English idioms: Food, And & Drink
14 idioms with meanings and example sentences, plus where many of them come from.
a piece of cakesomething very easyThe exam was a piece of cake.Origin: Cake is an easy, enjoyable thing to eat; used this way since the 1930s.
spill the beansto reveal a secretDon't spill the beans about the surprise.Origin: Possibly from an ancient Greek voting method using beans; the exact origin is uncertain.
butter someone upto flatter someone to gain a favourHe buttered up his boss before asking for a raise.Origin: Butter makes things smooth; the image is of smoothing someone with flattery.
the icing on the cakean extra good thing on top of something already goodWinning a prize was the icing on the cake.Origin: Icing is the finishing, decorative layer on a cake.
bread and buttera person's main source of incomeTeaching is her bread and butter.Origin: Bread and butter was a basic, everyday food.
in a nutshellin a few wordsIn a nutshell, we ran out of money.Origin: A nutshell is tiny, so it stands for brief summaries.
a hot potatoa controversial issue nobody wants to handleImmigration became a political hot potato.Origin: A hot potato is uncomfortable to hold, so people want to pass it on.
full of beansvery energeticThe kids are full of beans this morning.Origin: Beans were once fed to horses to give them energy.
cry over spilt milkto be upset about something that cannot be changedIt's done, so there's no use crying over spilt milk.Origin: An old proverb recorded since the 1600s.
take it with a pinch of saltto not believe something completelyTake his stories with a pinch of salt.Origin: Possibly from the Roman belief that salt helped make poison harmless.
egg someone onto encourage someone to do something riskyHis friends egged him on to jump.Origin: From the Old Norse word 'eggja', meaning to urge.
not my cup of teanot something I likeHorror movies aren't my cup of tea.Origin: Tea was a typical British drink, so it came to stand for personal taste.
sell like hot cakesto sell very quicklyThe new phones sold like hot cakes.Origin: Hot cakes were sold quickly at fairs, according to common explanations.
the proof of the pudding is in the eatingsomething's value is shown by its useThe proof of the pudding is in the eating, so try it.Origin: An old proverb; pudding here meant a kind of sausage.
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