Hi and welcome back to love English I'm Leila and today the less I have you
actually combines two of my favorite things British idioms and food that's
right idioms and food now would you believe it
there are a lot of idioms in the English language when it comes to referring to
food and these expressions are particularly useful to help you express
yourself in English they're also pretty fun and a lot of them not too
complicated so today I'm going to look at I think about 33 British idioms all
connected to food now before we get started don't forget do you click the
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Twitter right let's find out are you a smart cookie have you ever been in a
pickle are you and your best friend like chalk and cheese let's find out number
one bread and butter now when we say it's my bread and butter we're referring
to your main source of income of money that you live off the basics that you
need so our basic salary provides a bread and butter income but really I
need to do over time if we want extra luxuries like holidays number two Apple
and egg and both being bad if you say someone is a bad apple or a bad egg
you're saying they're a bad influence or a bad person so if quite a negative and
strong idiomatic expression to use I really think she's a bit of a bad apple
that one I'm sure she's a bad influence on her number three a couch potato
basically it's someone that's pretty lazy sits on the sofa all day or the
couch whichever you prefer to use and watches a lot of TV now I don't think
there's anything wrong with being a couch potato occasionally but too much
and you really are quite lazy a couch potato a lazy idle person if you say
that someone is a hard nut to crack it means that they're difficult to
understand to get to know or if you're throwing to a situation of thing being a
hard nut to crack you're referring to a problem being difficult to solve
I really don't know much about him we have a hard nut
to crack number five a piece of cake if you say
that something was a piece of cake you're not saying that you ate the cake
and it was really yummy you mean that it was easy the exam was a piece of cake I
can't believe how easy it was number six if somebody's a smart cookie
they're not tasty to eat or with chocolate chips all over their face they
are simply smart intelligent a smart cookie she passed all of our exams and
got A's she is such a smart cookie he's a bit of a big cheese around here no it
doesn't mean his feet are smelly it simply means that he's very important
so who's the big cheese around here oh that's my boss but actually he's really
nice so the big cheese the most important person usually referring to a
boss with or without cheesy feet this report really doesn't cut the mustard so
something doesn't cut the mustard and then it's not too a good enough standard
it's just not good enough I don't think you spent enough time on this essay it
really doesn't cut the mustard number nine food for thought if
something is food for thought then it's worth considering it's worth thinking
about don't you think it would be better if you studied in the mornings if you
have more energy then hmm that's food for thought number 10 it's all gone
pear-shaped if something's gone pear-shaped it's gone wrong and it's
gone unexpectedly wrong you didn't think it would go wrong I thought it was going
to be a fantastic meal but it all went pear-shaped when I added sugar instead
of salt number eleven in a nutshell if you say in a nutshell the beginning of
your sentence you're saying I'm going to simplify this for you simply put in a
nutshell your work wasn't good enough sorry in a pickle if you've ever found
yourself in a pickle you've found yourself in a difficult situation
basically in trouble or in a mess so she didn't take her wallet with her when she
went out and so she really was in a bit of a pickle when she had to pay for
dinner if you refer to you a person as a pickle then it is usually when we're
talking about children and then being a little bit naughty or misbehaving oh
she's lovely but she is a little pickle 13 chalk and cheese they are like chalk
and cheese meaning they are completely different in personality so me and my
brother are like chalk and cheese we have very different interests and jobs
and we are like and she's now saber and I are two peas
in a pod two peas in a pod we are very similar we have a lot of similar
interests and things that we enjoy doing and light so I would say that saber and
I are two peas in a pod rather than chalk and cheese 15 and now
I've got to include this one I can't not if you say something is not your cup of
tea then it's not what you like horror movies are really not my cup of tea
but of course you could also use this in the positive romantic comedies are just
my cup of tea selling like hotcakes selling like
hotcakes if something's selling like hotcakes
they are very popular and selling very fast so the English course book sold
like hotcakes everybody wanted to buy one the apple of my eye you are the
apple of my eye often people will say this to their children you're the apple
of my eye meaning you're the person that I adore I love so much to be the apple
of someone's eye the cream of the crop the cream of the crop referring to the
best the absolute best so which football team is the cream of the crop which
football team is the best in the world you let me know because I have no clue
when it comes to football which team do you think is cream of the crop if
something is the icing on the cake then it is a very good thing a positive thing
that happens when something is already really good the meal was delicious and
the company was just the icing on the cake now that is the positive sense
but if something is negative then you can also use it she'd been late all week
and then when the report wasn't handed in it was just the icing on the cake so
something negative that happens to an already negative situation to be handed
something on a silver platter to be handed something on a silver platter
meaning you're being served something this means that you've come by something
that you've obtained something very easily without having to work
particularly hard for it so the job was given to her on a silver platter she
didn't even have to interview for it 21 to bring home the bacon to bring home
the bacon basically to bring home money an income a salary doesn't refer to
bringing actual bacon home simply money 22 to butter someone up
meaning to charm them to make them see your way to agree with what you're
saying oh she's always buttering him up to get her own way so to flatter someone
in the hopes of getting better or special treatment to cry over spilt milk
to cry over spilt milk now don't cry over spilt milk there is no point crying
over spilt milk it simply means there is no point
getting upset over something that has already happened and you have no control
over don't cry over spilt milk you need to eat humble pie you need to eat humble
pie meaning you need to apologize and accept responsibility for something and
often be humiliated because of what you have done after shouting at me in the
office my boss had to eat humble pie and apologize to egg someone on if you add
someone on you're encouraging them to do something and to be honest it's usually
bad and not very smart cheered me on to push him over so I did it he wasn't very
happy to go bananas or to go nuts means to become extremely excited about
something to lose control because you are so excited and happy about a
situation where she told me if she was pregnant I went bananas I was so happy
for her Oh next one perfect to have a bun in the oven she's got a bun in the
oven and in this case we're referring to being pregnant to having a baby in your
stomach it's quite a lovely sweet expression to say rather than saying I'm
pregnant I've got a bun in the oven to spill the
beans to spill the beans if you spill the beans and you tell someone a secret
by accident it was unintentional I accidentally spilled the beans and told
him about the surprise party she's gonna kill me the next one actually one that I
have already taught you quite recently but I'm gonna add it again to take it
with a pinch of salt if you take what someone says with a pinch of salt it
means you don't really believe everything they're saying they may be
exaggerating the truth and not telling you the whole truth she said she'd been
cooking all day I'll take it with a pinch of salt I'm sure she wasn't
cooking that you can't have your cake and eat it too
you can't have your cake and eat it too or he wants to have his cake and eat it
too meaning you want to have the best of both situations without having to make
any sacrifice or commitment you wanted to earn loads of money and work very
little you can't have your cake and eat it too these two things that really
don't go together if you want more money you have to work harder not less so they
are not mutually exclusive you can't have it both ways you can't have your
cake and eat it too cool as a cucumber if someone is cool as a cucumber they
are relaxed they are unfazed they do not get stressed or anxious about anything
so despite having 10 exams that week he was cool as a cucumber
he wasn't stressed or fazed at all so there we have it a lot of idiomatic
expressions all connected to food but these are commonly used
you will hear native speakers using them in conversation in a movie even at
school and at work they are super common idiomatic expressions so why not try
using them make sure the next conversation you have in English you
work one of these idioms in or indeed comment below and have a go at using
them and for more idiomatic expressions just click here thank you so much for
watching