Breakfast 1: eggs, bread and butter
Idioms with bread and butter
| Idiom | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| the best thing since sliced bread | a brilliant invention or something you find fantastic | I finally got some wireless headphones. I can’t believe I waited so long, they’re the best thing since sliced bread! |
| your bread and butter | a person’s main source of income | Steve does some custom work, but fitting kitchens is his bread and butter. |
| butter someone up | flattering someone before asking for a favour so that they are more likely to do what you want | —I’m going to ask Alan to cover my shift tomorrow. —Make sure you butter him up first or he will just say no. |
| know which side your bread is buttered (on) | know when you have an advantage or a good situation | —Every time Michael visits his grandma, she gives him £20. —No wonder he visits so often, he clearly knows which side his bread is buttered! |
| (look) like butter wouldn’t melt | appear innocent (even if this may not be the case) | I heard the vase smash and when I turned around the cat was just sitting there like butter wouldn’t melt. |
| butterfingers | a clumsy person | Kathy spilled red wine all over her white dress, she’s such a butterfingers |
Idioms with egg
| Idiom | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a bad egg | a person who is dishonest, unreliable or of questionable character | Stay away from Colin, he’s a bad egg. |
| a chicken and egg situation | when it’s impossible to identify the beginning or root cause of an issue | Is the team unproductive because the boss is mean, or is the boss mean because the team is unproductive? It’s a chicken and egg situation. |
| egg someone on | encourage someone to do something bad, foolish or dangerous | He jumped off the roof because his friends egged him on. |
| you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs | in order to achieve something you have to make mistakes and/or experience negative effects | —I fell off my skateboard again. I’m never going to be able to do this. —Keep going! You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. |
