better than sex
- idiom
- NSFW
- After that delicious meal, she exclaimed that it was better than sex.
Joey, a lot of people say that this food is better than sex.
- Joey, a lot of people say that this food is better than sex.
Examples
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Winning the championship felt better than sex to the athletes.
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And, you know, some people food is better than sex or things like that.
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The thrill of skydiving was better than sex for him.
Synonyms
A thing or feeling that gives great pleasure
Pleasing and making you feel proud or satisfied
Causing a feeling of enjoyment or happiness
Very pleasing to the senses, like rich smells or soft music
How Pleasurable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The comparative structure 'better' + 'than' + 'sex' is compositionally interpretable: a learner who knows the words and comparative grammar can infer it means something exceeds sexual activity in pleasure. This is a predictable hyperbolic metaphorical use rather than an arbitrary idiom, so its meaning is accessible to a B1 learner who understands the constituents.
Etymology
Better than sex started as a joking way to compare great pleasure to sex. Because people saw sex as the top pleasure, saying something is better than sex became a strong, playful way to mean 'extremely pleasurable'.