rummage sale

American  

noun

1. a sale of miscellaneous articles, old or new, as items contributed to raise money for charity, of unclaimed goods at a wharf or warehouse, or of odds and ends of merchandise at a shop.

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rummage sale British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): jumble sale.  a sale of miscellaneous articles, usually cheap and predominantly secondhand, in aid of charity

2. a sale of unclaimed property or unsold stock

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Etymology

Origin of rummage sale

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

The Chicago Sports Spectacular, one of the country’s biggest and oldest card shows, is like a rummage sale from the days before eBay, but with way more money involved.

From New York Times • Jan. 26, 2024

Bull remembers a conversation she had decades ago with a volunteer at a rummage sale at an Episcopal church in New Orleans where she was helping the church raise funds to build a labyrinth.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2023

Everything inside the beach shack was tagged and priced, just like a rummage sale.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 19, 2023

The squad feels like a choice rummage sale, full of young and expensive pieces that never quite fit together and that will do far better wherever they find new homes.

From Slate • Oct. 18, 2019

“The Mothers’ Club at school did a rummage sale every year, and there was always the question of what the money would go to,” Gates remembers.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell