Also used: frosting on the cake
Icing is the sugary and creamy glaze that is used to coat a cake or top a cookie. It’s typically made of sugar and butter and is flavored and colored. A cake already tastes good on its own. The icing makes it better. Hence the allusion of the idiom ‘icing on the cake.’
You may hear English speakers use the terms icing and frosting interchangeably. While in professional baking terms there are slight differences between icing and frosting, in colloquial English, most people think of them as the same.
Meaning of Idiom ‘Icing on the Cake’
Icing on the cake is something good that is added to an already good thing so that it is even better; an additional benefit; something that makes a good thing great; something that adds additional value or attraction but that is not essential; also, something that is a minor part of a main subject of discussion.
Icing on the cake is used in both America and the UK. However, frosting on the cake is another American variant.
A similar idiom is ‘the cherry on top.’
Sentence Examples
“The bed and breakfast was wonderful, including the breakfast which included the best French toast I’ve ever had. The complimentary wine in the room was the icing on the cake!”
“This is my dream job. The health benefits and the paid holidays are just the icing on the cake.”
“I’m just glad you are home! The present you brought is the icing on the cake, though.”
“You need a car that you can depend on. This one’s highly dependable. The added safety features are the icing on the cake.”
“I know you are concerned about the refrigerator malfunctioning but that’s just the icing on the cake. The air conditioner will cost ten times more to repair!
Origin
This idiom has been used since the mid-1900s.
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