Teaching Food Idioms and Proverbs

Nikolay Zhelyazkov, Bulgaria

Nikolay Zhelyazkov is a full-time lecturer in English at the University of Food Technologies in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He mainly teaches Business English, English for Information Technology and Specialized English for Food Production.
E-mail: nikolay.zhelyazkov@gmail.com

Menu

Introduction
Food idioms and proverbs
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Idioms and proverbs are indicative of the way of life and the collective wisdom of speakers of a given language. Since sustenance is an integral part of everyday life, expressions with a food component are even more closely related to the necessities of life, and hence immediately reflect the mentality of a language community. Such expressions make the speech of learners of English more picturesque and natural-sounding. Phraseological units entail a vast subject of analysis. Whereas it is true that there exist various learning materials dedicated to idioms and proverbs, they usually include only the most popular food expressions. The current paper is more of a practical than of theoretical nature. Its main objective is to present to the language learner a fuller picture of food idioms and proverbs. The material below is excerpted and compiled from specialized dictionaries, focusing on phraseological units with idiomatic and proverbial use.

Food idioms and proverbs

apple

• a rotten (bad) apple – a bad person;
• an apple a day keeps the doctor away – proverb with a literal meaning;
• an apple off another tree – a completely different person or thing;
• apple of discord – a subject of dissention;
• apples and oranges – irreconcilably or fundamentally different people or things;
• as American as apple pie – typically American in character;
• in apple-pie order – in very good order, very well organized;
• polish the apple – flatter someone;
• the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree – children are like their parents;
• the apple of Sodom (Sodom apple) – a beautiful, but rotten fruit;
a deceitful appearance;
• the apple of someone’s eye – a person or thing of whom you are extremely fond and proud;
• the rotten apple injures its neighbours = a bad apple spoils the barrel – a bad person in a group, typically one whose behaviour is likely to have a corrupting influence on the rest;
• upset the apple cart – wreck an advantageous project or disturb the status quo.

bacon

• bring home the bacon – earn a living;
be successful;
• save someone’s bacon – save someone’s skin, rescue someone from danger or difficulty.

banana

• go bananas – become extremely angry or excited;
go mad;
• second banana – the second most important person in an organization or activity;
• top banana – the most important person in an organization or activity.

bean

• a hill (row) of beans – something of little importance or value;
• care a bean – care a hill of beans, care a bit, not care at all;
• count the beans (a bean counter) – be interested (a person interested) only in narrow questions;
• every bean has its black – proverb similar to every family has a black sheep;
also see a black hen lays a white egg in EGG;
• full of beans – lively, in high spirits;
• give someone beans – scold or deal severely with a person;
• know how many beans make five – be intelligent, have your wits about you;
• not have a bean – be penniless;
• not worth a bean – useless, worthless;
• old bean – an old friend, pal, buddy;
• spill the beans – divulge a secret, give away confidential information.

bread

• bread and circuses – material benefits and entertainment employed by rulers or political parties to keep the masses happy and docile;
• bread and water – the most minimal meal possible;
a meal as once was given to prisoners;
• break bread with someone – share a meal with someone;
• cast your bread upon the waters – do good without expecting gratitude or immediate reward;
• eat the bread of idleness – eat food that you have not worked for;
• half a loaf is better than none (no bread) – see LOAF;
• have your bread buttered on both sides – be in a state of easy prosperity;
• know on which side your bread is buttered – know where your advantage lies;
• man cannot live by bread alone – people have spiritual as well as physical needs;
• someone’s bread and butter – someone’s livelihood, routine work to provide an income;
• take the bread out of people’s mouth – deprive people of their livings, especially by competition or unfair working practices;
• the best (greatest) thing since sliced bread – a notable new idea, person, or thing (used to express real or ironic appreciation);
• want your bread buttered on both sides – want more than is practicable or than is reasonable to expect;
• your daily bread – the basic things that you need to live, especially food.

broth

• a broth of a boy – an outstanding person;
a lively boy;
• every cook praises his own broth – proverb with a literal meaning;
• too many cooks spoil the broth – if too many people are involved in a task or activity, it will not be done well.

butter

• butter someone up – flatter someone to gain favours;
• butter to butter is no relish – people get fed up with everything repetitive;
• fine words butter no parsnips – when someone talks about something, this does not necessarily mean that he or she will do it;
• know on which side your bread is buttered – see BREAD;
• look as if butter wouldn’t melt in someone’s mouth – appear deceptively gentle or innocent;
• someone’s bread and butter – see BREAD;
• want your bread buttered on both sides – see BREAD.

