45 Cooking Idioms with Meanings and Examples • 7ESL

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When we explore the richness of the English language, we often stumble upon colorful expressions that stem from the universal experience of preparing and enjoying food. Cooking idioms pepper our everyday language, offering a glimpse into the cultural importance of food and the culinary arts. These phrases add flavor to our conversations, illustrating complex ideas in a way that’s instantly relatable, whether we’re talking about tackling a challenge or evaluating someone’s work.

What Are Cooking Idioms?

In the world of language, we encounter cooking idioms quite frequently. These are expressive phrases that use culinary terms to convey meanings that are different from the literal cooking process. We use these idioms to spice up our daily conversations with flavorful imagery because just like a pinch of salt, they can transform bland dialogue into something much more interesting.

Here’s a snapshot of a few more cooking-related idioms we might whisk into our conversations:

Idiom	Meaning
Put all your eggs in one basket	Rely on a single avenue and risk everything
Full plate	Having a lot of responsibilities
Too many cooks spoil the broth	Too many people trying to control a situation can ruin it

List of Cooking Idioms

Idiom
Bite off more than one can chew	Too many cooks spoil the broth
Full plate	Stir the pot
Spill the beans	A pinch of salt
A recipe for disaster	Bread and butter
Bring home the bacon	Butter someone up
Chew the fat	Cream of the crop
Cry over spilled milk	Eat humble pie
Half-baked idea	Hard nut to crack
Have one’s cake and eat it too	Icing on the cake
In a pickle	Out of the frying pan and into the fire
Piece of cake	Put all one’s eggs in one basket
Simmer down	Slice of life
That’s the way the cookie crumbles	The proof is in the pudding
To butter up	To sugarcoat something
Tough cookie	Use your noodle
Warm up to	With a grain of salt
Cut the mustard	Gravy train
Chew on something	Eat one’s words
In the soup	Salt of the earth
Sell like hot cakes	Small potatoes
Sour grapes	Sweeten the deal
Take it with a pinch of salt	The big cheese
To curry favor

Cooking Idioms with Meaning and Example

Bite off more than one can chew

Meaning: To take on a task that is way too big or beyond one’s ability.
Example: When John decided to work full-time while taking a full course load at college, he quickly realized he had bitten off more than he could chew.

Full plate

Meaning: To have a lot of tasks or responsibilities at a particular time.
Example: I can’t take on another project right now; I already have a full plate.

Spill the beans

Meaning: To reveal secret information unintentionally or indiscreetly.
Example: The surprise party was ruined when her little brother spilled the beans to the birthday girl.

Too many cooks spoil the broth

Meaning: Too many people involved in a task or activity can ruin it.
Example: We had ten people trying to help organize the event, but it became a disaster—too many cooks spoiled the broth.

Stir the pot

Meaning: To cause trouble or controversy.
Example: Every time we have a family gathering, Uncle Joe can’t help but stir the pot by bringing up politics.

A pinch of salt

Meaning: To view something, especially a piece of information, with skepticism or not take it literally.
Example: I take everything he says with a pinch of salt because he tends to exaggerate.

A recipe for disaster

Meaning: A set of conditions that seem to inevitably lead to a negative outcome.
Example: Mixing inexperienced workers with complex machinery is a recipe for disaster.

Bread and butter

Meaning: A person’s main source of income or livelihood.
Example: Web design is my bread and butter; it’s what pays the bills.

Bring home the bacon

Meaning: To earn money, particularly for one’s family; to be the breadwinner.
Example: Since I lost my job, my wife has been bringing home the bacon.

Butter someone up

Meaning: To flatter or compliment someone, often to gain a favor.
Example: She’s been buttering up the boss for weeks, hoping for a promotion.

Chew the fat

Meaning: To engage in casual conversation or small talk.
Example: After the meeting, we stayed behind to chew the fat about our weekend plans.

Cream of the crop

Meaning: The best of a particular group.
Example: The students at this university are the cream of the crop of high school graduates.

Cry over spilled milk

Meaning: To be upset about things that have already happened and cannot be changed.
Example: I know you didn’t get the job, but there’s no use crying over spilled milk now.

Eat humble pie

Meaning: To admit one’s faults or errors and apologize.
Example: After making such strong accusations, he had to eat humble pie when he was proven wrong.

Half-baked idea

Meaning: A poorly thought-out plan or idea that is unlikely to succeed.
Example: He’s always coming up with half-baked ideas that never work.

Hard nut to crack

Meaning: A person or problem that is very difficult to understand or solve.
Example: The new encryption software was a hard nut to crack, but our team finally figured it out.

Have one’s cake and eat it too

Meaning: To want to have or do two good things at the same time when it’s impossible to have both.
Example: You can’t have a high-paying job with lots of time off—that’s trying to have your cake and eat it too.

