Picking Up Some Chinese (Food)

Americans will use "Chinese" as an abbreviation for "Chinese food," which is food considered to be particular to Chinese restaurants and so forth. (Thus, "Chinese" from an American perspective.)

Example: "She decided to go home and pick up some Chinese down the street."

This means obtaining Chinese food, not any other meaning.

The Front Burner & The Back Burner

An ordinary oven has two sets of burners on the top. The two in front are the front burners, and the two in back are the back burners.

To place something on the front burner is to make it a high priority requiring careful observation. To place something on the back burner is to reduce its priority.


Example: When watching television very briefly today, I saw major American media figure and talk show host "Dr. Phil" urging Americans to place violence against women "on the front burner." This meant, to make the issue a top priority rather than deny its existence or downplay its importance... which would be, of course, placing violence against women on the back burner, which is exactly what Dr. Phil was urging Americans not to do.

Cheesy

Literally, something is cheesy when it has a great deal of cheese - a tasty, but fattening food - on top of it. Figuratively, something is cheesy when it has a great deal of emotional exploitation and little substance. Ex.: "Teen romance movies are so cheesy. The plot's thin and the acting's second rate. Why do people watch them?!" This is the polar opposite of meaty.

Meaty

Something is literally meaty when it is rich in high-protein meat. Figuratively, something is meaty when it is full of substance, that is, rich material that makes the mind think. Ex.: "That documentary on the samurai was pretty meaty. There were lots of facts about ancient Japan in it." Thus, there was a great deal of detail and information.

A Bad Apple

A "bad apple" is someone who might not be in trouble with the law (as is the case for "a bad egg"), but is a person who has a bad attitude (often about work), who is a negative influence in a team, and who is generally not pleasant to work with or be around. Ex.: "That guy we just hired? I think he's a bad apple. He snaps at co-workers; he's becoming a real distraction." The new employee is creating negativity around him.

A Bad Egg

Figuratively, a bad egg is someone who is often involved in trouble, such as petty crime, vandalism, and so forth. Ex.: "I don't want you hanging around with that boy! He's a bad egg. He'll get you arrested someday!" Here, "that boy" is well known as a delinquent and is involved with shady things (though not necessarily on a serious level... yet).

The Big Cheese

In an organization, the big cheese is the person in charge of a particular branch. Big cheeses, as a group, are synonymous with Very Important Persons (V.I.P.s). Ex.: "No, I don't want to speak to his assistant. I want to talk to the big cheese as soon as possible." Here, "the big cheese" is the only person with the actual authority to make things happen.

Filling the Void

In food idioms, "the void" is the emptiness of the stomach, both literal and the "feeling" of hunger. Food that "fills the void" satisfies raw hunger - but does nothing else. It is not necessarily tasty, but at the very least, does not taste awful enough to be outright rejected. Ex.: "So how was the meal you had at that restaurant?" "It filled the void." "...That's not much of a compliment!" <- For an expensive restaurant meal to only "fill the void" would be taken as an understated insult towards the restaurant.

One's Bread and Butter

Idiomatically speaking, a person's, or an organization's, bread and butter is the core or heart of that person or group's activities. Ex.: "Microsoft's Windows operating system is its bread and butter. Even so, Microsoft has expanded into the video game console market, where it competes with Sony and Nintendo." Here, Windows is Microsoft's main business activity, while video games might be considered "gravy," figuratively speaking.

A Piece of Cake

A task that is "like eating a piece of cake" is a task that is easy. Cake, while fattening, is easy to digest. Therefore, doing a task like eating cake, is a task that is easy. Thus, the idiom, "a piece of cake," was born. Ex.: "Driving a car? That's a piece of cake! Flying a plane? Now that's challenging." Something that is a figurative piece of cake, is easy.

Being "Out To Lunch"

A person whose mind is "out to lunch" is a person whose critical faculties and logical thinking centers are on vacation, not functioning, and so on. That is, the person who is "out to lunch" is irrational, absent-minded, unfocused, or (to use a non-scientific term), crazy. Ex.: "Bill's totally out to lunch today. I heard his girlfriend dumped him... he'd better snap out of it, or the boss is going to be on his back about it." Bill cannot focus or concentrate and is doing poorly in his job.

Making One's Mouth Water

If the smell or sight of food is making my mouth water, it is making me hungry. My mouth is generating saliva in anticipation of eating food. Used figuratively, this is an idiom for anticipation in general. Ex.: "My mouth's watering at the thought of buying the new Google Android phone. I can't wait!" This expresses eager excitement. Does a cell phone make your mouth water?

In A Nutshell

A nutshell is a small package provided by Mother Nature, containing a seed. The expression "in a nutshell" is for something that can be explained, represented, or summarized, in a small package. Ex.: "Vegetarianism In A Nutshell" is a website devoted to explaining vegetarianism in a short, concise, and efficient manner. 

Egg on your Face

To unknowingly have a piece of egg on your face is a dinnertime embarrassment. To figuratively have "egg on your face" is to be embarrassed by something unrelated to food. Ex.: "Apple has egg on its face after its claims the iPhone 4's call signal problems are 'software based' now that Consumer Reports has established, through testing by its engineers, that the problem is indeed a hardware based design flaw." (I have personally written about this issue for Technorati.com. - Jeremiah)

A Hot Potato

A hot potato is far too hot for the bare human hand to hold. A topic or issue that is a figurative "hot potato" is too hot to handle; everyone wants to push the issue aside and avoid responsibility. It is a controversial or sensitive topic. Ex.: "Carnival Drops Antigua Like A Hot Potato." This means, Carnival (the cruise line) dropped Antigua from its ports of call list without any warning or debate, as if Antigua was physically too hot to hold onto. (This headline was on 30 Sept., 2009)

Hitting the Sauce

To "hit the sauce," figuratively, is to drink alcoholic beverages, usually in a regular manner. Ex.: "Old Tom's hitting the sauce again. He just won't give his liquor up, even if it kills him." Sounds like liquor really might kill old Tom, but he is unable or unwilling to quit his alcohol drinking habit.

Introducing: Fun with Food

I have decided I need to focus on fun things in the English language. Specifically, I will be focusing on food idioms (and also, as opportunities permit, food proverbs and other related sayings). Eventually, I will release eBooks on this subject that will include content posted on this blog and mirrored on English Idioms on Facebook.

Gravy Train

A gravy train is a job that is paying you more money than the work is actually worth. Therefore, you are not just receiving your meal; you are receiving gravy on top of it, as a metaphor for additional, surplus pay. Ex.: "That secretary's on the gravy train. She's being paid way more than she's worth because she's having an affair with the boss!" Figuratively, you ride the gravy train as far as it will take you.