Idioms--based on fruit

Food idioms 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 (vim)
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 angle up before we tell her the news about the broken vase.

  • (Have ones) 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.


  • 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.


Popular posts from this blog

Fact Inference and judgement Practice questions

Symbiosis One page Biodata format

Grammar 150 question and answers