Also, close the deal; close on a sale or deal . Complete a transaction, as in Jack was delighted to close the sale. This term applies to such transactions as the sale of a house, also put as closing on a house, as well as negotiations leading up to a sale. The latter was also put as to close a bargain, a phrase used by Charles Dickens and other 19th-century writers: "He closed the bargain directly it reached his ears," Nicholas Nickleby, 1838.

At a reduced price, as in These rugs have been on sale for a month. The use of sale for disposing of goods at lowered prices dates from about 1860.

A line of talk that attempts to persuade someone of something, as in Let's hear your latest sales pitch for energy conservation. This term uses the noun pitch in the sense of "a talk," or more literally, a throwing of words at one. [Slang; late 1800s]

A special offering of towels, bed linens and similar goods, not necessarily white-colored. For example, The big stores always have white sales in January. [c. 1900]