secret ingredient
15
3.5
- noun
:
ingrediente secreto
- The chef revealed that the secret ingredient in her famous sauce is a touch of honey.
- add the secret ingredient
- know the secret ingredient
Didn't tell her what the secret ingredient was in the cocktail.
- Didn't tell her what the secret ingredient was in the cocktail.
- Holly Celeste and her sisters make the best apple cider in Maine already in all right, courtesy of a magical secret ingredient.
- It has another little secret ingredient.
- Oh, my God, My secret ingredient is my own blood.
Examples
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But, I'm gonna share with you the secret ingredient that makes all the difference.
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Add in the secret ingredient of storytelling, and suddenly you have a way to communicate these positive qualities.
Blog text (27) -
Now comes my secret ingredient, which is this.
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I wanna know what the secret ingredient is.
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What was the secret ingredient again?
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See, I found my secret ingredient.
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It's a special, secret ingredient.
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"Is there some sort of secret ingredient you use?"
Fiction book (1994) -
The secret ingredient in the bean soup is lime juice.
Blog text (30) -
The secret ingredient in Ditto.com, the new online purveyor of prescription eyewear and sunglasses, is the credit card.
Blog text (24)
Synonyms
330
1.7
A thing used to make a food or product, like flour in bread
How Secret
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'secret' (kept hidden) + 'ingredient' (a component of a recipe or product), so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer it refers to a component intentionally not revealed that contributes to the product's distinctive quality. This adjective+noun pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, supporting immediate comprehension.
Etymology
Secret ingredient comes from cooking, where a cook might add a small, hidden item like saffron or a special spice that changes the whole dish. Here secret means 'hidden' and ingredient means a part of a recipe, so the phrase now means a hidden part that makes something better.