Idioms used to describe food

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04/08/2018

Do you know what is an ‘acquired taste? What does one mean when they say something is their ‘bread and butter’? These sure are confusing and scary! Don’t worry though. In this article, we will talk about all such idioms which either describe food or use a food item to convey something.

We will give you ten such idioms alongwith sample prompts and how the idiom can be used.

What are these idioms?

1. Acquired taste:

Meaning: Something that you dislike the first few times after trying it out but grow to like it after trying several times.

Sample prompt:

Describe your favourite restaurant.

You should say:

where it is located
what kind of cuisnine they serve
what does the place look like

How the idiom can be used?

Although the food there is not quite what poeple would call savoury, it becomes an acquired taste after a few visits.

2. Bitter pill to swallow

Meaning: an unpleasant fact that has to be accepted

Sample prompt:

Talk about a situation when you were late.

You should say:

what the event was
why you were late
how did you feel about it

and explain how you handled the situation.

How the idiom can be used?

My manager’s attitude was a bitter pill to swallow but then it was my fault that I had reported to work at such a late hour.

3. Bread and butter

Meaning: a person’s livelihood or main source of income

Sample prompt:

Talk about a job you think is helping make the world a better place.

You should say:

what the job is
how did you come to know about it
how do you think it is helping

and explain why you think it can make the world a better place.

How the idiom can be used?

What could be better than making a job like that your bread and butter?

4. Butter up

Meaning: Flatter someone to get something

Sample prompt:

Talk about a situation when you were late.

You should say:

what the event was
why you were late
how did you feel about it

and explain how you handled the situation.

How the idiom can be used?

I had to butter up my boss the entire day to keep his anger towards me in check.

5. Cry over spilt milk

Meaning: Worry about something in the past

Sample prompt:

Talk about a thing you purchased and haven’t used that much

You should say:

what the item is
where you purchased it from
why you purchased it

and explain why you haven’t used it much

How the idiom can be used?

I guess there is no crying over spilt milk now because the product is here to stay and I also have to accept the fact that it isn’t much use to me,

6. food for thought

Meaning: Something to think about

Sample prompt:

Talk about a job you think is helping make the world a better place.

You should say:

what the job is
how did you come to know about it
how do you think it is helping

and explain why you think it can make the world a better place.

How the idiom can be used?

How your work can help the society and for the greater good is a food for thought for all of us I believe.

7. hard nut to crack

Meaning: Difficult person

Sample prompt:

Describe an interesting conversation you had with someone you did not know.

You should say:

who the person was
where the conversation took place
what you talked about

and explain why you found the conversation interesting.

How the idiom can be used?

I knew he was a hard nut to crack but I never thought he would turn out to be so knowlegeable.

8. to be spoon fed

Meaning: Can literally mean to be fed with a spoon or it can mean to be treated in a way that discourages independent thought or action.

Sample prompt:

Describe something that has become a fashion or status symbol recently

You should say:

what the thing is
why people are using it
whether you have it or not

and explain what influence it has on people.

How the idiom can be used?

This device has been things so easy and convenient that its like being spoon fed.

9. binge drinking/eating

Meaning: Drinking or eating to excess in a short space of time.

Sample prompt:

Describe a party or event you recently attended

You should say:

what the party was for
who was the host
what was the best part about it

and what was your relationship with the host

How the idiom can be used?

The highlight of the event, for me at least, was the binge eating i got indulged in ! There was just so much food and I didn’t want to miss out on trying anything.

10.finger licking

Meaning: very tasty; delicious.

Sample prompt:

Describe your favourite dish

You should say

what the dish is
why it is your favourite
when was the last time you had it

and how to make it

How the idiom can be used?

The Pav Bhaji served at Canon is abosultely finger licking!!

Now learn to use these by attempting the exercises below.

Vocabulary Exercises:

A. Fill in the gaps in the following sentence with idioms from the box.

Bitter pill to swallow Finger licking crying over spilt milk acquired taste binge drinking

There’s no point _______________ now that the car is already stolen.
It was Vegas! Of course there was ___________ involved!!
When Mike’s mother told him he could not use the car, it was a ________________.
For some people desserts and anything sweet is an ____________________.
The restaurant’s _____________________ steaks attract customers to this restaurant.

B. Use an appropriate idiom for the following situations.

His mother takes care of his every need, right from his food to his clothes and even completing his homework. What would you call such a habit?
Being a singer by profession, the recent inflow of the new singers in the industry, has made the work became slack and he had to look for alternatives for his ________________.
You have just attended a seminar on ‘Online Advertising and Social Media Campaigning’. Some of the things they spoke about were very basic, but most were thought provoking What idiom would you use to describe these ideas?
With the annual appraisal meeting coming up next week, all employees have started putting in more effort and even started sweet talking to the HR and their managers/supervisors. What idiom would you use to describe such behaviour?