cake

• a piece of cake – something easily achieved;
• cake’s not worth the candle – the result will not be worth the effort put in to achieve it;
• cakes and ale – merrymaking;
• have one’s cake baked – live in abundance, wallow in money;
• have one’s cake dough – fail in you plans and undertakings;
• pieces of the same cake – things that have the same characteristics or qualities;
• sell (go) like hot cakes – be sold quickly and in large quantities;
• the icing on the cake – an attractive but inessential addition or enhancement;
• you can’t have your cake and eat it – you can’t enjoy both of two desirable but mutually exclusive alternatives.

cheese

• a big cheese – an important and influential person;
• hard (tough) cheese – used to express sympathy over a petty matter.

corn

• acknowledge the corn – admit to a mistake;
• corn in Egypt – a plentiful supply;
• feed someone on soft corn – flatter someone;
• like green corn through the new maid – very fast;
• measure someone’s corn by one’s own bushel – judge someone by your standards.

egg

• a black hen lays a white egg = even black hens lay white eggs – proverb similar to every family has a black sheep; also see every bean has its black in BEAN;
• a curate’s egg – something that is partly good and partly bad;
• a good egg – a good, wonderful person;
• a rotten (bad) egg – a bad person;
• a tough egg to crack – a person that is hard to deal with;
• better an egg today than a hen tomorrow – it is better to have something certain now than possibly more of something uncertain in the future;
• don’t put all your eggs in one basket – don’t risk everything on the success of one venture;
• he that would have eggs must endure the cackling hens – you must be willing to suffer to get what you want;
• kill the goose that lays the golden eggs – destroy a reliable and valuable source of income;
• lay an egg – be completely unsuccessful, fail badly;
• over-egg the pudding – spoil something by trying to improve it excessively, make something look bigger or more important than it really is;
• sure as eggs is eggs – without any doubt, absolutely certain;
• tread (walk) on eggs (eggshells) – be very careful about what you say or do;
• with egg on someone’s face – appearing foolish or ridiculous.

fat

• chew the fat – chat in an informal and friendly way;
• fat and happy – content, as if from being well-fed;
• fat cat – someone who is ostentatiously and smugly wealthy;
• fat chance – very little likelihood;
• fry the fat out of (fry out fat) – obtain money by high-pressure tactics or extortion;
• live off (on) the fat of the land – have the best of everything, have a rich and comfortable lifestyle without having to work hard for it;
• live on one’s own fat – live on one’s own money;
• pull the fat from the fire – help someone in a difficult situation;
• put the fat in the fire (throw the fat into the fire) – exacerbate an already complicated and sensitive situation;
• the fat is in the fire – something has been said or done that is about to cause trouble or anger.

fish

• (as) dumb (mute) as a fish – silent, speechless;
• a big fish – an important and influential person;
• a big fish in a small (little) pond – a person seen as important and influential only within the limited scope of a small organization or group;
• a cold fish – someone who seems unemotional, and this makes him or her appear unfriendly or unsympathetic;
• a different kettle of fish – a completely different matter or type of person from the one previously mentioned;
• a dull fish – a boring person;
• a fish out of water – a person who is in a completely unsuitable environment or situation;
• a loose fish – an immoral person;
• a pretty (fine) kettle of fish – an awkward state of affairs;
• all is fish that comes to his net – take advantage of everything;
• an odd (a queer, a strange) fish – an eccentric person;
• cry stinking fish – to belittle or disparage one’s own efforts or character;
• drink like a fish – drink excessive amounts of alcohol, especially habitually;
• fish begins to stink at the head – corruption starts from the ruling body of an organization or country;
• fish for compliments – try to make someone praise you, often by criticizing yourself to them;
• fish in troubled waters – make a profit out of trouble or upheaval;
• fish or cut bait – stop vacillating and decide to act on or disengage from something;
• have other (bigger) fish to fry – have other or more important matters to attend to;
• if you swear you will catch no fish – swearing will not help your work;
• it is a silly fish that is caught twice with the same bail – proverb similar to fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me;
• land one’s fish – achieve one’s goal;
• like shooting fish in a barrel – done very easily;
• make fish of one and flesh (fowl) of another – favour one thing or person over another, to make unfair distinctions between similar things or persons;
• neither fish nor fowl (nor good red herring) – of indefinite character and difficult to identify or classify;
• swim like a fish – swim very well;
• the best fish swim (are) near the bottom – the finest things are hard to get;
• there are plenty more fish in the sea – proverb similar to you are not the only pebble on the beach, used to console someone whose romantic relationship has ended by pointing out that there are many other people with whom they may have a successful relationship in the future;
• try to catch a fish in the air – work in vain, do something useless.

