The English language is peppered with terms and expressions that are related to food.
So let’s take a look at some of the verbal morsels that spice up our conversation – as long as we don’t bite off more than we can chew.
Where to begin?
A history of food-based idioms, phrases, and expressions
French pastry chef and chocolatier Jacques Torres says, “Life is short. Eat dessert first.” So let’s start there.
The idiom “a finger in every pie” means to be involved in many different activities, often with the implication of being overly involved or meddling. The origin of the phrase is thought to come from the medieval practice of testing the filling of meat pies with a finger to check for doneness or flavor.
The expression “easy as pie” is believed to have originated in the United States in the early 19th century. It likely gained popularity due to the association of pie with comfort and home cooking. The phrase suggests that making a pie is simple and straightforward, reflecting a common perception of pie-making as an uncomplicated task.
Similarly, “a piece of cake” denotes something that is easily accomplished. The expression was used in the British Royal Air Force in the late 1930s to refer to an easy mission.
It would be safe to say that those intrepid pilots were no cream puffs. While a cream puff is a delectable choux pastry filled with custard or whipped cream, someone who is described as a “cream puff” is deemed to be weak and cowardly.
Another less than flattering descriptor is the phrase “nuttier than a fruitcake,” which describes someone as being eccentric or crazy. The expression, which originated in America in the 1920s, transfers the actual nuts in a fruitcake to the colloquial meaning of “nutty,” meaning “crazy.” The term “nuts” meaning “crazy” may have evolved from the earlier term “be nuts on,” meaning “to be very fond of,” which then became associated with the idea of being overly fixated or obsessed, potentially to the point of being insane. Additionally, “nut” was used to refer to the head, and phrases like “off one’s nut” meaning “insane” contributed to the association of “nuts” with mental instability. The expression “nuttier than a fruitcake” later gave rise to the use of the word “fruitcake” itself as a metaphor for an eccentric individual.
Calling someone “butterfingers” implies that he is clumsy and drops things as if his hands were coated in slippery butter. The term first appeared in 1836 in Charles Dickens’s novel The Pickwick Papers. A colleague of mine once told me that in Italian the equivalent of “butterfingers” is “sugar hands.” Sweet.
The idiom “to butter someone up” means to flatter or praise a person excessively, often to gain a favor. The origin of that expression is believed to date back to the ancient Indian custom where people would throw balls of clarified butter (ghee) at statues of gods to curry favor and ensure good fortune. The practice was thought to make the gods more receptive to their requests.
The expression “butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth” means that someone appears to be very innocent, mild-mannered, or even demure, but he might actually be untrustworthy, disagreeable, or mean-spirited. It’s a way of saying that the person is putting on an act of innocence. The idiom was recorded in a 1546 collection of proverbs written by English playwright and poet John Heywood. The expression alleges that one is literally so cool, that the butter inside his mouth wouldn’t melt.
This brings us to another expression and another course on the menu – the salad bar. The phrase “cool as a cucumber” means that someone is calm, composed, and self-possessed. This idiom is based on the fact that in hot weather, the inside of a cucumber remains cooler than the air. Cool indeed.
The term “salad days” originally referred to a period of youthful inexperience or immaturity, often with a connotation of foolishness or naivety. The phrase appeared in William Shakespeare’s play Antony and Cleopatra. The Egyptian monarch uses the term to describe her youthful affair with Julius Caesar, highlighting her being “green in judgment.” Over time, the meaning of the phrase has evolved, denoting a period of youthful enthusiasm or a time when someone was at his peak in life.
The expression “to spill the beans” means to reveal a secret or disclose information prematurely. The most widely accepted origin of the phrase is linked to an ancient Greek voting system, where different colored beans were used to cast votes. If one spilled the beans, one would expose the secret vote.
The relatively new expression “spill the tea” means to share gossip or reveal information. Originating in Black drag culture, it evolved from the term “T” or “tea,” which initially represented “truth” but later came to signify gossip or juicy information.
The expression “my cup of tea” denotes something that someone likes, enjoys, or is good at. The phrase can be used in both positive and negative contexts, though it’s more commonly used to express something that is not one’s preference. In that regard, Polish-born Hollywood producer Samuel Goldwyn famously commented, “Coffee is not my cup of tea.”
In the realm of music, a well-known line is spoken at the beginning of William Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night. Duke Orsini is frustrated with courtship and wants an overabundance of love so that he may lose his appetite for it because being in love makes him feel miserable. Thus he implores, “If music be the food of love, play on.”
On a much more positive note, a song featured in the 1928 Broadway musical comedy Hold Everything! puts a decidedly amorous spin on love and the object of one’s affections in no uncertain terms. One of the verses in the song “You’re the Cream in My Coffee,” composed by Ray Henderson, with lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva and Lew Brown, has this to say:
You’re the cream in my coffee
You’re the salt in my stew
You will always be my necessity
I’d be lost without you.
That’s the icing on the cake. I could go on and on, but I have already said a mouthful.■