Do you know the origins of these common food idioms? 

Idioms are phrases that have a different meaning from the literal meaning of the words used. There are numerous examples of food idioms in the English language. They're not only fun, but also help add some creativity to a conversation. Food is a part of our daily life. Therefore, it's no surprise that food idioms are a common occurrence in our day-to-day interactions. Many of them have unlikely yet interesting origins.  Read on to know more. 

A piece of cake 

"Her picture's in the papers now, and life's a piece of cake," wrote American poet Ogden Nash in his poem Primrose Path in 1936, referring to a work that is exceptionally enjoyable and easy to undertake. It is believed that this idiom came into existence in the 1870s when slavery was practiced in the southern states of America. As part of a dance or celebration, black slaves used to compete in 'cake walks,' a dance that copied and subtly mocked the lavish and ostentatious gestures of white slave owners. The award for the most elegant couple/team was a piece of cake. The cake that was given as a prize to the winning couple/team became known among the slaves as something that was very easy to obtain. That’s how, the phrase ‘a piece of cake’ came into being. 

Pie in the sky 

‘Pie in the sky’ refers to a promise that never completely materialises, and this phrase has a longer history than you may think. Joe Hill, is believed to have invented the phrase in in 1911. He was an immigrant labour from the United States who was also a member of the radical labour organisation, The Industrial Workers of the World. The Preacher and the Slave, his parody song, criticised the Salvation Army's treatment of the poor with these lyrics: 

Long-haired preachers come out every night, 
Try to tell you what’s wrong and what’s right; 
But when asked how ’bout something to eat 
They will answer with voices so sweet: 

You will eat, bye and bye, 
In that glorious land above the sky; 
Work and pray, live on hay, 
You’ll get pie in the sky when you die. 

In a nutshell 

Pliny the Elder, Roman author, reported that Homer's epic narrative, Iliad, was written in such tiny handwriting that it might fit in a nutshell.  On the other hand, the first documented use of ‘in a nutshell’ as an idiom referring to something being compact comes from William Shakespeare's late sixteenth-century play, Hamlet where he says, “I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.” 

Not my cup of tea 

It is believed that ‘Christmas Pudding’, a British novel by Nancy Mitford, published in 1932, was the first to use the phrase ‘your cup of tea’. British literary critic, James Agate, was the first one to make a negative usage of this idiom referring it as ‘not my cup of tea’. Later on, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Hal Boyle, wrote in his column ‘Leaves from a War Correspondent’, ‘’ You don’t say someone gives you a pain in the neck. You just remark, ‘He’s not my cup of tea.”