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55 interesting fruit idioms

Fruit idioms

Here is a big list of English fruit idioms with definitions and example sentences.

  1. A bite at the cherry
  2. Speak with a plum in your mouth
  3. A plumb job
  4. An apple knocker
  5. An apple polisher
  6. Apples and oranges
  7. A bad apple
  8. Banana oil
  9. A banana republic
  10. A banana skin
  11. To bear fruit
  12. Blow a raspberry
  13. A cherry on top
  14. Cherry-pick
  15. Cut your peaches
  16. A fruit cake
  17. Fruits of labor
  18. Full of prunes
  19. Go bananas
  20. Go pear-shaped
  21. Go suck a lemon
  22. Extend an olive branch
  23. In full fig
  24. In the limelight
  25. Irish apricots
  26. A lemon
  27. Life is a bowl of cherries
  28. A ripe plum
  29. Low-hanging fruit
  30. A melon head
  31. A moldy fig
  32. Not give a fig
  33. Not worth a fig
  34. On the grapevine
  35. A banana short of a bunch
  36. A peach
  37. Peaches and cream
  38. A road apple
  39. Second banana
  40. She’ll be apples
  41. A smart apple
  42. Sour grapes
  43. Squeeze an orange
  44. The apple never falls far from the tree
  45. The apple of your eye
  46. The big apple
  47. Bitter fruits
  48. The green apple quickstep
  49. The rough end of a pineapple
  50. Top banana
  51. Trade off the orchard for an apple
  52. Upset the apple cart
  53. Use your coconut
  54. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
  55. You’r a peach

 

Here are the fruit idioms explained with example sentences.

 

1- A bite at the cherry is a chance or opportunity to do something. Similarly, another or a second bite at the cherry is a second chance.

Example – The athlete will get another bite at the cherry to set a new world record at the next Olympics.

 

2 – To speak with a plum in your mouth is a British idiom that means to speak in a way that is upper class or regarded as rich people’s talk.

Example – None of the working men at the wharf want to listen to him, he speaks with a plum in his mouth.

 

3 – A plum job is a job that is both easy to do and well paid.

Example – She would love to have a plum job like some of the government workers she knows.

 

4 – An apple-knocker is a country person who is simple and not sophisticated. It is also used to describe farmworkers.

Example – The city people didn’t want to talk to the farmworkers and called them apple-knockers when they were not around.

 

5 – An apple-polisher is a person who praises and flatters someone else too much.

Example – That new worker in the office is such an apple polisher, he is always sucking up to the boss.

 

6 – Apples and oranges are two things that are very different.

Example – You cannot ask both of them to come to dinner, they are like apples and oranges and don’t get along at all.

 

7 – A bad apple or rotten apple is a bad person. It is often used to describe a person in a group that has a negative influence on others.

Example – I hope that your son is not hanging out with Johnny, he’s a bad apple.

 

8 – Banana oil can be used to describe talk that does not make sense or is insincere.

Example – You are saying I am pretty enough to be a model, stop the banana oil!

 

9 – A banana republic is a small, usually poor, and corrupt country that is run badly for the profit of a dictator.

Example – Living there is cheap but is a banana republic, you cannot safely invest or do business there.

 

10 – A banana skin is something that causes things to go wrong.

Example – Putting that pesticide on the crops was a real banana skin for the farmer, half of his plants have died.

 

11- To bear fruit is to get good results from something you have done.

Example – All your study will bear fruit when you look for a job.

banana tree and flower
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12 – To blow a raspberry or blow a strawberry is to blow air out of your mouth while sticking your tongue out and making a silly noise. This is done to show dislike for something.

Example – The children blew raspberries at the kid who told a bad joke.

 

13 – A cherry on top or the cherry on the cake is the final touch or act to complete something.

Example – The weather was terrible on our holiday but the cherry on the cake was when we lost our luggage on the trip home.

 

14 – When you cherry-pick, you choose the best thing or option carefully. It can also mean that others do not get a chance to take these things and you have an unfair advantage.

Example – The football team was very rich and was able to cherry-pick the best players in the country.

 

15 – To cut your peaches means to continue doing whatever were or are currently doing.

Example – I am busy cooking dinner right now, go cut your peaches and come back in 30 minutes.

 

16 – A Fruit, fruit cake, or fruit loop is used to describe a person as crazy.

