Food and Drink Idioms

Food idioms are very common in English and often describe situations that have nothing to do with actual food!

Bread and Butter Idioms

Bread and butter

Meaning: The main source of income; basic necessities

• Teaching English is my bread and butter.
• Don’t neglect your bread and butter clients.
• Photography is my passion, but accounting is my bread and butter.

The best thing since sliced bread

Meaning: Something excellent, a great innovation

• He thinks his idea is the best thing since sliced bread.
• Smartphones seemed like the best thing since sliced bread in 2007.
• She acts like she’s the best thing since sliced bread.

Half a loaf is better than none

Meaning: Something is better than nothing

• The raise was small, but half a loaf is better than none.
• We got partial funding - half a loaf is better than none.

Fruit and Vegetable Idioms

Apple of someone’s eye

Meaning: Someone’s favorite person

• His daughter is the apple of his eye.
• The youngest child is often the apple of the parents’ eye.

Apples and oranges

Meaning: Two things that can’t be compared fairly

• Comparing salaries without context is like apples and oranges.
• Those two jobs are apples and oranges - totally different.

Go bananas

Meaning: To go crazy, to become very excited

• The kids went bananas when they saw the cake.
• Don’t go bananas - it’s just a small delay.
• The crowd went bananas when the band appeared.

Sour grapes

Meaning: Criticizing something because you can’t have it

• He said the job was boring anyway - just sour grapes.
• “I didn’t want it anyway” sounds like sour grapes.

Cool as a cucumber

Meaning: Very calm, not nervous at all

• She was cool as a cucumber during the interview.
• Despite the chaos, he stayed cool as a cucumber.
• How can you be so cool as a cucumber before exams?

Couch potato

Meaning: A lazy person who watches a lot of TV

• He’s become a real couch potato since retirement.
• Don’t be a couch potato - get some exercise!
• Weekend couch potatoes often feel worse on Monday.

Cake and Pie Idioms

A piece of cake

Meaning: Very easy

• That test was a piece of cake!
• Don’t worry, the interview will be a piece of cake.
• Learning to ride a bike is a piece of cake for most kids.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too

Meaning: You can’t have everything; you must choose

• You want more free time but more money? You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
• She wants adventure and stability - you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Icing on the cake

Meaning: An extra benefit on top of something already good

• The free dessert was the icing on the cake.
• Getting a bonus was the icing on the cake after the promotion.
• The sunny weather was the icing on the cake for our trip.

As easy as pie

Meaning: Very easy (same as “piece of cake”)

• Fixing that was as easy as pie.
• The recipe looks complicated, but it’s as easy as pie.

Eat humble pie

Meaning: To admit you were wrong, to apologize

• He had to eat humble pie after his prediction failed.
• I ate humble pie when I realized my mistake.

Other Food Idioms

Spill the beans

Meaning: To reveal a secret

• Come on, spill the beans - what happened?
• Someone spilled the beans about the surprise party.
• I won’t spill the beans, I promise!

Bring home the bacon

Meaning: To earn money for the family

• She brings home the bacon while he takes care of the kids.
• In the past, only men were expected to bring home the bacon.

Egg on your face

Meaning: To be embarrassed by a mistake

• He had egg on his face when his lie was discovered.
• The prediction failure left them with egg on their face.

In a nutshell

Meaning: In summary, briefly

• In a nutshell, we need more time and money.
• That’s the plan in a nutshell.
• In a nutshell, she said yes!

Take something with a grain of salt

Meaning: To not completely believe something

• Take his stories with a grain of salt - he exaggerates.
• Reviews should be taken with a grain of salt.
• Take that advice with a grain of salt.

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