Food idioms and phrases

LEARN ENGLISH
Food idioms and phrases

To celebrate the end of our Australia Plus food week, we have compiled a
smorgasbord of food related phrases to learn. So feast your eyes on the following
and you'll be apples in your next conversation.

Cake

If something is ‘a piece of cake’, then it is simple and easy, and often used when
referring to something you've done.

Taking a photo with my phone was a piece of cake, come back here and try again.
If something ‘sells like hot cakes’ then it sells very quickly. The speed of the sale
is due to the product being very popular, the idea being that everyone loves hot
cakes therefore when hot cakes are sold, they sell very quickly.

They went on sale at 9am and by 1pm they were all gone, they sold like hot cakes.
Quite often we are faced with choices in life and sometimes it is impossible to
choose to do two things at the one time. When someone is faced with two desirable
choices and they want both, we can say that 'they want to have their cake, and eat it
too'.

You can’t have good TV reception and a cheaper service fee. You can’t have your
cake and eat it too.
The idea is that there is one good thing; good TV reception and you also want
another good thing; cheaper fees. You can’t have both, as one depends on the other
so you need to choose which one you want, and you can only have one.

If you want to build a swimming pool, then you will have to say goodbye to all of
the grass in the backyard. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Butter

If something is your ‘bread and butter’ then that is what you do to make a living, to
earn a salary.

I am not sure what he will do now they have closed the shop where he worked, that
was his bread and butter.
If you ‘butter someone up’ then you try to flatter someone, to pay them high
compliments and ensure they know it in order for you to later ask for something in
return.

We spent the whole night buttering her up and when we asked her for permission
to use her house for the party, she agreed.
When you have done something wrong but you are able to keep a very cool and
unfazed demeanour, then someone might describe you as looking as though ‘butter
wouldn’t melt in your mouth’.

Susan: I don’t know who broke the vase, but it doesn’t look like it was Tom, he
looks totally innocent.
Mary: Yes, butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.
Here Susan knows that someone broke the vase and notes that it doesn’t seem to
have been Tom, as Tom looks totally innocent. Mary, on the other hand, notes that
Tom’s innocent look may perhaps mask his guilt.

Milk

If someone tells you, ‘don’t cry over spilt milk’ then they are telling you that you
shouldn’t be too upset or emotional over something that you can’t change and that
may be quite trivial.

Don’t worry, the new haircut doesn’t look too bad, anyway, don’t cry over spilt
milk.
If you ‘milk someone for something’ then you seek to obtain as much money or
advantage for yourself as you can from a particular situation and this is most
probably done in a dishonest or deceiving manner.

After he hurt his ankle at work, he milked the company for a lot of money.
If you consider something as totally essential and an absolute necessity for your
existence, then you can term it ‘mother’s milk’.

I love the great outdoors and being able to walk in a park is mother’s milk to me.

Bacon and ham

If you bring home the bacon then you bring home a salary to support your family.

I thought he brought home the bacon in their house, but it is his wife, she is the one
with a full time job.
If you save someone’s bacon then you save them from probable harm, or an
outcome that is not very attractive.

I had a flat tyre yesterday and was sitting there thinking about how I could fix it
and along came John who saved my bacon.
If someone says that you are ‘hamming it up’ then they are accusing you of
exaggerating or putting on a performance to make something look more colourful
han it really is or should be.

The performance was going really well until one of the support actors decided to
start hamming it up during the dance scene.

If you are called ‘ham fisted’ then you are being accused of lacking the necessary
skills for something or that you are clumsy in a particular role.

She has made three ham fisted attempts to park the car in that space down there
and then on the fourth, parked perfectly.

Fruit

To 'go bananas' is to act in an excitable and possibly crazy manner.

My boss went bananas when I told him that the new office opening day is going to
be delayed.
If you 'cherry pick' something then you selectively pick the most desirable options
from amongst a large range of options.

I know if we give her the choice she will cherry pick all of our good staff.
Apples feature heavily in the phrases surrounding fruit and if you hear someone
say that ‘something will be apples’ then they are telling you not to worry, that
everything will be alright.

I know it looks bad but, I can fix it and everything will be apples in the morning.
If you are accused of ‘upsetting the apple cart’ then you are being accused of
ruining some plans.

We were all ready to start the journey and then the rain came in and upset the
apple cart.
If you are the 'apple of someone’s eye' then you are the most favourite or well liked
person amongst many.

He loves all his kids dearly, but I can tell that his only daughter is the apple of his

eye.