grain

• a grain of mustard seed – a small thing capable of vast development;
• against the grain – contrary to the natural inclination or feeling of someone or something;
• separate (sift) the wheat (grain) from the chaff – choose the things or people that are of high quality from a group of mixed quality, separate what is useful or valuable from what is worthless;
• take something with a grain of salt – consider something to be not completely true or right.

grist

• all is grist that comes to his (the) mill – all that he has anything to do with is a source of profit;
• grist to (for) the mill – experience, material or knowledge which can be turned to good use.

loaf

• half a loaf is better than none (no bread) – it is better to take what you can get, even if it is very little, than to risk having nothing at all;
• loaves and fishes – personal profit as a motive for religious profession or public service;
• use your loaf – use your common sense.

meat

• after meat mustard – too late;
• be meat and drink to someone – be a source of great pleasure or encouragement to someone;
• dead meat – in serious trouble;
• easy meat – a person or animal overrun, outwitted or persuaded without difficulty;
• make mincemeat of someone – defeat someone decisively or easily in a fight, contest or argument;
• meat and drink – a source of pleasure;
• meat and potatoes – ordinary but fundamental things, basic ingredients;
• one man’s meat is another man’s poison – different people like different things.

mustard

• a grain of mustard seed – see GRAIN;
• after meat mustard – see MEAT;
• be as keen as mustard – be very eager;
• cut the mustard – come up to expectations, meet the required standard.

mutton

• dead as mutton – completely dead;
• mutton dressed (up) as lamb – a middle-aged or old woman dressed in a style suitable for a much younger woman;
• return to one’s muttons – return to one's topic, subject of discussion, etc.

oat

• feel one’s oats – feel lively and buoyant;
• get one’s oats – have sexual intercourse;
• off one’s oats – lacking an appetite;
• sow one’s wild oats – go through a period of wild or promiscuous behaviour while young.

pie

• a piece (slice) of the pie – a share in an amount of money or business regarded as something to be divided up;
• easy as pie – very easy;
• eat humble pie – make a humble apology and accept humiliation;
• have a finger in the pie – have an interest in something;
• in apple-pie order – see APPLE;
• nice (sweet) as pie – extremely nice or agreeable;
• pie in the sky – something that is agreeable to contemplate but very unlikely to be realized.

potato

• a hot potato – something that is difficult or dangerous to deal with;
• couch potato – someone who watches a lot of television, eats junk food ant takes little or no physical exercise;
• drop someone (something) like a hot potato – quickly abandon someone (something);
• hold one’s potato – take it easy, be patient;
• meat and potatoes – see MEAT;
• not (quite) the clean potato – a suspicious character, a dodgy person;
• small potatoes – something insignificant or unimportant.

stew

• in a stew – very worried about something;
• stew in one’s juice – suffer the unpleasant consequences of one’s own actions or temperament without the consoling intervention of others.

toast

• be toast – be or be likely to become finished, defunct or dead;
• have someone on toast – be in a position to deal with someone as you wish.

Conclusion

The current paper does not claim to present an exhaustive list of food idioms and proverbs since such research is in the scope of work of a whole dictionary. However, given the fact that the research is based on a number of authoritative dictionaries, as far as the above keywords are concerned, it constitutes quite a comprehensive analysis. It is hoped that this specialized list, on the one hand, would help learners of English enrich their vocabulary, and on the other hand, could serve as a basis for specialized exercises, dedicated to idiomatic and proverbial lexis, and food idioms and proverbs in particular.

References

Dictionaries

Collins Cobuild ELT (1995) Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms, HarperCollins Publishers.

Seidl, J., McMordie, W. (1978) English Idioms and How to Use Them, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Siefring, J., Speake, J. (2004) Oxford Dictionary of Idioms, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Spears, R. A. (2005) McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs, McGraw-Hill.

Warren, H. (1994) Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of English Idioms, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Митева, Ат. (1992) Английско-български идиоматичен речник. София: Везни-4.

Ракъджиев, Р., Илиева, Л. (1995) Английско-български фразеологичен речник, София: МАГ-77.

Online Resources

Proverbs and English Sayings www.english-sayings.com

The Free Dictionary www.thefreedictionary.com

The Idiom Connection www.idiomconnection.com

UsingEnglish.com www.usingenglish.com/

Please check the Methodology and Language for Secondary Teachers course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Teaching Advanced Students course at Pilgrims website.