Food idioms are phrases where food words are used in a way that doesn’t really talk about food. It’s a fun part of learning English! Even if you’re just starting or want to get better at English, these idioms can make your language more colorful. We’ve gathered 30 of these phrases to help you understand and use them in your conversations.
This will not only improve your English but also make you sound more like a native speaker. So, let’s explore these tasty expressions together!
Related: List of Idioms Used in Daily Life
Food Idioms
Here is the list of food idioms in English.
- Piece of cake
- Spill the beans
- In a nutshell
- The big cheese
- Full plate
- Bring home the bacon
- Take with a grain of salt
- Chew the fat
- Bite off more than one can chew
- Have one’s cake and eat it too
- Go bananas
- The apple of one’s eye
- Sour grapes
- Bread and butter
- Cool as a cucumber
- Hard nut to crack
- Out to lunch
- In a pickle
- Butter someone up
- The cream of the crop
- Sell like hot cakes
- Eat humble pie
- Cry over spilled milk
- A tough cookie
- Half-baked idea
- Icing on the cake
- To egg someone on
- That’s the way the cookie crumbles
- As easy as pie
- Bite the hand that feeds you
Food Idioms and Their Meaning and Sentences
1. Piece of cake
Meaning: Very easy.
“Solving it was a piece of cake.”
2. Spill the beans
Meaning: Reveal a secret.
“He finally spilled the beans.”
3. In a nutshell
Meaning: Simply put.
“In a nutshell, it’s done.”
4. The big cheese
Meaning: Important person.
“She’s the big cheese here.”
5. Full plate
Meaning: Very busy.
“I’ve got a full plate today.”
6. Bring home the bacon
Meaning: Earn money.
“He brings home the bacon.”
7. Take with a grain of salt
Meaning: Be skeptical.
“Take his advice with a grain of salt.”
8. Chew the fat
Meaning: Chat casually.
“Let’s chew the fat sometimes.”
9. Bite off more than one can chew
Meaning: Overcommit.
“She bit off more than she could chew.”
10. Have one’s cake and eat it too
Meaning: Want more than is feasible.
“He wants his cake and eats it too.”
11. Go bananas
Meaning: Become very excited.
“The kids went bananas.”
12. The apple of one’s eye
Meaning: Cherished.
“She’s the apple of his eye.”
13. Sour grapes
Meaning: Disparage what you cannot have.
“His comments are just sour grapes.”
14. Bread and butter
Meaning: Main income source.
“That’s our bread and butter.”
15. Cool as a cucumber
Meaning: Very calm.
“He’s cool as a cucumber.”
16. Hard nut to crack
Meaning: Difficult to understand.
“This puzzle’s a hard nut to crack.”
17. Out to lunch
Meaning: Not paying attention.
“He seems out to lunch.”
18. In a pickle
Meaning: In trouble.
“Now we’re in a pickle.”
19. Butter someone up
Meaning: Flatter someone.
“She’s just buttering you up.”
20. The cream of the crop
Meaning: The best.
“These are the cream of the crop.”
21. Sell like hot cakes
Meaning: Sell quickly.
“They sold like hotcakes.”
22. Eat humble pie
Meaning: Admit error.
“He had to eat humble pie.”
23. Cry over spilled milk
Meaning: Regret what cannot be changed.
“No use crying over spilled milk.”
24. A tough cookie
Meaning: Very resilient.
“She’s a tough cookie.”
24. Half-baked idea
Meaning: Poorly thought-out.
“That’s a half-baked idea.”
25. Icing on the cake
Meaning: Makes something better.
“That bonus was the icing on the cake.”
26. To egg someone on
Meaning: Encourage recklessly.
“Don’t egg him on!”
27. That’s the way the cookie crumbles
Meaning: That’s life.
“Well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.”
28. As easy as pie
Meaning: Very simple.
“Fixing it was as easy as pie.”
29. Bite the hand that feeds you
Meaning: Harm benefactor.
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
30. Cherry on top:
Meaning: A perfect final touch.
“The bonus was a cherry on top.”
