List of English expressions including food and drink vocabulary

1. Food & Drink in English
José A. Alcalde
Certainly we are what we eat. Nevertheless, food and drinks are not only present in our daily lives but also
in our language. Here are some expressions found in the English language about eating, drinking, food, etc. Bon
appetit!!
(*) indicates informal, rude or slang language
SOURCE: Most expressions came from and / or were checked at https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/idioms-
food.htm, http://www.idiomconnection.com/food.html and http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com
S
T
A
R
T
E
R
S
- (Have a) bun in the oven *
- Freeze one's buns off
- Big cheese = Big enchilada
- Cheesy
- Cheese someone off
- Chalk and chesse
- Bread and butter
- Butter someone up
- Butter fingers
- Upper crust
- For peanuts
- Hard nut to crack
- In a nutshell
- Old chestnut
- Cool as a cucumber
- Greatest thing since sliced bread
- Half a loaf is better than none
- Packed in like sardines
- Souped up
- Duck soup
- In the soup
- As busy as popcorn on a skillet
- A knuckle sandwich
- A sandwich short of a picnic
MAIN
DISHES
- Bring home the bacon
- One man's meat is another
man's poison
- Neither fish nor
flesh
- Have bigger
fish to fry ]
- Be fishy
- Spice things up
- Stew in one's own juice
- You can't make an omelette
without breaking the eggs
- Too many cooks spoil the broth
- Back to the salt mines
- Salt of the earth
- Take something with a pinch/grain
of salt
- Rub salt in someone's wound
- Use your noodle
- Eat crow
- Eat dirt
- Make hamburger out of someone or something
- (One's) Goose is cooked
SIDE
DISHES
- Bad egg
- Egg someone on
- Put all of one's eggs
in one basket
- Have egg on one's
face
- Walk on eggshells/eggs
- Like two peas in a
pod
- Couch potato
- Hot potato
- Small potatoes
- White on rice
- Go beet-red
- Carrot (top) *
- Carrot and stick
- Full of beans
- Spill the beans
- Gravy train
- Cut the mustard
- Buy a lemon
- In one's salad days (in one's youth)
- Know your onions

2. D
E
S
S
E
R
T
S
- Easy as pie = Piece of cake
- (Have one's) cake and eat it too
- Sell like hot cakes
- Sugar pie = Sweetie =
Honey = Cherry pie =
Candy*
- Eat humble pie
- Have one's finger in the pie
- Pie in the sky
- The icing on the cake
- Flat as a pancake
- Like taking candy from a baby
- Sweet tooth
- Sugarcoat something
- That's the way the cookie
crumbles
- One smart cookie
- Traffic jam
- Cream of the crop
- A cream puff
- Over egg the pudding
- Apple of one's eye
- An apple a day keeps the
doctor away
- Bad / rotten apple
- Polish the apple
- Compare apples and oranges
- Go bananas* = Go nuts*
- Nutty as fruitcake
- Brown as a berry
- Peach fuzz
- Life is a bowl of cherries
- Another bite at the cherry
- To cherry-pick
- Not to give a fig
- Forbidden fruit
- Bear fruit
D
R
I
N
K
S
- Of the first water
- (Not) Hold water
- In hot water
- (Not) My cup of tea
- Not for all the tea in China
- To drink like a fish
- (Don't) Cry over spilled milk
- Milk someone for something
- Cup of joe*
- Bottoms up!
- Champagne taste on a beer budget
- (Can't) Put new wine in old bottles
O
T
H
E
R
- Be second plate
- (Have something) Handed to someone on a
silver platter
- Spoon-feed
- The three squares
- I could eat a horse = My stomach is growling
= Hungry as a bear
- To be born with a silver spoon on one's
mouth
- Half-baked
- Out of the frying pan and into the fire
- Out to lunch
- Acquire a taste for something
- Bite off more than one can chew
- Bite the hand that feeds one
- Bitter pill to swallow
- Eat one's words
- Food for thought
- Cook books

3. EXPRESSIONS WITH A BRIEF EXPLANATION
S
T
A
R
T
E
R
S
- (Have a) bun in the oven * (be pregnant)
- Freeze one's buns off (be very cold)
- Big cheese = Big enchilada (very important
person, VIP)
- Cheesy (silly)
- Cheese someone off
(annoy, irritate or anger
someone)
- Chalk and chesse (completely different)
- Bread and butter (necessities, the main thing)
- Butter someone up (be extra nice with
someone ir order to get something in return)
- Butter fingers (very clumsy person)
- Upper crust (the highest social class or group)
- For peanuts (for practically no money)
- Hard nut to crack (difficult to understand, often
a person)
- In a nutshell (simply)
- Old chestnut (a story, joke or an idea that has
been repeated so often)
- Cool as a cucumber (very relaxed)
- Greatest thing since sliced bread (the greatest
thing that there has ever been)
- Half a loaf is better than none (having part of
something is better than having nothing at all)
- Packed in like sardines (be packed in very
tightly)
- Souped up (made more powerful
or stylish)
- Duck soup (very easy)
- In the soup (in serious trouble, in a
bad situation)
- As busy as popcorn on a skillet (very active)
- A knuckle sandwich (a punch)
- A sandwich short of a picnic (stupid or crazy)
M
A
I
N
D
I
S
H
E
S
- Bring home the bacon (earn the income)
- One man's meat is another man's poison (what
can be good for some people may not be so for
others)
- Neither fish nor flesh (having
no specefic or clear
characteristics)
- Have bigger fish to fry (have
more important things to do)
- Be fishy (be suspicious)
- Spice things up (make something more
exciting)
- Back to the salt mines (back to work)
- Salt of the earth (good / basic / honest /
ordinary people)
- Take something with a pinch/grain
of salt (not consider something
100% accurate)
- Rub salt in someone's wound (try
to make someone's unhappiness or
misfortune worse)
- Use your noodle (use your brain)
- Eat crow (admit that one is mistaken or
defeated)
- Eat dirt (act humble, to accept another person's
insults or bad treatment)
- Make hamburger out of someone or something
(beat up or destroy someone or something)
- (One's) Goose is cooked (one has been
discovered to have done something wrong and is
now in trouble)
- Stew in one's own juice (suffer from something
that you yourself have caused to happen)
- You can't make an omelette without breaking
the eggs (you cannot do something without
causing some problems or having some effects)
- Too many cooks spoil the broth (too many
people are not good for some tasks)
S
I
D
E
D
I
- Bad egg (a troublesome
person)
- Egg someone on (urge
someone to do something)
- Put all of one's eggs in one
basket (rely on one single thing)
- Have egg on one's face (be embarrassed
because of an obvious error)
- Walk on eggshells/eggs (be very cautious and
careful)
- Like two peas in a pod (very alike)
- White on rice (very similar or alike)
- Carrot (top) * (someone red-haired)
- Carrot and stick (the reward for someone to do
what you want or the punishment if they do not do
what you want)
- Full of beans (with a lot of energy)
- Spill the beans (reveal the truth)
- Gravy train (excellent pay for minimal work)
- Cut the mustard (to succeed, to do adequately
what needs to be done)
- Buy a lemon (buy something that is worthless or

