You know how we say “cool as a cucumber” when someone’s really calm? Or “a piece of cake” when something’s super easy?
Well, these are idioms about food, and they add flavor to our language, just like spices do to a dish. These phrases might sound a bit funny, but they help us express ideas and feelings in a colorful way. So, let’s dig in and learn more about these tasty tidbits of language!
Everyday Phrases
1. The apple of my eye
This means something or someone very special to you. For example, if your child is the apple of your eye, it means you love and cherish them more than anything else.
2. Bite off more than you can chew
This means to take on a task that’s too big for you. If you agree to do five projects at work in one week, you might find out you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.
3. Bread and butter
This phrase refers to your main source of income. For example, if you say, “Writing is my bread and butter,” you mean that it’s your job and how you make your living.
4. A piece of cake
This means something that’s really easy to do. For instance, if someone says that a test was a piece of cake, they mean it was very easy.
5. The icing on the cake
This refers to something extra good added to an already good situation. If you got a raise at work and then also got a promotion, the promotion would be the icing on the cake.
6. Cherry-pick
This means to pick only the best people or things. A coach who only chooses the best players for a team is said to be cherry-picking.
7. Cook up a storm
To cook a lot of food, usually in a grand and enthusiastic manner. If someone cooked up a storm for Thanksgiving, it means they made a lot of dishes and probably enjoyed doing it.
8. In a pickle
This means being in a difficult situation. If you can’t decide between two good job offers, you could say you’re in a pickle.
9. Cry over spilled milk
This means to be upset about something that has already happened and can’t be changed. If you missed a job interview and keep worrying about it, you’re crying over spilled milk.
10. A tough nut to crack
This refers to a problem that’s hard to solve or a person who’s hard to understand. A really difficult math problem can be a tough nut to crack.
11. Eat your words
This means you have to take back what you said. If you tell someone they can’t do something but then they do it, you’ll have to eat your words.
12. Full of beans
This means someone is very energetic or excited. If a child is running around and playing a lot, you could say they are full of beans.
13. Have your cake and eat it too
This means you want all the benefits of a situation without any of the drawbacks. For example, if you want a high-paying job that requires no work, you want to have your cake and eat it too.
14. Spill the beans
This means to reveal a secret. If you tell everyone about a surprise party, you’ve spilled the beans.
15. Sour grapes
This means pretending not to care about something because you can’t have it. If you say a job you didn’t get is probably boring, that’s sour grapes.
16. The best thing since sliced bread
When you think something is really great or revolutionary, this is what you’d say. It’s like saying this new thing is the biggest deal since someone figured out how to sell pre-sliced bread!
17. Out of the frying pan and into the fire
This means going from a bad situation to an even worse one. If you left a boring job and ended up in one that’s super stressful, you went out of the frying pan and into the fire.
18. Put all your eggs in one basket
This means to risk everything on a single opportunity. If you spend all your savings on lottery tickets, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket.
19. That’s the way the cookie crumbles
This means that’s just how life is, sometimes good and sometimes bad. If you didn’t win a game but played your best, you could say that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
20. Don’t cry over chopped onions
This means don’t get upset over small issues. If you’re really sad about not getting the last piece of pizza, someone might tell you not to cry over chopped onions.
Fun and Weird
21. Cool as a cucumber
This means being very calm under stress. Even though cucumbers aren’t actually cool, this phrase paints a picture of someone who stays chill even when things get tough.
22. Go bananas
This means to go crazy or get very excited. It doesn’t have anything to do with actual bananas; it’s just a funny way to talk about losing control or getting super hyped about something.
23. The whole enchilada
This means everything, the complete deal. It’s like saying you want the entire package, not just a part of it. You’re not talking about an actual enchilada here.
24. Couch potato
This means someone who’s lazy and spends a lot of time sitting down, usually watching TV. A potato is seen as an “inactive” vegetable, so this idiom likens lazy people to potatoes sitting on a couch.
