Low-hanging fruit is the easiest and quickest thing to achieve or obtain; easy to take advantage of; the easiest person(s) to sell something to, to convince of something, or to fool or take advantage of.
“Low-hanging fruit” sometimes refers to being less impressive or desirable than things that are more difficult or take more skill or effort. As well, the idiom often implies that things will be more difficult later.
Origin of Idiom “Low-Hanging Fruit
Used figuratively since at least the first decade of the 1900s, the term low-hanging fruit literally refers to the fruit that grows on the lower branches of a fruit tree, nearest the ground, within easy reach. This fruit can easily be picked first, before the most difficult fruit on the upper branches. Orchard farmers often cull the low-hanging fruit, a relatively easy job, to increase yields on the higher parts of the tree.
Explore More Idioms Related to Opportunity
Similar Idioms and Related Expressions
- Like Shooting Fish in a Barrel: when something is like shooting fish in a barrel, it is extremely easy to do; ridiculously easy.
- Turkey Shoot: something astonishingly easy to do, especially a battle, fight, or competition where one side is much stronger.
- Like Taking Candy From a Baby: extremely easy to do; too easy to do; nearly impossible to fail at.
- Easy Pickings: people or opportunities that are very simple to take advantage of or cheat; objects that are easy to steal.
- Quick Win: a plan, goal, or project that provides great gains with minimal effort, cost, or time.
- Child’s Play: something easy to do or accomplish; requiring little cognitive effort or hard work.
- No Brainer: something so obviously advantages and easy to accomplish that one does not even need to think about it.
- Easy mark/touch: a person who is easily deceived, tricked, or taken advantage of, especially by a conman or swindler.