piece of cake
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A very easy task or accomplishment: "piece of cake" is an idiom meaning something that is very simple to do or achieve, requiring little effort.
Usage
- The phrase "piece of cake" is exclusively used as a predicate noun following a linking verb like "be" or "seem." It is not used as a standard noun phrase (e.g., you would not say "I have a piece of cake to do").
- It is an informal idiom used in casual conversation.
Examples
- Noun:
- The first exam was a piece of cake. (The first exam was very easy.)
- Don't worry, fixing this leak will be a piece of cake for a plumber.
- She thought learning to drive would be difficult, but it was a piece of cake.
Advanced Usage
- "to be a piece of cake": The standard construction for stating that a task is very easy.
- Once you understand the formula, the rest of the homework is a piece of cake.
- "no piece of cake": Used to emphasize that something is not easy.
- Managing a team of twenty people is no piece of cake.
Variants and Related Words
- Cakewalk (n): Another idiom for something very easy to accomplish.
- Compared to the marathon, the 5K race was a cakewalk.
- Breeze (n, informal): Used similarly in the phrase "to be a breeze."
- The interview was a breeze.
Synonyms
- Cinch
- Child's play
- Duck soup
- Pushover
- Walk in the park
Related Idioms
- "Easy as pie": Has the same meaning as "piece of cake."
- Using this new software is as easy as pie.
- "Like taking candy from a baby": Emphasizes how easy and effortless a task is, often with a connotation of being unfair or trivial.
- Winning that argument was like taking candy from a baby.
Noun
- any undertaking that is easy to do
- marketing this product will be no picnic