Fruit idioms add a juicy twist to everyday English, making conversations more colorful and fun. These expressions use fruit imagery to describe situations, feelings, or qualities in a way that’s easy to remember and engaging to use. Whether you want to say something is easy, describe a special person, or talk about a tricky situation, fruit idioms have you covered. This guide presents 35 idioms about fruit, each with clear meanings, example sentences, and alternative phrases. To help you practice, there’s a fill-in-the-blank exercise with 12 questions at the end.
35 Fruit Idioms with Meanings and Examples
- A piece of cake
Meaning: Something very easy to do.
Example: Passing the exam was a piece of cake for her.
Other Ways to Say: Easy as pie, A walk in the park - The apple of one’s eye
Meaning: Someone very special or cherished.
Example: Her daughter is the apple of her eye.
Other Ways to Say: Favorite person, Treasure - Go bananas
Meaning: To become very excited or act crazy.
Example: The crowd went bananas after the team scored.
Other Ways to Say: Go wild, Lose it - Sour grapes
Meaning: Pretending not to care about something you can’t have.
Example: His complaints sounded like sour grapes after he lost the contest.
Other Ways to Say: Jealous, Bitter - Cherry on top
Meaning: An extra detail that makes something perfect.
Example: Getting a bonus was the cherry on top of a great year.
Other Ways to Say: Icing on the cake, Bonus - The big cheese
Meaning: An important or powerful person.
Example: The CEO is the big cheese in the company.
Other Ways to Say: Top dog, Head honcho - Bad apple
Meaning: A person who causes trouble.
Example: One bad apple spoiled the whole group.
Other Ways to Say: Troublemaker, Rotten egg - Peachy keen
Meaning: Excellent or very good.
Example: Everything was peachy keen at the party.
Other Ways to Say: Fantastic, Awesome - As cool as a cucumber
Meaning: Very calm and relaxed.
Example: She was as cool as a cucumber during the interview.
Other Ways to Say: Calm, Chill - Full of beans
Meaning: Energetic and lively.
Example: The kids were full of beans after the party.
Other Ways to Say: Hyper, Bubbly - An apple a day keeps the doctor away
Meaning: Eating healthy keeps you well.
Example: She believes an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Other Ways to Say: Healthy habits matter - Lemon
Meaning: Something defective or disappointing.
Example: That car was a lemon and broke down quickly.
Other Ways to Say: Dud, Defective - Top banana
Meaning: The leader or most important person.
Example: She’s the top banana in the marketing team.
Other Ways to Say: Boss, Leader - Ripe for the picking
Meaning: Ready or perfect for something.
Example: The opportunity was ripe for the picking.
Other Ways to Say: Ready to go, Perfect timing - Go pear-shaped
Meaning: To go wrong or fail.
Example: The plan went pear-shaped when it started raining.
Other Ways to Say: Mess up, Fall apart - Low-hanging fruit
Meaning: The easiest task or target.
Example: We tackled the low-hanging fruit first.
Other Ways to Say: Easy win, Simple task - Not give a fig
Meaning: To not care at all.
Example: He didn’t give a fig about the criticism.
Other Ways to Say: Indifferent, Don’t care - A plum job
Meaning: A desirable or easy job.
Example: She landed a plum job at the company.
Other Ways to Say: Dream job, Great gig - Forbidden fruit
Meaning: Something tempting but off-limits.
Example: The secret documents were forbidden fruit.
Other Ways to Say: Taboo, Off-limits - Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
Meaning: Children resemble their parents.
Example: He’s a great musician like his dad—the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Other Ways to Say: Like father, like son - In a jam
Meaning: In trouble or a difficult situation.
Example: I was in a jam when my car broke down.
Other Ways to Say: In a pickle, Stuck - The grapes of wrath
Meaning: Extreme anger or punishment.
Example: He faced the grapes of wrath after breaking the rules.
Other Ways to Say: Fury, Punishment - As sweet as honey
Meaning: Very kind or charming.
Example: She’s as sweet as honey to everyone she meets.
Other Ways to Say: Kind, Gentle - Pick of the bunch
Meaning: The best choice.
Example: That candidate was the pick of the bunch.
Other Ways to Say: Best option, Top pick - As nutty as a fruitcake
Meaning: Very silly or crazy.
Example: His ideas are as nutty as a fruitcake.
Other Ways to Say: Crazy, Wacky - Bite the cherry
Meaning: To take a chance or opportunity.
Example: She decided to bite the cherry and start her own business.
Other Ways to Say: Take a risk, Seize opportunity - Cherry-pick
Meaning: To select the best or most desirable items.
Example: They cherry-picked the best players for the team.
Other Ways to Say: Select carefully, Choose best - Go pear-shaped
Meaning: To fail or go wrong.
Example: The event went pear-shaped when the speaker didn’t show up.
Other Ways to Say: Mess up, Fail - Sour as a lemon
Meaning: Very unpleasant or bitter.
Example: His attitude was sour as a lemon after the loss.
Other Ways to Say: Bitter, Unpleasant - Peach fuzz
Meaning: Very fine, soft hair, often on a young person’s face.
Example: He started growing peach fuzz on his cheeks.
Other Ways to Say: Soft hair, Baby hair - Cherry on the cake
Meaning: An additional benefit or positive detail.
Example: The free dessert was the cherry on the cake.
Other Ways to Say: Bonus, Extra - Lemon law
Meaning: A law protecting buyers from defective products.
Example: The lemon law helped her get a refund for the faulty car.
Other Ways to Say: Consumer protection - Go nuts
Meaning: To become very excited or crazy.
Example: The fans went nuts when their team scored.
Other Ways to Say: Go wild, Lose it - Fruit of your labor
Meaning: The result of your hard work.
Example: The promotion was the fruit of his labor.
Other Ways to Say: Reward, Outcome - Peach of a person
Meaning: A very kind or pleasant person.
Example: She’s a real peach of a person, always helping others.
Other Ways to Say: Kind person, Sweetheart
Exercise: Fill in the Blanks
Complete the sentences with the correct idiom from the list above.
- Passing the exam was a _______ of cake for her.
- Her son is the _______ of her eye.
- The crowd went _______ after the team won.
- That old car was a _______ and kept breaking down.
- The bonus was the cherry on _______ of a great year.
- He stayed as _______ as a cucumber during the interview.
- We started with the _______-hanging fruit in the project.
- An _______ a day keeps the doctor away, so I eat fruit every day.
- I was in a _______ when I lost my wallet.
- The apple doesn’t fall far from the _______.
- She’s as sweet as _______ to everyone she meets.
- The promotion was the fruit of his _______.
Answers to the Exercise
- Piece
- Apple
- Bananas
- Lemon
- Top
- Cool
- Low
- Apple
- Jam
- Tree
- Honey
- Labor
Conclusion
Fruit idioms make English fun and expressive. Learning these 35 fruit-related phrases will help you understand conversations better and use creative expressions naturally. Practice using them in your daily speech and writing to add flavor and color to your language skills.