Piece of Cake | Meaning & Example Sentences
Piece of cake is an idiom that means that something is easy to do.
The origin of “piece of cake” is well-debated, but the prevailing theory is that the idiom is derived from the term “cakewalk” (e.g., “That test was a cakewalk”). A cakewalk was a dance performed by enslaved people in the mid-nineteenth century that mocked the mannered dances of white slave owners. The winner of the cakewalk would be given a piece of cake as a prize, hence the term “piece of cake.”
Another theory posits that the phrase entered the lexicon in the 1930s after it appeared in Ogden Nash’s Primrose Path.
The homework for Spanish class was a piece of cake.
I’m really good at drawing, so winning that contest was a piece of cake for me.
How to use piece of cake
“Piece of cake” is an idiom used to describe an action or activity that is effortless. However, when not used as an idiom, the phrase can be used to refer to a literal piece of cake (e.g., “I’ll have a coffee and a piece of cake”).
“Piece of cake” can be used in the same context as the expression “easy as pie,” as they both describe something that can be done with ease.
“Piece of cake” is usually preceded by the indefinite article “a.”
It was a piece of cake to pass my driver’s test.
Using flashcards made taking the test a piece of cake.
Frequently asked questions about Piece of cake
- What is a synonym for piece of cake?
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Some synonyms and near synonyms for “piece of cake” include:
- A breeze
- Child’s play
- Simple
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- When do you use the idiom piece of cake?
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Use the idiom “piece of cake” when describing something that is easy to do or understand (e.g., “Completing the project was a piece of cake”).
