Food Idioms

It's not my cup of tea.

Here are some common idioms based on food and foods. Each entry includes the meaning of the idiom and shows the idiom in context in an example sentence. At the end is a food idioms quiz to check your understanding.

idiom	meaning	example sentence
apple of one's eye	a person that is adored by someone	Baby Jessica is the apple of her father's eye.
(have a) bun in the oven	be pregnant	I don't think Jan will come to the bar because she has a bun in the oven.
bad egg	a person who is often in trouble	I don't want my little brother hanging around with the bad eggs on the street.
big cheese	very important person (VIP)	I thought I was just going to interview the secretary, but they let me talk to the big cheese himself.
bread and butter	necessities, the main thing	Just explain the bread and butter of your report. You don't have to go into details.
bring home the bacon	earn the income	My husband has had to bring home the bacon ever since I broke my leg.
butter someone up	be extra nice to someone (usually for selfish reasons)	We'll have to butter Angie up before we tell her the news about the broken vase.
(have one's) cake and eat it too	want more than your fair share or need	Rick wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to be single but he doesn't want me to date anyone else.
carrot top	person with red or orange hair	Simon is the first carrot top I've ever gone out with.
cheesy	silly	I love reading cheesy romance novels because I don't have to think.
cool as a cucumber	very relaxed	I thought I was afraid of flying, but I was cool as a cucumber all the way to England.
cream of the crop	the best	We hired the cream of the crop to entertain us at the Christmas party.
(don't) cry over spilled milk	get upset over something that has happened and cannot be changed	The mirror is broken and we can't fix it. There's no need to cry over spilled milk.
cup of joe	cup of coffee	Let's stop for a cup of joe before we head to work.
(not my) cup of tea	something you enjoy (usually used negatively)	Opera isn't exactly my cup of tea.
egg someone on	urge someone to do something	The gang tried to egg us on but we didn't want to fight.
freeze one's buns off	be very cold	I froze my buns off at the ice rink.
full of beans	have a lot of (silly) energy	The kids were full of beans after the circus.
gravy train	extremely good pay for minimal work	The unionized grocers have been enjoying the gravy train for twenty years.
(have something) handed to someone on a silver platter	receive without working for something	The professor's daughter had her college diploma handed to her on a silver platter.
hard nut to crack	difficult to understand (often a person)	Angelo is a hard nut to crack when something is bothering him like this.
hot potato	a controversial or difficult subject	Choosing a location for our new store is a hot potato right now.
in a nutshell	simply	In a nutshell, I'm having a bad day.
nuts about something, someone	like a lot	I'm nuts about classical music these days.
out to lunch	crazy or mad	Harry has been out to lunch ever since he lost his job.
one smart cookie	a very intelligent person	Your daughter is one smart cookie. She reads much higher than her grade level.
peach fuzz	small amount of hair growth	Except for a bit of peach fuzz, the baby came out bald.
piece of cake	very easy	The exam was a piece of cake.
put all of ones eggs in one basket	rely on one single thing	Even though I'm majoring in Art, I'm taking a maths course because my Dad says I shouldn't put all of my eggs in one basket.
souped up	made more powerful or stylish	The car was souped up with shiny rims and a loud stereo.
sell like hot cakes	bought by many people	The new Harry Potter books sold like hot cakes.
spice things up	make something more exciting	I wanted to spice things up in the office, so I bought some red and gold paint.
spill the beans	reveal the truth	On Monday, I'm going to spill the beans about my travel plans.
take something with a pinch (grain) of salt	don't consider something 100% accurate	Take Mandy's advice with a pinch of salt. She doesn't always do her research.
use your noodle	use your brain	You're going to have to really use your noodle on this crossword puzzle. It's an extra difficult one.