English Idioms

Americans will use "Chinese" as an abbreviation for "Chinese food," which is food considered to be particular to Chinese...

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 . ...

Literally, something is cheesy  when it has a great deal of cheese - a tasty, but fattening food - on top of it. Figuratively, something is ...

Something is literally  meaty  when it is rich in high-protein meat. Figuratively, something is meaty  when it is full of substance , that i...

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 ...

Figuratively, a bad egg is someone who is often involved in trouble, such as petty crime, vandalism, and so forth. Ex.: "I don't wa...

In an organization, the big cheese  is the person in charge of a particular branch. Big cheeses,  as a group, are synonymous with Very Impor...

In food idioms, "the void" is the emptiness of the stomach, both literal and the "feeling" of hunger. Food that "fi...

Idiomatically speaking, a person's, or an organization's, bread and butter is the core or heart of that person or group's activi...

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...

A person whose mind is "out to lunch" is a person whose critical faculties and logical thinking centers are on vacation, not funct...

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...

A nutshell is a small package provided by Mother Nature, containing a seed. The expression "in a nutshell" is for something that...

To unknowingly have a piece of egg on your face is a dinnertime embarrassment. To figuratively have "egg on your face" is to be e...

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 hand...

To "hit the sauce," figuratively, is to drink alcoholic beverages, usually in a regular manner. Ex.: "Old Tom's hitting t...

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 opport...

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...