fire sale" refers to selling merchandise that survived a fire and therefore would have associated damage.

However the policy of negotiating for property at bargain basement prices while there was a fire next door was very notably one of the ways that Marcus Licinius Crassus (a political ally of Julius Caesar) enriched his fortune.

[ Parent | on HN ]