Icing on the cake

Meaning: An additional benefit or positive aspect to something that is already considered positive or beneficial.
Example: The pay raise was great, and the extra vacation days were the icing on the cake.

In a pickle

Meaning: To be in a difficult or tricky situation.
Example: I’m in a real pickle—my car won’t start, and I need to be at the airport in an hour.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire

Meaning: To go from a bad situation to one that is worse.
Example: Leaving an unfulfilling job without having another one lined up is like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Piece of cake

Meaning: Something that is very easy to do.
Example: I finished the test in half an hour. It was a piece of cake.

Put all one’s eggs in one basket

Meaning: To risk everything on a single venture or decision.

Example: Investing all your money in one company is risky; you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Simmer down

Meaning: To become calmer or less agitated.
Example: The crowd started to simmer down once the concert was over and the lights came on.

Slice of life

Meaning: A realistic representation of everyday experiences in art, literature, or entertainment.
Example: That movie was a perfect slice of life, capturing the essence of suburban America.

That’s the way the cookie crumbles

Meaning: That’s just the way things happen; used to express resignation in the face of a minor setback or disappointment.
Example: I was hoping to get that job, but they gave it to someone else. Oh well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

The proof is in the pudding

Meaning: The real value, quality, or effectiveness of something can only be determined by putting it to the test or by seeing the results.
Example: They claim that their new software will double our productivity, but the proof is in the pudding—we’ll have to see how it performs in a real-world test.

To butter up

Meaning: To flatter someone, usually to gain a favor; synonymous with “butter someone up.”
Example: He’s been trying to butter up the manager by complimenting his decisions.

To sugarcoat something

Meaning: To make something unpleasant seem more palatable or less harsh.

Example: I won’t sugarcoat it; the feedback from the client was not positive, and we have a lot of work to do to improve.

Tough cookie

Meaning: A person who is strong, resilient, and can handle difficult situations.
Example: She’s a tough cookie; even after all the setbacks she’s faced, she never gives up.

Use your noodle

Meaning: To use your brain or think logically about a problem.
Example: We can’t seem to solve this issue the usual way; it’s time to use your noodle and come up with a creative solution.

Warm up to

Meaning: To begin to like or enjoy someone or something after being initially unsure or indifferent.
Example: I wasn’t sure about the new guy at first, but I’m warming up to him now.

With a grain of salt

Meaning: To consider something with skepticism or to not take it literally; synonymous with “a pinch of salt.”
Example: Take his advice with a grain of salt—he doesn’t have much experience in this area.

Cut the mustard

Meaning: To meet the required standard; to be good enough.
Example: The applicant had a good resume, but during the interview, he just didn’t cut the mustard.

Gravy train

Meaning: An easy way to make money, often with little effort required.
Example: He’s been riding the gravy train ever since he patented his invention.

Chew on something

Meaning: To think deeply about something; to ponder or mull over.
Example: I need to chew on this problem for a while before I decide what to do.

Eat one’s words

Meaning: To take back what one has said; to admit that one’s statement was wrong.
Example: He said it would never work, but he had to eat his words when the project turned out to be a huge success.

In the soup

Meaning: To be in trouble or a difficult situation.
Example: I’m really in the soup now; I accidentally sent a confidential email to the wrong person.

Salt of the earth

Meaning: A person or group of people of great kindness, reliability, or honesty.
Example: My grandparents have been married for 50 years and have always been there for us—they truly are the salt of the earth.

Sell like hot cakes

Meaning: To sell quickly or in large quantities.
Example: The new smartphone model is selling like hotcakes; the store can hardly keep it in stock.

Small potatoes

Meaning: Something insignificant or unimportant.
Example: The amount of money we’re arguing about is small potatoes compared to the company’s overall budget.

Sour grapes

Meaning: Pretending to despise something because you cannot have it.
Example: He said he never really wanted the promotion, but that’s just sour grapes because he didn’t get it.

Sweeten the deal

Meaning: To make an offer more attractive.
Example: The seller agreed to sweeten the deal by including a two-year warranty at no extra cost.

Take it with a pinch of salt

Meaning: To not completely believe something; to be skeptical about the truth or accuracy of information.
Example: I would take those rumors with a pinch of salt if I were you. They don’t sound credible.

The big cheese

Meaning: An important person; a leader or someone with authority.
Example: In this company, the big cheese is the CEO. She makes all the final decisions.

To curry favor

Meaning: To try to gain favor by flattering or pleasing someone.
Example: By always agreeing with the boss, he’s trying to curry favor.

Related idiom list:

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Jim Manheim

Jim Manheim is a highly skilled writer, editor, and teacher from Michigan, with a wealth of experience and expertise in the English language, including slang and idioms. He is widely recognized as a word geek and a music enthusiast, as well as a grammar and writing expert, with a passion for language that shines through in his work.