What Does Piece of Cake Mean?
When something is a piece of cake, it is very easy to accomplish; something that requires little effort.
See similar idiom Easy as Pie and Cakewalk
Sentence Examples
“Are you sure you can fix my car?” asked Joyce. “Piece of cake,” said Derick.
“How was jury duty? asked Sam. “It was a piece of cake. We just sat there watching movies all day.”
“I thought working from home would be a piece of cake, but it seems to take up all of my time.”
“You’ll be outta here in no time. Man, it’s a piece of cake, all right?” — American History X (1998)
“Piece of cake. Don’t worry about the alarms. l just got to get a key.” — Goodfellas (1990)
“I mean, Nam was a foot soldier’s war, whereas this thing should…You know, should be a piece of cake.” — The Big Lebowski (1998)
“The elevator shaft is rigged with sensors. If we override the lift, the exit would lock and we’d be trapped. Once we get down the shaft, it’s a piece of cake.” — Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
“Alright, you’ve got a bogey at two o’clock low, Maverick. You got the angle, piece of cake now.” — Top Gun (1986)
Origin of Piece of Cake
This idiom originated in the Royal Air Force during the 193Os, where it referred to easy missions. The precise allusion, though, is a mystery. Perhaps the expression simply refers to how easy cake is to eat.
The earliest print citation is given as appearing in Ogden Nash’s book, The Primrose Path:
Her picture’s in the papers now,
And life’s a piece of cake
However, the sleuths at the etymology stack exchange, while finding the phrase in at least one British edition of the book, uncovered a mystery. The phrase does not seem to have appeared in Nash’s original version of the poem. The OED’s citation lists London as the place of publication for their reference (1936), whereas Simon and Schuster editions (New York), instead, the pertinent section contains a different idiom:
Her picture’s in the papers now,
And everything’s Jake
This passage is also found in a 1945 printing of Ogden Nash’s “Many Long Years Ago.” As for the differences between the American and British printings of Primrose Path, a Stack Exchange user provides the answer:
According to WorldCat (an online catalog of libraries around the world), there were at least two editions, one published in 1935 in New York by Simon & Schuster and the other in 1936 in London. They seem to be rather different; the US edition is 354 pages of apparently all original works, while the UK edition is listed as a slim 218 pages and apparently contains “A selection from ‘The primrose path’ & ‘Happy days’: also a few other verses …” (although the WorldCat entry for that version lists 354 pages).
It is almost certain that the original passage by Nash did not contain the idiom “piece of cake” as further evidenced by a 1933 printing in the New Yorker containing the “everything’s Jake” version. Piece of cake seems to have been added by the British editors, along with many other changes.
Putting the Myth to Rest: Credit to the Sleuths
The persistent claim that Ogden Nash coined “piece of cake” in 1935 is a classic case of a “ghost citation” taking on a life of its own. As correctly identified by the linguistic sleuths at Stack Exchange, the discrepancy lies in the transatlantic editing process. By comparing the original 1935 New York publication of The Primrose Path with the 1936 London edition, these researchers uncovered that Nash’s original Americanism—“everything’s Jake”—was intentionally swapped by British editors.
This discovery provides the final nail in the coffin for the Nash theory. It proves the idiom wasn’t born in the mind of an American poet, but was instead an “editorial localization” using the surging RAF slang of the time. The British editors knew that while “Jake” resonated in the US, “piece of cake” was the phrase that would truly take flight with a 1936 London audience.
Further Reading: More Performance & Ease Idioms
- Cakewalk: The 19th-century ancestor often confused with “piece of cake.”
- Take the Cake: Discover the original 1839 Mississippi receipts and the “Big Peach” contest.
- Ham It Up: Learn about the performers who share a history with the original cakewalkers.
- X-Factor: The natural talent that makes any difficult task look like a piece of cake.