Food is not just something we eat to stay healthy and full; it’s also a world of fun expressions, or “idioms,” that add flavor to our conversations. These phrases help us share our thoughts and feelings in creative ways, just like adding spices makes our food tastier.
Whether you’re a beginner in English or someone looking to sprinkle some new words into your vocabulary pie, food idioms are a tasty treat for your language skills. Let’s dive into the delicious universe of food idioms and discover how they can make talking about everyday things more exciting and mouth-watering!
what is Food Definition?
Food is any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink to maintain life and growth. It comes from plants, animals, or fungi and can be consumed in various forms. Food is essential for survival, providing the energy and nutrients necessary for our bodies to function and thrive.
Idioms About Food
-
A piece of cake
Meaning: Easy
Examples:
- This math problem’s a piece of cake.
- Making dinner was a piece of cake.
- Found the quiz a piece of cake.
-
Bite off more than you can chew
Meaning: Overwhelm
Examples:
- He bit off more than chew.
- Bitten off more, struggling with schedule.
- Projects overwhelming, bit off much.
-
Bring home the bacon
Meaning: Earn
Examples:
- He works hard to bring bacon.
- Sole earner, always bringing home bacon.
- Bring home bacon for family.
-
Butter someone up
Meaning: Flatter
Examples:
- Buttering up the boss for promotion.
- Buttered up his teacher, hoped favor.
- Always butters up before asking.
-
Chew the fat
Meaning: Chat
Examples:
- They chewed the fat at lunch.
- Chewing the fat, enjoying their time.
- Old friends chew the fat happily.
-
Cream of the crop
Meaning: Best
Examples:
- He’s considered the cream of crop.
- Selected the cream of the crop.
- Aim to be cream of crop.
-
Eat humble pie
Meaning: Apologize
Examples:
- Had to eat humble pie today.
- Eaten humble pie, felt much better.
- Mistake made, humble pie eaten.
-
Full plate
Meaning: Busy
Examples:
- She always has a full plate.
- Full plate this week, lots scheduled.
- Managing a full plate successfully.
-
In a nutshell
Meaning: Briefly
Examples:
- Explained the theory in a nutshell.
- Whole story, told in a nutshell.
- Nutshell version saves time, simplifies.
-
Out to lunch
Meaning: Clueless
Examples:
- He seems a bit out to lunch.
- Out to lunch during meetings, distracted.
- Their ideas were out to lunch.
-
Piece of the pie
Meaning: Share
Examples:
- Wants a larger piece of the pie.
- Each gets a piece of the pie.
- Fought for his piece of pie.
-
Put all your eggs in one basket
Meaning: Risk
Examples:
- Never put all eggs in one basket.
- Risky business, all eggs one basket.
- Learnt not to put all eggs.
-
Sell like hotcakes
Meaning: Popular
Examples:
Her new book sold like hotcakes.
These gadgets sell like hotcakes.
Product launched, selling like hotcakes.
-
Sour grapes
Meaning: Envy
Examples:
- Lost game, claimed sour grapes.
- His criticism? Just sour grapes.
- Sour grapes over colleague’s success.
-
Spill the beans
Meaning: Reveal
Examples:
- He accidentally spilled the beans.
- Spilled the beans at the party.
- Couldn’t wait to spill beans.
-
Take with a grain of salt
Meaning: Skepticism
Examples:
- Take his advice with grain of salt.
- Rumors, take them with salt.
- Heard the news, took with salt.
-
The big cheese
Meaning: Boss
Examples:
- He’s the big cheese around here.
- Met the big cheese at work.
- The big cheese made final decisions.
-
The icing on the cake
Meaning: Bonus
Examples:
- Bonus was icing on the cake.
- Promotion, truly the icing on cake.
- Unexpected praise, icing on cake.
-
The upper crust
Meaning: Elite
Examples:
- Parties with the upper crust.
- The upper crust of society.
- Aspired to join the upper crust.
-
Use your noodle
Meaning: Think
Examples:
- Use your noodle, solve this puzzle.
- Couldn’t figure it out? Use noodle.
- He used his noodle, solved it.
-
Walk on eggshells
Meaning: Cautious
Examples:
- Walking on eggshells around him.
- Felt like walking on eggshells.
- Always walks on eggshells at work.
-
Warm up to
Meaning: Like
Examples:
- Warmed up to the new menu.
- Slowly warming up to his ideas.
- Warmed up to the neighborhood.
-
Worth your salt
Meaning: Competent
Examples:
- She is definitely worth her salt.
- Proved he’s worth his salt.
- Worth their salt, hired immediately.
-
Bite the hand that feeds you
Meaning: Betray
Examples:
- Never bite the hand that feeds.
- He bit the hand feeding him.
- Biting hand that feeds, unwise move.
-
Chew on that
Meaning: Consider
Examples:
- Chew on that idea for a while.
- Just chew on that, decide later.
- Gave him something to chew on.
-
Hard nut to crack
Meaning: Challenge
Examples:
- This puzzle is a hard nut.
- He’s a hard nut to crack.
- Found the case hard nut crack.
-
Have your cake and eat it too
Meaning: Greed
Examples:
- Wants everything, have cake and eat.
- Tried to have cake, eat it too.
- Can’t always have cake and eat.
-
Sweeten the pot
Meaning: Enhance
Examples:
- Added bonus to sweeten the pot.
- Sweetened the pot, offer irresistible.
- To attract buyers, sweeten the pot.
-
Eat your words
Meaning: Retract
Examples:
- After the results, he ate words.
- Might have to eat your words.
- If wrong, ready to eat words.
-
Cook up a storm
Meaning: Produce
Examples:
- She cooked up a storm yesterday.
- Cooking up a storm for guests.
- Holiday season, let’s cook a storm.
Explore More Idioms: Beautiful Places