Food idioms - a piece of cake!

Idioms, idioms, idioms… Most of the time they are so weird looking and sounding that it’s almost impossible to remember what they mean. Take for instance the titular ‘a piece of cake’. I mean, really? How to combine the meaning with the form in a reasonable way? It’s challenging indeed, but you have to agree here that it sounds extremely sophisticated when an idiomatic expression is popped up every now and then in a conversation. Let’s show our students then that amusing visual aids may help a bit in memorizing idioms!

Following is the table with idiomatic expressions as well as three exercises practising their usage in context!

Source: Oxford Idioms Dictionary. 2006.

Exercise 1

Complete the idiomatic expressions with appropriate food vocabulary items.

1.       a hot ………………………

2.       a piece of ………………………

3.       the ……………………… of sb’s eye

4.       your ……………………… and ………………………

5.       a hard ……………………… to crack

6.       spill the ………………………

7.       a big ………………………

8.       put sth in a ………………………

9.       as cool as a ………………………

10.   not be sb’s cup of ………………………

  

Exercise 2

Rewrite the sentences with the use of the idiomatic expressions in Exercise 1.

1.       I’m afraid I will have to decline his invitation since I don’t like going to the theatre.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2.       Although his job is quite stressful, he always manages to stay calm.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3.       His grandfather is the most important and influential person in town.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4.       He works part-time as a driver, but generally teaching is the main source of his income.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5.       You shouldn’t worry about the test – the teacher said it would be easy!
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6.       Linda is extremely spoiled since she is her grandfather’s favourite granddaughter.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

7.       Nowadays helping refugees is a very touchy issue.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8.       Little Sammy is 7 and he can already play the piano, violin and electric guitar; in a word - he’s very gifted!
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9.       The thieves were in big trouble because their former partner had informed the police about their robbery plans.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

10.   It will be challenging to persuade Tom to go to Amsterdam instead of Berlin. He can be so stubborn at times!
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Exercise 3

Work in pairs. Write a short story consisting of at least 15 sentences. Use all the idiomatic expressions from the table. Try to make it as amusing as possible.