25. In hot water
This means you’re in trouble. Just like you wouldn’t want to touch boiling water, being “in hot water” is a place you don’t want to be.
26. Gravy train
This refers to an easy, cushy job that pays a lot. You’re not actually on a train made of gravy; you’re just in a situation where things are going super well for you.
27. Like two peas in a pod
This means two people who are very similar. The idea is that the peas are so close to each other inside the pod, just like how the people are so similar in personality or appearance.
28. In a nutshell
This means to describe something as briefly as possible. Imagine squeezing a big idea into a tiny nut; that’s what you’re doing when you sum something up “in a nutshell.”
29. Sell like hotcakes
This means something is selling really quickly. Even though it’s about selling stuff, it uses “hotcakes” (another word for pancakes) to say just how fast things are going.
30. Take it with a grain of salt
This means to be skeptical about something you hear. The idea is that salt changes the taste of food, so if you “take something with a grain of salt,” you’re not accepting it exactly as it is.
31. Bigger fish to fry
This means you have more important things to deal with. It’s not about actually frying fish; it’s a way of saying that you’ve got bigger problems or priorities.
32. Spill the tea
This means to share gossip or secrets. Even though it uses the word “tea,” it has nothing to do with the drink; it’s all about sharing juicy information.
33. Carrot and stick
This means using rewards and punishment to motivate someone. Imagine leading a donkey with a carrot but also having a stick to prod it; it’s about using both nice and tough methods to get what you want.
34. Bread always falls butter-side down
This means bad things always seem to happen. It’s like saying when something goes wrong, it goes really wrong, just like how dropped bread somehow always lands on the worst side.
35. Throw someone a bone
This means to give someone a small reward or some kind of benefit. Even though the idiom uses “bone,” you’re not actually giving someone a real bone; you’re just doing something nice for them.
36. Bring home the bacon
This means to earn money for your family. You’re not literally bringing home bacon; it’s a way to talk about making a living.
37. Cut the mustard
This means to meet expectations or standards. It has nothing to do with actual mustard; it’s all about doing a good enough job at something.
38. Use Your Loaf
This is a British idiom meaning to use your common sense. It’s funny because “loaf” also refers to your head!
39. Food for Thought
This means something worth thinking deeply about. You can’t actually eat the thought, but you can ‘digest’ it in your mind!
40. Use your noodle
This means to think smart or use your brain. “Noodle” here is a fun way to refer to your head or brain, encouraging you to think clearly or solve a problem.
Life Lessons
41. You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs
This means that sometimes you have to sacrifice or endure hardship to achieve something good. Just like you can’t make an omelette without cracking some eggs open, you can’t reach a goal without facing some challenges.
42. A watched pot never boils
This means that being impatient won’t make things happen faster. It’s a reminder to have patience because constantly checking on something won’t speed up the process.
43. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach
The saying suggests that food can be a way to win someone’s affection. It’s often used to mean that cooking for someone can make them like you more, but it applies more broadly to the idea that small gestures count in relationships.
44. An apple a day keeps the doctor away
This promotes the idea that healthy habits prevent health problems. Eating well, represented by the apple, can help you stay healthy and avoid the need for a doctor.
45. One man’s meat is another man’s poison
This means that what one person likes could be disliked by another. Just like some people love certain foods while others can’t stand them, people have different tastes and opinions.
46. Too many cooks spoil the broth
This means that too many people involved in a task can ruin it. The idiom teaches the importance of simplicity and not overcomplicating things.
47. Half a loaf is better than none
This teaches that getting part of what you want is better than not getting anything at all. It’s a reminder to be grateful for what you have, even if it’s not perfect.
48. Like comparing apples and oranges
This idiom is used to describe comparing two things that are fundamentally different. It’s a lesson in understanding that not everything can be measured the same way.
49. Fish or Cut Bait
This means to either commit to action or leave the situation. It’s a lesson in decisiveness.
