飛ぶように売れる ― selling like hotcakes

日本語で、”飛ぶように売れる”と言いますが、英語だと


sell like hotcakes


となります。ホットケーキとは我々日本人にも馴染みが深いですが、ホットケーキのことを英語（特に米）では、"pancake"と言うはず・・・。"hotcake"というのは、イギリスなのだそうですが（ランダムハウス英和辞書）、ではアメリカでは、"selling like pancakes"というのかというと、Corpusでは実例が見つからず、”飛ぶように売れる”という場合には"hotcake"が標準のようなのは面白いです。

今日の引用例は、アメリカでアップル社のiPadが飛ぶように売れていて、品切れ状態、というニュースです。


The hottest new tech gadget, Apple’s iPad, is tough to get in Southwest Florida and across the nation, as well.

Neither the Apple Store at Coconut Point Mall in Estero nor the Best Buy at Page Field Commons has any to sell. The Best Buy in Naples has a handful, but they are Wi-Fi only. Neither has the popular and more expensive 3G model.

Nationwide, analysts at the Wall Street investment firm Piper Jaffray randomly surveyed 50 Apple stores and found all sold out of 3Gs and just 13 had Wi-Fi-only models in stock.

To say the iPad has been selling like hotcakes is an understatement. In the first month iPad sales were more than 1 million, and that was before the 3G went on sale. Now, about 200,000 a week are being gobbled up.
(Bob Rathgeber. If you're looking for an iPad in Southwest Florida, plan to wait. The News Press.com. May 26, 2010.)