the icing on the cake
Meaning: An extra good thing added to something already good.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Winning the match was great; beating our rivals was the icing on the cake.”
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Icing is the pleasing finish on a cake that is already complete. The figurative use is from the 20th century; Americans also say "the cherry on top."
Equivalents in other languages
- Spanish: poner el broche de oro — literally: to put the golden clasp
- Portuguese: a cereja do bolo — literally: the cherry of the cake
- French: La cerise sur le gâteau — literally: The cherry on the cake
More idioms — Food & Drink
- take with a grain of salt — To be skeptical about something; not to take it entirely at face value.
- I could eat a horse — I am extremely hungry.
- there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip — Many things can go wrong before a plan succeeds.
- born with a silver spoon in one's mouth — Born into a wealthy, privileged family.
- butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth — Someone looks innocent or proper, but probably is not.
- a pie-crust promise — A promise that is easily broken.
More English idioms
- neither fish nor fowl — Something that fits into no clear category.
- only have eyes for — To be interested in or attracted to one person only.
- lose sleep over — To worry a lot about something.
- like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic — Doing something pointless while a disaster happens.
- shoot oneself in the foot — To damage one's own interests through a foolish action.
- make a pass at — To make a sexual or romantic advance toward someone.
From our tongue twisters
- The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick. — Believed by Guinness to be among the hardest in English — 'six/sick/sheikh/sheep' blur in…
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. — A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- She sells seashells by the seashore. — The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…