Idiom
A Piece of Cake: Origin and Meaning
Meaning
Something which is very easy to do.
Origin
It is thought that this idiom originated in the 1870s when it was tradition to give cakes as prizes in competitions. In some parts of the USA at this time, slaves would participate in ‘cake walks’ where couples would perform a dance mocking the mannerisms of their masters. The most graceful couple would receive a cake as a prize. From this, the expression ‘a piece of cake’ started being used to describe something that was easy to achieve.
It is thought that this idiom originated in the 1870s when it was tradition to give cakes as prizes in competitions. In some parts of the USA at this time, slaves would participate in ‘cake walks’ where couples would perform a dance mocking the mannerisms of their masters. The most graceful couple would receive a cake as a prize. From this, the expression ‘a piece of cake’ started being used to describe something that was easy to achieve.Examples
“I’m sure the test next week will be a piece of cake for me. I’ve been studying for weeks!”
“The football match today was a piece of cake! All the best players in the other team had injuries so we scored 6 goals!”
Jane: “Thank you so much for changing my tyre. I had no idea how to do it!”
Pete: “No problem. When you’ve been a mechanic for 30 years, changing a tyre is a piece of cake!”
“The football match today was a piece of cake! All the best players in the other team had injuries so we scored 6 goals!”
Jane: “Thank you so much for changing my tyre. I had no idea how to do it!”
Pete: “No problem. When you’ve been a mechanic for 30 years, changing a tyre is a piece of cake!”
