I don’t know, Trista. It feels a little like out of the frying pan and into the fire for me to try to come up with some idioms. Your idea is better than sliced bread, if you ask me.

I initially thought responding to your witty call for food idioms would be like taking candy from a baby, but perhaps because my synapses are slow as molasses in January I’m not able to bring home the bacon on this one. That is, this couch potato isn’t going to write anything that you could sink your teeth into or anything that will cause you to exclaim, “This is the greatest thing since sliced bread!”

All kidding aside, I hope your readers emphasize the etymology of all these idioms because I’ve always wondered about the binary nature of the food mentioned in these phrases. For instance, someone could be called the apple of one’s eye but later be called a rotten apple . An object could be labeled as not worth a hill of beans, but then someone could be cautioned not to spill the beans. Are beans worthless or valuable? And let’s not forget about being called the big cheese, which may say something about your exalted position, but being cheesy or a cheese ball speaks to a lower social prominence.

Here’s hoping we all can indulge in the fruit of your readers’ labor.

I’ve been stewing and simmering over this one for a while, but all my ideas seem to be half-baked and nothing seems to gel. In other words, I’m really in a jam. We writers work for peanuts, after all, or sometimes for no dough at all, and sometimes when you go looking for inspiration, you find that the cupboard is bare…My burning question is, why would anyone want to CUT mustard?

Is the juice not worth the squeeze? Is this nut too hard to crack? Where are your readers’ comments and additions and stories?

How about “all but the kitchen sink”?

Pappy--of course! It’s especially funny that I didn’t think of that one, since it’s the name of my other blog! Thanks for adding to the list!

I wish I could think of a good one then we would be happy as two peas in a pod. You might want to add a prize -- you know you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. With a prize they will be “coming like popovers.” Back when my wife had a bun in the oven she had a craving for pickles, which she said were better than bottled beer. Got things to do, I’ll just put this project on the back burner for a while and let it simmer.

Casca,
This is excellent! I forgot all about catching flies with honey, not vinegar. I’ve not heard “better than bottled beer” before. These are great. Thank you for adding to the list!

I’m hoping to stay as cool as a cucumber in your class this term. So far everyone seems kind and enjoyable, hopefully no bad grades AND rude classmate comments to add salt to the wound.