Back to Game
SeniorBrainGames.org

Food Expressions

Name: 
Date: 

Instructions: How well do you know food-related idioms and sayings?

  1. 1.

    What does the expression 'piece of cake' mean?

    A
    A birthday celebration
    B
    A small reward
    C
    Something very easy to do
    D
    A dessert portion
  2. 2.

    What does 'spill the beans' mean?

    A
    To plant a garden
    B
    To make a mess in the kitchen
    C
    To reveal secret information
    D
    To waste food
  3. 3.

    If someone is 'the apple of your eye,' what are they?

    A
    Someone you cherish above all others
    B
    Someone with red cheeks
    C
    Someone who sells fruit
    D
    Someone who annoys you
  4. 4.

    What does 'to bring home the bacon' mean?

    A
    To cook breakfast
    B
    To earn a living or achieve success
    C
    To win a pig at a fair
    D
    To go grocery shopping
  5. 5.

    What does 'cool as a cucumber' mean?

    A
    Refrigerated properly
    B
    Fashionably dressed
    C
    Very calm and composed
    D
    Cold-natured
  6. 6.

    What does the expression 'to eat humble pie' mean?

    A
    To eat leftover food
    B
    To diet strictly
    C
    To enjoy a simple meal
    D
    To apologize and accept humiliation
  7. 7.

    What does 'not my cup of tea' mean?

    A
    I don't drink tea
    B
    The tea belongs to someone else
    C
    It's not something I enjoy or prefer
    D
    I'm allergic to tea
  8. 8.

    What does 'to have egg on your face' mean?

    A
    To be wearing stage makeup
    B
    To need to wash up
    C
    To have eaten sloppily
    D
    To be embarrassed by a mistake
  9. 9.

    What does the phrase 'the best thing since sliced bread' mean?

    A
    Something from the 1920s
    B
    A cooking technique
    C
    An excellent innovation or idea
    D
    A new bakery product
  10. 10.

    What does 'to butter someone up' mean?

    A
    To flatter someone to gain a favor
    B
    To make someone slip and fall
    C
    To cook for someone
    D
    To massage someone
  11. 11.

    What does the expression 'to have a lot on your plate' mean?

    A
    To eat a large meal
    B
    To host a dinner party
    C
    To have many tasks or responsibilities
    D
    To be a messy eater
  12. 12.

    What does 'to be in a pickle' mean?

    A
    To be in a jar
    B
    To be preserved for later
    C
    To be in a difficult or messy situation
    D
    To be sour-tempered
  13. 13.

    What does the idiom 'to go bananas' mean?

    A
    To become wildly excited or crazy
    B
    To eat healthy food
    C
    To go grocery shopping
    D
    To slip and fall
  14. 14.

    What does 'a hard nut to crack' mean?

    A
    A difficult problem or person to deal with
    B
    An old recipe
    C
    A strong jawbone
    D
    A stale snack
  15. 15.

    What does the phrase 'to take something with a grain of salt' mean?

    A
    To view something with skepticism
    B
    To preserve food for later
    C
    To add flavor to a story
    D
    To season food properly

Answer Key

Question 1
C. Something very easy to do

'Piece of cake' means something that is very easy to accomplish. The phrase likely originates from the idea that eating cake is a simple, enjoyable task requiring no effort.

Question 2
C. To reveal secret information

'Spill the beans' means to reveal a secret or disclose confidential information. One theory traces it to ancient Greek voting, where beans were used as ballots and spilling them would reveal the vote prematurely.

Question 3
A. Someone you cherish above all others

'The apple of your eye' refers to a person you are extremely fond of and cherish deeply. The phrase appears in the Bible and originally referred to the pupil of the eye, considered precious and vital.

Question 4
B. To earn a living or achieve success

'To bring home the bacon' means to earn money for one's family or to achieve success. One origin story traces it to a 12th-century tradition in Dunmow, England, where a side of bacon was awarded to happily married couples.

Question 5
C. Very calm and composed

'Cool as a cucumber' means very calm, composed, and not easily upset. Cucumbers have a high water content and their interior remains cooler than the surrounding air, making the comparison fitting.

Question 6
D. To apologize and accept humiliation

'To eat humble pie' means to make an apology and accept humiliation after being proven wrong. It derives from 'umble pie,' a medieval dish made from the innards (umbles) of a deer, considered inferior food.

Question 7
C. It's not something I enjoy or prefer

'Not my cup of tea' means something that is not to one's taste or liking. The expression originated in British culture, where tea is a staple, and choosing one's preferred type of tea is a matter of personal taste.

Question 8
D. To be embarrassed by a mistake

'To have egg on your face' means to be embarrassed as a result of your own actions or statements being proven wrong. It evokes the messy, undignified image of having egg smeared on one's face.

Question 9
C. An excellent innovation or idea

'The best thing since sliced bread' is used to describe something that is considered an outstanding innovation. Pre-sliced bread was first sold in 1928 and was considered a remarkable convenience.

Question 10
A. To flatter someone to gain a favor

'To butter someone up' means to flatter or praise someone excessively, usually to gain something in return. The phrase may come from an ancient Indian custom of throwing balls of clarified butter at statues of gods to seek favor.

Question 11
C. To have many tasks or responsibilities

'To have a lot on your plate' means to be burdened with many tasks, obligations, or problems to deal with. The metaphor compares a full plate of food to a full schedule of responsibilities.

Question 12
C. To be in a difficult or messy situation

'To be in a pickle' means to be in a difficult, troublesome, or awkward situation. Shakespeare used the phrase in 'The Tempest.' Being stuck in brine (pickle solution) would indeed be an unpleasant predicament.

Question 13
A. To become wildly excited or crazy

'To go bananas' means to become wildly excited, crazy, or angry. The phrase became popular in the 1960s and may be linked to the excited behavior of monkeys and apes when given bananas.

Question 14
A. A difficult problem or person to deal with

'A hard nut to crack' refers to a difficult problem to solve or a person who is hard to understand or persuade. Just as some nuts have tough shells that are difficult to open, some challenges resist easy solutions.

Question 15
A. To view something with skepticism

'To take something with a grain of salt' means to regard a statement with mild skepticism or not to take it literally. The phrase may derive from Pliny the Elder's suggestion that a grain of salt could serve as an antidote to poison.

Find more free puzzles and brain games at www.SeniorBrainGames.org

© 2026 SeniorBrainGames