Food Idioms

What do you think these expressions mean?

Bob works hard to bring home the bacon¹, and put bread and butter² on his family's table. Every morning, he drags himself to his desk at the bank and faces his tedious 10-hour-a-day job. His boss, Mark, is a bad egg³ but has somehow taken a liking to Bob so he always speaks well of Bob in front of Mr. Davies, the owner and big cheese⁴ of the company. Mark tells Mr. Davies that Bob's the cream of the crop⁵ and is one smart cookie⁶ whouses his noodles⁷. Mark likes to chew the fat⁸ with Bob during coffee break and discusses half-baked⁹ company plans with him because he trusts Bob and knows that Bob won't spill the beans¹⁰ behind his back. On these occasions, Bob tries to avoid any hot potatoes¹¹ and, even if Mark isn't his cup of tea¹², Bob makes an effort to butter him up¹³by leading Mark into discussions about electronic gadgets which Mark is nuts about¹⁴. Bob really thinks that Mark is out to lunch¹⁵ and nutty as a fruitcake¹⁶, but in a nutshell¹⁷, if he polishes the apple¹⁸, his job could become a piece of cake¹⁹ and maybe one day he will find his gravy train²⁰.

This is definitely an exaggerated use of idiomatic expressions. But you can see how these expressions make spoken informal language much more colourful and jovial.

Activity II) How good is your food-idiom intuition?

Here are some non-food idiom expressions which you can use to substitute the food idioms in Activity I. Check answers with your teacher.

	NON-FOOD EXPRESSIONS	FOOD IDIOMS
A	boss	4 - big cheese
B	food
C	very easy
D	on the table but still unofficial
E	the best
F	continues to be servile and brown-nose his boss
G	scoundrel
H	make a living
I	is an intelligent person
J	show admiration
K	basically
L	share confidential information
M	means to a big income with little effort
N	chat
O	thinks
P	a little out of touch with reality
Q	problematic issues
R	a little crazy
S	really likes
T	the type of person he likes

Answers:

A	4	E	5	I	6	M	20	Q	11
B	2	F	18	J	13	N	8	R	16
C	19	G	3	K	17	O	7	S	14
D	9	H	1	L	10	P	15	T	12

Food Idioms

What do you think these expressions mean?

Bob works hard to bring home the bacon¹, and put bread and butter² on his family's table. Every morning, he drags himself to his desk at the bank and faces his tedious 10-hour-a-day job. His boss, Mark, is a bad egg³ but has somehow taken a liking to Bob so he always speaks well of Bob in front of Mr. Davies, the owner and big cheese⁴ of the company. Mark tells Mr. Davies that Bob's the cream of the crop⁵ and is one smart cookie⁶ whouses his noodles⁷. Mark likes to chew the fat⁸ with Bob during coffee break and discusses half-baked⁹ company plans with him because he trusts Bob and knows that Bob won't spill the beans¹⁰ behind his back. On these occasions, Bob tries to avoid any hot potatoes¹¹ and, even if Mark isn't his cup of tea¹², Bob makes an effort to butter him up¹³by leading Mark into discussions about electronic gadgets which Mark is nuts about¹⁴. Bob really thinks that Mark is out to lunch¹⁵ and nutty as a fruitcake¹⁶, but in a nutshell¹⁷, if he polishes the apple¹⁸, his job could become a piece of cake¹⁹ and maybe one day he will find his gravy train²⁰.

This is definitely an exaggerated use of idiomatic expressions. But you can see how these expressions make spoken informal language much more colourful and jovial.

Activity II) How good is your food-idiom intuition?

Here are some non-food idiom expressions which you can use to substitute the food idioms in Activity I. Check answers with your teacher.

	NON-FOOD EXPRESSIONS	FOOD IDIOMS
A	boss	4 - big cheese
B	food
C	very easy
D	on the table but still unofficial
E	the best
F	continues to be servile and brown-nose his boss
G	scoundrel
H	make a living
I	is an intelligent person
J	show admiration
K	basically
L	share confidential information
M	means to a big income with little effort
N	chat
O	thinks
P	a little out of touch with reality
Q	problematic issues
R	a little crazy
S	really likes
T	the type of person he likes

Answers:

