 Topic, word, and idioms of the day—cake. What do you know about cake? Can you answer the following questions? What is the sugary substance on top of a cake called? What do candles on a birthday cake represent? What are some things we associate with cakes? What are some expressions with the word cake? Take a moment and think of the answers to these questions. Answers, did you get them all? The sweet stuff on top of a cake is icing or frosting. More on this later. The candles each represent one year of a person's life. We usually associate cake with good or sweet things. Expressions A piece of cake. The frosting on the cake. That takes the cake. Say as a fruit cake. A cake walk. Sell like hot cakes. You can't have your cake and eat it too. What do the expressions mean? Number one. A piece of cake. This means something that is extremely easy. The quiz in Mr. Kinder's class was a piece of cake. Everyone got above 90 percent. Two, icing or frosting on the cake. This means an extra benefit or an added good thing. The cake was delicious. The frosting made it even better. Note, the icing or frosting on this cake is pink. For example, when Perry met Callie, it was love at first sight. That they both loved the same kinds of movies was frosting on the cake. Three, that takes the cake. When something takes the cake, it wins first prize. Cakes are often given as prizes. This expression is often used ironically or sarcastically. It can mean that's not the best, but the worst thing that could have happened. For example, Tammy took the cake for the best performance. Positive meaning. Mr. Duncan got a bonus despite having the lowest sales record. That really takes the cake. Sarcastic meaning. Four, nutty as a fruit cake. Nutty means crazy or insane. A fruit cake often has lots of nuts in it, so this similarly describes a person who is really nuts or crazy. This is a fruit cake. We usually have them during the holiday season at Christmas time. For example, Henry was as nutty as a fruit cake, but he always made people laugh. Looks like he was also all ears, meaning he was willing to listen. Five, a cake walk. A cake walk means something easy, like a walk in the park. This comes from a game that is played at large parties. Participants walk around in a circle, stepping on numbers on the floor while music plays. When the music stops, everyone lands on a number. The MC draws a number from a hat. Whoever is standing on that number wins a cake. MC or MC means master of ceremonies. Six, selling like hotcakes. Hotcakes are actually pancakes. We often make lots and lots of them for breakfast. When something sells like hotcakes, it means that the items are being sold quickly and in large numbers. For example, Ms. Rawlings books sold like hotcakes after she appeared on The Donnie Carsten Show. Seven, can't have your cake and eat it too. This is a somewhat silly idiom. It just means you can't have everything that you want. You sometimes have to choose among several alternatives. Sorry, Charlie. You can't be both rich and famous. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Bonus expression. Close but no cupcake. Actually a more common expression is close but no cigar. This means that you didn't get first place, although you might have come very close to winning the prize. A cupcake is a small individualized cake made for one person. Hope you enjoyed that. Come back often to learn more about topics, words, and expressions in English. And don't forget to subscribe to our channel. Thanks for watching. If you have a question or idea for our next video, please let us know. Just write us at eslgold.com. Submit question.