under the hammer

1. For sale, as in These paintings and Oriental rugs must come under the hammer if we're to pay the mortgage. This expression alludes to the auctioneer's hammer, which is rapped to indicate a completed transaction. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

The existence of a second golden toilet was later revealed, and went under the hammer at Sotheby's in New York City on Tuesday.

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Sotheby's revealed that Cattelan created three toilets in 2016, with the second version on display in a bathroom at New York's Breuer Building until it went under the hammer.

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Some of Jim Henson's most memorable creations go under the hammer in California next week, with the first US auction of puppets and memorabilia from the late entertainer's decades-long career.

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Taken as a group, the prints going under the hammer on December 3 exemplify "Blake's idiosyncratic genius as both an artist and poet", he added.

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His body was recovered from the Atlantic days after the disaster and among his possessions was an 18 carat gold Jules Jurgensen pocket watch that will go under the hammer on 22 November.

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