Funny Food Idioms in English (to Sound like a Pro!)

Funny Food Idioms in English

Would you know what it means if a British person came up to you and said, “I’m full of beans today.”? It doesn’t mean someone is literally funny of beans, it’s an idiom you may hear from time to time in the United Kingdom.

English is full of idioms. And when it comes to understanding native speakers, it’s important for you to understand what’s going on. So if you want to see more odd idioms in English and figure out what they mean, keep reading!

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

In the 1930s, a baking company introduced a new product: a loaf of bread that was already sliced. By the end of the decade, sliced bread became so popular that’s it’s now the most common way to buy bread in America or the UK.

In English, if something or someone is really great, we might say, “They’re the best thing since sliced bread.”

Couch Potato

What happens when you put a couch and a potato together? The potato sits quietly on the couch without moving until an outside force comes to move it.

In the same way, if a person is a “couch potato” it means that someone is being lazy or wasting time sitting on the couch watching TV or videos.

In context, someone might say, “All he does is sit on the couch and watch TV. He’s such a couch potato.”

Go Bananas

Do you know when something isn’t going right and you go crazy with anger? Or when you finally have something you’ve been waiting for and you’re so excited that people say you’re going crazy?

Both of these feelings get wrapped up in the phrase “to go bananas.” If someone’s gone crazy, either from rage or excitement, you can say “They’re going bananas.”

Beef Up

Many people go to the gym, but they may be going for different reasons. Some people go to be healthy or fit, while others go to “beef up.”

If someone tells you’re they’re trying to “beef up,” it means their goal is to get stronger and have visibly bigger muscles. For this idiom, you can remember it as the person trying to increase the amount of “beef” or meat on their body through building muscle.

Take the Biscuit

A biscuit in the UK is what Americans call a cookie. While biscuits are nice, someone “taking the biscuit” is not.

In the UK, this phrase is used when someone has done something shocking, annoying, disappointing, or stupid. So if your boss is lecturing you about coming into work late, just know that you’re in trouble if he finishes the conversation with “You’re really taking the biscuit this week.”

A similar idiom in the United States is “to take the cake.”

A Bun in the Oven

Normally if someone tells you there is a bun in the oven, that would imply that they’re baking. However, this very common idiom is used to say that someone is pregnant.

So if a friend walks up to you and tells you, “I have a bun in the oven,” it doesn’t mean they left their oven on at home. It means they’re expecting a baby soon!

Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

People often advise each other not to “put all their eggs in one basket.” But why is that? Having just one basket should make getting eggs easier right?

Well for this idiom, “putting all your eggs in one basket” means you’re only committing to one thing. It implies that you might miss out on other opportunities. It’s the opposite of keeping all your options open.

For example, if you only apply to one job and hope for the best, then “you’re definitely putting all your eggs in one basket.”

Bring Home the Bacon

Bacon is a common breakfast item in the United States, so we might imagine “bringing home the bacon” means grabbing it while you’re at the grocery store.

But this idiom isn’t about eating, it’s about working. “To bring home the bacon” means to earn money for your family, especially if you’re making a lot of money. But who knows, maybe “you can bring home the bacon” and use it to buy bacon for breakfast.

To Be Cheesed Off

There are so many kinds of amazing cheese! But if someone “is cheesed off” in the UK, it means someone is annoyed or irritated about something that happened.

For example, if your friend cancels on you last minute, you could say “I’m a bit cheesed off about that.”

To Be Full of Beans

If we go back to the start of the article, you’ll remember seeing someone say they’re “full of beans.” So what does that actually mean?

In the UK, if someone “is full of beans,” it means they’re full of energy or enthusiasm. British people are obsessed with baked beans (they even eat them for breakfast with toast).

Our teacher, Lizzie argues that since beans have protein, they therefore do give you energy, making this idiom pretty logical.

[VIDEO] Funny Food Idioms in English (To Speak Like a PRO!)

If you want to see our teacher Lizzie share how she remembers all of these idioms, check out the video below. The video is in English but has subtitles in 6 different languages you can access by clicking the gear in the top right corner.

Subscribe to Our Channel

Learning Languages How They’re Actually Spoken

As we’ve seen in this article, sometimes the way people speak isn’t necessarily the way that sentences are shown in textbooks. There are idioms, sayings, cultural cues, and more!

At MosaLingua, we take all of this into account and help you learn a language based on how people actually speak! If you’d like to start learning useful sayings right away, check out the MosaLingua options we have available.

Closing Thoughts

Languages are complex and have a lot of phrases that you’ll learn over time.

To keep it from feeling overwhelming, break it down into categories like this! Starting with idioms? Here were some food idioms, next you can look at animal idioms or just the most common idioms.

As you go, you’ll gradually gain more and more information. Your goals are even closer than you think, so go bananas until you’ve accomplished what you set out to do.

FAQs

Where can I find more information on idioms?

Our MosaLingua team of language experts and teachers have compiled lists of idioms over the years, and grouped them together to make them even easier to read. We’ve got idioms available in French, Russian, more in English but related to business idioms, and even more built into our apps!

Are there differences between American and British idioms?

Yes! As we saw in some of our  lists before, some of these idioms are only used in one place or the other. For example, I never heard of the “full of beans” idiom until writing this article.

When you’re looking at learning English, consider if you want to learn American or British English. It’s not just a different of accents, but a difference of word choices and even phrases. Make sure as you’re learning that the media you’re watching matches your target accent.