50. Eat humble pie
This means to admit your mistakes and apologize. The term originates from a literal pie made of “umbles,” the undesirable parts of an animal, and eating it was considered humbling.
51. Life is just a bowl of cherries
This means that life is easy and pleasant. While it’s often used ironically to say life is actually quite tough, the phrase suggests that we should try to look for the good things in life.
52. Separate the wheat from the chaff
This means to separate the valuable from the worthless. In life, you sometimes have to make tough choices to focus on what’s really important.
53. Burning the candle at both ends
This means to overwork yourself by doing too many things at once. Just like a candle can’t burn at both ends for long, you can’t sustain a hectic pace without running out of energy.
54. You can’t have your cake and eat it too
This teaches that you can’t have it both ways. For example, you can’t expect to save money if you’re always spending it, just like you can’t eat a cake and still have it.
55. You are what you eat
This means that your health reflects what you consume. It’s a lesson about taking care of yourself by paying attention to what you put into your body.
56. Salt of the earth
This means someone who is very good and honest. It teaches the lesson that simplicity and honesty are virtues, just like salt is a simple but essential seasoning.
57. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
This means that children often resemble their parents in some way. It’s a lesson about how traits and behaviors can be passed down through generations.
58. To eat crow
This means to admit a fault or mistake and is often used when someone has to humbly admit they were wrong. It’s a lesson in humility, indicating that sometimes you just have to own up to your mistakes, as distasteful as they may be.
59. Cream of the crop
This means the best of a particular group. It teaches us to strive for excellence, and to be the very best in whatever we do, just like how the “cream” is considered the best part of the milk.
60. Sugarcoat the pill
This means to make an unpleasant situation or information easier to accept. It’s a lesson about tact and diplomacy, teaching us that sometimes it’s kinder to deliver bad news in a gentle way, much like how a sugar-coated pill is easier to swallow.
Animal-Based Food Idioms
61. Fish out of water
This means you’re in a situation that you’re not used to or comfortable with. It’s as if a fish, which is comfortable in water, is suddenly placed in a totally different environment.
62. Chicken out
This means to back out of something because of fear. The term is often used to describe someone who decides not to follow through with an activity because they are scared or nervous.
63. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
This warns you not to assume that something will happen before it actually does. You shouldn’t consider the eggs as chickens until they’ve successfully hatched.
64. Clam up
This means to suddenly stop talking or to become silent. The phrase likely comes from the way a clam shell closes up to protect itself.
65. The world is your oyster
This means you can achieve anything you wish in life or go anywhere because you have the opportunity or ability. Oysters often contain pearls, so the world is yours to open and find your ‘pearl.’
66. Go cold turkey
This means to suddenly quit something, usually a bad habit, completely. Though “turkey” is in the phrase, the origin is not precisely about the animal, but it fits our animal-based category.
67. Like shooting fish in a barrel
This means something is extremely easy to do. The idiom comes from the idea that shooting fish in a confined space like a barrel would be really easy.
68. Something smells fishy
This means something doesn’t feel right or seems suspicious. The term relates to the strong smell of fish, which is hard to ignore when something is off.
67. Until the cows come home
This means for a very long time. The phrase likely originates from the slow, leisurely way that cows return to the barn for milking, implying a long waiting period.
68. Happy as a clam
This means to be very happy and content with what you have. It’s based on the full phrase “happy as a clam at high water,” where “high water” is when clams are free from the attention of predators.
Professional Setting
69. Small potatoes
This means something that is relatively unimportant or trivial. In a professional setting, it could refer to a minor issue that shouldn’t take up too much attention.
70. Tough cookie
This means someone who is strong-willed or resilient. In the workplace, this could describe a person who can handle stress and difficult situations well.
71. Sugar-coat
This means to make something seem less serious or more pleasant than it is. In business, it could refer to presenting bad news in a way that makes it seem less negative.