4. S
H
E
S
- Couch potato (someone
always in front of the TV)
- Hot potato (a controversial or
difficult subject)
- Small potatoes (something
that is not very big or important compared with
other things or people)
- Go beet-red (become red in the face generally
because of embarrasament)
does not work well)
- In one's salad days (in one's youth)
- Know your onions (know a lot about a particular
subject)
D
E
S
S
E
R
T
S
- Easy as pie = Piece of cake (extremely easy)
- (Have one's) cake and eat it too (want more
than your fair share or need)
- Sell like hot cakes (sell very fast)
- Sugar pie = Sweetie = Honey = Cherry pie =
Candy* (all them expresions for your partner or
loved ones)
- Eat humble pie (be humbled,
to admit one`s error and
apologize)
- Have one's finger in the pie
(be involved in something)
- Pie in the sky (an idea or plan that you think
will never happen)
- The icing on the cake (extra enhancement)
- Flat as a pancake (very flat)
- Like taking candy from a baby (very easy to
do)
- Sweet tooth (someone with a craving for sweet
things)
- Sugarcoat something (make something that is
unpleasant seem more pleasant)
- That's the way the cookie
crumbles (accidents happen and
we can't avoid them)
- One smart cookie (a very
intelligent person)
- Traffic jam (traffic congestion)
- Cream of the crop (the very
best)
- A cream puff (a person who is easily
influenced or beaten)
- Over egg the pudding (exaggerate or ruin
something by trying too hard to improve it)
- Apple of one's eye (a person that is adored by
someone)
- An apple a day keeps the
doctor away (saying for healthy
eating)
- Bad / rotten apple (bad person
for some reason)
- Polish the apple (flatter someone)
- Compare apples and oranges (compare two
things that are not similar at all)
- Go bananas* = Go nuts* (go crazy)
- Nutty as fruitcake (really crazy)
- Brown as a berry (really tanned or burnt by the
sun)
- Peach fuzz (small amount of hair growth)
- Life is a bowl of cherries (only good things
happen in life)
- Another bite at the cherry
(another chance to get
something)
- To cherry-pick (to pick the
chosen ones not always in a fair way)
- Not to give a fig (not to care at all)
- Forbidden fruit (something attractive partly
because it is illegal or immoral)
- Bear fruit (yield or give results)
D
R
I
N
K
S
- Of the first water (exceptionally
good)
- (Not) Hold water (does not
stand up to critical examination
and can be shown to be
unfounded)
- In hot water (something wrong
was done and people are angry with the
responsible)
- (Not) My cup of tea (something I love or not)
- Not for all the tea in China (not for anything)
- To drink like a fish (be a heavy drinker)
- (Don't) Cry over spilled milk (nothing can be
done about past events)
- Milk someone for something (pressure
someone into giving information or money)
- Cup of joe* (cup of coffee)
- Bottoms up! (everybody must finish off their
drinks)
- Champagne taste on a beer budget (someone
who likes expensive things that they cannot
afford)
- (Can't) Put new wine in old bottles (we should
not try to combine new concepts or innovations
with an old or long-established framework or
system)

5. O
T
H
E
R
- Be second plate (be asked after someone
else, be second option)
- (Have something) Handed to someone on a
silver platter (receive without working for
something)
- Spoon-feed (treat someone like a little baby)
- The three squares (the three main meals in
the day)
- I could eat a horse = My stomach is growling
= Hungry as a bear (be really hungry)
- To be born with a silver spoon on one's
mouth (to be meant for high class or nobility)
- Half-baked (not thought about or studied
carefully)
- Out of the frying pan and into the fire (go from
something bad to something worse)
- Out to lunch (crazy or mad)
- Acquire a taste for something (to develop a
liking for something)
- Bite off more than one can chew (try to do or eat
more than you can manage)
- Bite the hand that feeds one (harm someone
who does good things for you)
- Bitter pill to swallow (something unpleasant that
one must accept)
- Eat one's words (take back something that one
has said)
- Food for thought (something to think about,
something that provides mental stimulation)
- Cook books (modify account books so they look
legal)