A	4	E	5	I	6	M	20	Q	11
B	2	F	18	J	13	N	8	R	16
C	19	G	3	K	17	O	7	S	14
D	9	H	1	L	10	P	15	T	12

Matching Similes. Answer Keys

1. L The girl never tells the truth.	A. It's as smooth as silk.
2. Y Please water that plant.	B. I'm as busy as a beaver.
3. e Those two children don't like each other.	C. She has been as quiet as a church mouse.
4. c That girl won't harm anyone.	D. Then I can fly like an eagle.
5. B I have many things to do today.	E. It's as flat as a pancake.
6. b Be careful of the the broken glass.	F. He's as strong as a bull.
7. M The water has frozen.	G. She's as slow as molasses in January.
8. A This material is very soft.	H. It's as fresh as a daisy.
9. a Did you scrub the floor?	I. He eats like a pig.
10. V Put on some warm gloves.	J. He eats like a bird.
11. P This cake is soft and fluffy.	K. She can sing like an angel.
12. D I want to do well on my tests.	L. She lies like a rug.
13. H This bed sheet is very clean and smells good.	M. It's as hard as a rock.
14. S I can't understand this question.	N. They're as black as coal.
15. Z He will get lung cancer if he's not careful.	O. She looks as white as a ghost.
16. d My father taught me many things.	P. It's as light as a feather.
17. G Why is she taking so much time?	Q. It's as sweet as honey.
18. f I have heard that story many times before.	R. Time flies like an arrow.
19. I He's such a sloppy eater.	S. It's as clear as mud.
20. W He doesn't listen to anyone.	T. She is flying as high as a kite.
21. O The patient looks very ill.	U. She's as blind as a bat.
22. J He doesn't eat very much.	V. Your hands are as cold as ice.
23. K She sings with much feeling.	W. He's as stubborn as a mule.
24. F The man can lift this heavy box.	X. He sits there like a bump on a log.
25. R We shouldn't waste time worrying.	Y. It's as dry as a bone.
26. N Go to the bathroom to clean your hands.	Z. He smokes like a chimney.
27. X The boy is very lazy.	a. It's as clean as a whistle.
28. Q The pudding tastes delicious.	b. It's as sharp as a knife.
29. U She has very poor eyesight.	c. She's as gentle as a lamb.
30. E Did you step on this?	d. He's as wise as an owl.
31. T She is very excited about getting her driver's license.	e. They always fight like cats and dogs.
32. C I will go check on the baby.	f. It's as old as the hills.

Matching Similes. Answer Keys

1. L The girl never tells the truth.	A. It's as smooth as silk.
2. Y Please water that plant.	B. I'm as busy as a beaver.
3. e Those two children don't like each other.	C. She has been as quiet as a church mouse.
4. c That girl won't harm anyone.	D. Then I can fly like an eagle.
5. B I have many things to do today.	E. It's as flat as a pancake.
6. b Be careful of the the broken glass.	F. He's as strong as a bull.
7. M The water has frozen.	G. She's as slow as molasses in January.
8. A This material is very soft.	H. It's as fresh as a daisy.
9. a Did you scrub the floor?	I. He eats like a pig.
10. V Put on some warm gloves.	J. He eats like a bird.
11. P This cake is soft and fluffy.	K. She can sing like an angel.
12. D I want to do well on my tests.	L. She lies like a rug.
13. H This bed sheet is very clean and smells good.	M. It's as hard as a rock.
14. S I can't understand this question.	N. They're as black as coal.
15. Z He will get lung cancer if he's not careful.	O. She looks as white as a ghost.
16. d My father taught me many things.	P. It's as light as a feather.
17. G Why is she taking so much time?	Q. It's as sweet as honey.
18. f I have heard that story many times before.	R. Time flies like an arrow.
19. I He's such a sloppy eater.	S. It's as clear as mud.
20. W He doesn't listen to anyone.	T. She is flying as high as a kite.
21. O The patient looks very ill.	U. She's as blind as a bat.
22. J He doesn't eat very much.	V. Your hands are as cold as ice.
23. K She sings with much feeling.	W. He's as stubborn as a mule.
24. F The man can lift this heavy box.	X. He sits there like a bump on a log.
25. R We shouldn't waste time worrying.	Y. It's as dry as a bone.
26. N Go to the bathroom to clean your hands.	Z. He smokes like a chimney.
27. X The boy is very lazy.	a. It's as clean as a whistle.
28. Q The pudding tastes delicious.	b. It's as sharp as a knife.
29. U She has very poor eyesight.	c. She's as gentle as a lamb.
30. E Did you step on this?	d. He's as wise as an owl.
31. T She is very excited about getting her driver's license.	e. They always fight like cats and dogs.
32. C I will go check on the baby.	f. It's as old as the hills.

Confusing words

amicable	friendly (refers to things, not people)
amiable	friendly (refers to people) Example: The amiable couple had an amicable divorce.

Confusing words

amicable	friendly (refers to things, not people)
amiable	friendly (refers to people) Example: The amiable couple had an amicable divorce.

The cheat's guide to exercise

Taking the stairs one at a time burns MORE calories than leaping up them. The next time someone bounds past you up the stairs, there's no need to feel guilty. For ascending one step at a time actually burns more calories than leaping up multiple stairs, new research suggests.

Although more energy is initially expended when taking two steps per stride, over time, more energy is burnt up when you take your time.