72. Spice things up
This means to make something more interesting or exciting. In a work context, it might be used to suggest new, innovative approaches to a project or task.
73. A Lemon
This means something that is found to be defective or substandard. In business, you might refer to a bad investment or faulty product as a “lemon.”
74. Meat and Potatoes
This means the most basic, fundamental elements. In a project briefing, you might get down to the “meat and potatoes” of what needs to be done.
75. Plum Job
This refers to a job that is seen as easy but provides a good salary or benefits. In a corporate ladder, a “plum job” is usually one that many people aspire to get.
76. Hot Potato
This means a controversial or difficult matter. At work, this could refer to a project or topic that nobody wants to handle because of the risks involved.
77. Bean Counter
This means someone, often in finance, who is excessively concerned with small details or costs. In a company, the term might be used, sometimes humorously, to refer to accountants or finance folks.
In Songs and Music
78. Life is a Bowl of Cherries
Sometimes heard in older songs, this idiom means that life is pleasant or going well. However, it’s often used ironically to imply the opposite, especially in blues music.
79. Nutty as a Fruitcake
Sometimes used in humorous songs, this phrase describes someone who is crazy or eccentric.
80. Easy as Pie
This might appear in songs to describe something that was incredibly easy to accomplish. The phrase plays on the idea that eating pie is an enjoyable, simple experience.
81. Sour Note
In the context of music, hitting a “sour note” means doing something wrong or unfavorable. It could also be used metaphorically in lyrics to represent a failure or mistake in life.
82. Pie in the Sky
This phrase can be used in songs to talk about unrealistic hopes or dreams, something desirable but unattainable.
83. Salt of the Earth
Found in songs about genuine, good-natured people, this idiom refers to someone who is straightforward and kind.
84. Separate the Wheat from the Chaff
This phrase might appear in songs that talk about distinguishing valuable people or things from worthless ones.
85. Stir the Pot
This phrase could show up in songs about causing drama or conflict. If you’re “stirring the pot,” you’re creating trouble on purpose.
86. The Big Cheese
This phrase could pop up in songs that talk about someone in charge or someone who is important. The “big cheese” is the boss or the leader.
87. Out to Lunch
This idiom is often used in songs to describe someone who is out of touch or not paying attention. It’s like saying they’re not fully there.
88. Juiced Up
This could be used in songs to describe someone who’s very excited or pumped up, ready for action or a big event.
89. One Smart Cookie
In songs that praise intelligence or cleverness, this idiom describes someone who is clever or quick-witted.
90. Bitter Pill to Swallow
This could appear in songs that talk about accepting an unpleasant or painful reality, something that’s hard to accept but must be faced.
Special Occasions and Holidays
91. The Cherry on Top
Used to describe something that makes a good situation even better, this phrase could come up during any celebratory event, like a wedding or a graduation.
92. Butter Someone Up
On special occasions where you might need to impress someone, like a date or a family gathering, this phrase means to flatter someone to gain a favor.
93. Like Taking Candy from a Baby
You might hear this at a kid’s party or Halloween. It means something is really easy to do, almost too easy.
94. Bad Apple
This phrase often comes up when someone is spoiling a special occasion. It describes a person who negatively affects the rest of the group.
95. Hit the Sauce
At adult gatherings or New Year’s Eve, this phrase might be used to describe someone who is drinking alcohol, sometimes a bit too much.
96. On a Silver Platter
During anniversaries or luxurious events, this phrase means getting something easily, without much effort.
97. A Bun in the Oven
Usually heard during baby showers, this idiom means someone is pregnant.
98. Finger in Every Pie
This might be heard during volunteer events or large family get-togethers. It means to be involved in many different activities.
99. Stew in Your Own Juices
This could come up during confrontational or reflective events. It means to suffer the consequences of your actions alone.
100. Packed Like Sardines
This is commonly heard during overcrowded events. It means to be filled tightly with people.
