to take the cake
14
7.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
ser el colmo
- I've seen 'em all pal, but you take the cake.
- it really takes the cake
- this one takes the cake
- that guy takes the cake
This Pfizer pill, though, just takes the cake.
- This Pfizer pill, though, just takes the cake.
- Fun size wise, white cheddar takes the cake.
- My high, my absolute high takes the cake.
- But as important as sleep nutrition are, exercise kind of takes the cake.
- Has it been this weird in other instances, or does this take the cake?
- It's, it's, I've been in a lot of scary situations, is a war fighter and that takes the cake.
- I have had honestly a little bit too much good food on my trip in Alberta but tonight it might take the cake, pun intended.
Examples
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GENE: Jesse Ventura, I've seen some outlandish outfits before but this one takes the cake.
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Out of all the excuses I've heard, his latest one truly takes the cake for being ridiculous.
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I think this takes the cake.
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Boy, you take the cake.
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But this last one took the cake.
Fiction book (1993) -
The story describes several other bad practices, but this one takes the cake.
Blog text (8) -
I mean, I had dysentery, but this takes the cake, man.
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Of all the dirty, rotten tricks, this one really takes the cake.
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Well, I have read many idiotic things before from elected officials, but this takes the cake.
Blog text (2) -
The latest one takes the cake -- even the NYT.
Blog text (7)
Synonyms
1
9.9
To be the most annoying or surprising thing of all
How Outrageous
Surface Forms
Morphology
take + the + cake
The evaluative meaning ‘to be the most extreme or remarkable (often negatively)’ is not directly predictable from the literal words 'take' + 'cake'. There is a partial link — 'take' can mean 'win' and 'cake' has been used as a prize in some cultures — but the pragmatic, often ironic negative extension is culturally specific and requires prior exposure, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would likely not fully derive the idiomatic sense.
Etymology
Take the cake may come from old fairs where a cake was the prize for the best act, so to take the cake meant to win and stand out. So today, when something 'takes the cake' it means it is the most extreme or surprising example, often in a bad way.