Meaning of ‘a Piece of Cake’
The idiom a piece of cake means that an activity or task was easy to do. In other words, it required little effort or skill to accomplish. That’s right, when a job is simple to complete, it’s common for people to express those thoughts by using this popular English phrase.
Example: Cleaning up my messy room was a piece of cake. (In other words, cleaning the room was simple.
Similar Phrases: a breeze, a cakewalk, as easy as pie, a walk in the park
Related Idioms:
Interested in exploring more idioms that start with the letter A? Check out our Idioms and Phrases Starting With A page for a list of them.
Origin of ‘A Piece of Cake’
The origin of the phrase ‘a piece of cake’ is unclear. However, here is how it might have developed into the idiom it is today:
It’s worth noting that a similar expression exists that goes ‘as easy as pie.’ Both idioms have identical meanings—they express simplicity, but why is that? Indeed, what is so simple about cake and pie?
It probably doesn’t have to do with the cooking aspect. Why not? Because baking a cake requires a fair bit of work. For instance, you first have to buy all of the necessary ingredients for it. Then you have to do some measuring, pouring, and mixing together of everything in a bowl. After, the cake needs to be put into a preheated oven to start baking. Okay, so it’s not exactly the most difficult task, but I wouldn’t say it’s easy either. In short, I don’t think the origin of this idiom comes from making a cake.
However, what about the eating aspect? Yes, eating cake is a very simple task because it’s delicious! Therefore, it’s possible the origin of this idiom comes from how easy it is for a person to eat a piece of cake.
Anyway, this phrase (with its figurative meaning) goes back to at least the 1930s. The term was used at that time by an American poet named Ogden Nash. He wrote a book called Primrose Path in 1936 and there is a part from the book that reads:
“Her picture’s in the papers now, And life’s a piece of cake.”
Example Sentences
Here are examples of this idiom in sentences.
- This upcoming bike race will be a piece of cake because I’ve been training hard in preparation for it.
- My cat didn’t put up much of a fuss when I gave him medication; the whole process was cake.
Similar Examples:
- An electric washer and dryer makes washing clothes a walk in the park.
- My friend is so tall that slam dunks are as easy as pie for him.
- Solving that puzzle was a breeze, I prefer them when they’re slightly more challenging.
See Also: You Can’t Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
Do you like cake? Well, this phrase says you can’t have cake and eat it too. What does that mean? Find out more about this phrase and see examples of it.