icing on the cake
19
3.1
- idiom
- Informal
- She was already happy with her new job; the promotion was simply the icing on the cake.
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Watch on YouTubeI thought the infinite opportunity was was just icing on the cake.
- I thought the infinite opportunity was was just icing on the cake.
- So the last bit of money that we had, we decided to, to really put the icing on the cake.
- OK, Now the icing on the cake here is that I didn't have a single position in any of these three stocks at that point.
- So the icing on the cake here is that those who are willing to embark on the journey of healing their childhood attachment wounds and building self security.
- Well, now, icing on the cake, take a look at these two emails, which, yes, I added the black sort of boxes to redact the personal information in them.
Examples
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The food, the goodies, and the photo are just the icing on the cake.
Blog text (28) -
A stylish ride that is comfortable for the baby is just the icing on the cake.
Blog text (32) -
The film would just be the "icing on the cake" to help them remember.
Blog text (9) -
Travel, for me, is icing on the cake, not the cake itself.
Blog text (31) -
I loved the previous one, but this was icing on the cake!
Blog text (22) -
All else has been icing on the cake, so to speak.
Blog text (23) -
The final presentation, about the surface stations paper, was the icing on the cake.
Blog text (24) -
We call it kind of the icing on the cake, too, to support what they're doing on the ground.
Academic text (2007) -
The gorgeous views, from Puget Sound to snow-capped Mount Rainier, are just icing on the cake.
Blog text (21) -
Winning the championship was a great achievement, and getting a scholarship was just the icing on the cake.
Synonyms
121
3.5
An extra benefit you get at a job, like free lunch
91
3.5
A good part of a situation or choice
76
4.2
A change that makes something better, more useful, or more attractive
70
1.0
An advantage that makes something better
1
5.3
Something added to an offer to make it more attractive
An extra thing attached to something else
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The metaphor maps directly from the literal parts (icing added onto a cake to make it better) to the figurative meaning of an extra benefit, so a learner who knows the words can often infer the sense. However, this is a figurative extension rather than strictly compositional and requires a cross-domain mapping that may not be fully predictable for all B1 learners without prior exposure.
Etymology
The idiom icing on the cake comes from a kitchen picture: a good cake gets sweet icing on top that makes it nicer. That's why the phrase means an extra benefit that makes something 'even better'.