Example – He is always talking about conspiracy theories, he’s a real fruit cake.

 

17 – The fruits of labor are the good results you achieve from hard work.

Example – He spent 2 years writing the book and saw the fruits of his labor when it became a best seller.

 

18 – Full of prunes is used to describe talk that doesn’t make sense.

Example – Don’t listen to a word he says, his talk is full of prunes.

 

19 – To go bananas means to become either very angry or very excited.

Example – The children went bananas when we told them we were going to Disneyland.

 

20 – If things go pear-shaped, they go badly wrong.

Example – Life was great until last month when everything went pear-shaped. I lost my job and then became very ill.

 

21 – The expression “go suck a lemon” is used to show you are angry at someone,

Example – Well George, you can go suck a lemon, I don’t want to listen to your excuses.

 

22 – To extend, offer, or hold out an olive branch means to offer peace or show that you want to end a disagreement with somebody.

Example – You should hold out an olive branch to John, it’s not healthy to be arguing all the time.

a pile of lemons for fruit idioms
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23 – If you are in full fig, you are dressed in expensive, showy or fancy clothing.

Example – On the opening night of the restaurant all the customers were in full fig.

 

24 – A person in the limelight is at the center of people’s attention. It can be for either good or bad reasons.

Example – Suzy loves being in the limelight and wants everyone to listen to her.

 

25 – Irish apricots is a somewhat outdated expression that is used to refer to potatoes.

Example – Are we having meat and Irish apricots for dinner?

 

26 – A Lemon is something that is no good or doesn’t work properly.

Example – The car salesman sold me a lemon. I had to spend $2000 dollars to fix it a month after I bought it.

 

27 – The fruit idiom “Life is a bowl of cherries” is used to say that life is good and everything is going well.

Example – We just bought a new house on the beach for summer, life is a bowl of cherries.

 

28 – We say that something is like a ripe plum, or a ripe plum if we can get it with a very little amount of effort.

Example – Once we get this business running properly, customers will sign up like ripe plums.

 

29 – Low-hanging fruit are things that are very easy to get or do.

Example – There are lots of low-hanging fruit in this market, it is easy to make money.

 

30 – A melon head or coconut head is a negative term used to say someone is stupid.

Example – You left the house unlocked when you went away for the weekend, you melon head.

 

31 – A moldy fig is used to describe a person who is old-fashioned or afraid of trying new things. It can also be used to describe a person who prefers a traditional genre of music.

Example – Don’t be a moldy fig! Come with me to the rock concert tonight.

 

32 – To not give a fig means to not care at all about something.

Example – I don’t give a fig if it is raining or not tomorrow, I am going to the beach anyway.

 

33 – Something that is not worth a fig has no value and is worthless.

Example – I don’t understand why the farmer is growing those plants, they are not worth a fig on the market.

 

34 – To hear something on the grapevine is to hear it as gossip or from an informal source.

Example – I heard on the grapevine that she has a new boyfriend now.

figs for fruit idioms
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35 – A person who is one banana short of a bunch is not intelligent or has a mental problem.

Example – I think that guy might be one banana short of a bunch.

 

36 – A Peach is something that is very good.

Example – Have you seen Tony’s new car? It is a peach.

 

37 – To say that things are peaches and cream is to say that they are wonderful or going very well.

Example – He won the lottery and retired, his life is now peaches and cream.

 

38 – A Road apple or alley apple is a piece of horse manure.

Example – I need to wash my shoes, I stepped on a road apple on the walk home.

 

39 – The second banana is the second person in charge or the second most important person in a group.

Example – John got a promotion last week and is now the second banana in the company.

 

40 – She’ll be apples is an idiom used in Australia to say that everything will be fine.

Example – I’ve fixed the engine on your car, she’ll be apples now.

 

41 – A smart apple is used to describe a person as intelligent.

Example – That boy got a perfect score on the exam, he is one smart apple.

 

42 – The term Sour grapes is used to describe a person’s attitude when they dislike something because they cannot have it themselves.

Example – She always says that traveling is a waste of money but I think it is just sour grapes.

 

43 – To squeeze an orange is to the get most possible out of something.

Example – The company is squeezing oranges and getting their staff to work 7 days a week.

 

44 – The phrase “the apple never falls far from the tree” is used to describe people who are similar to their parents.

Example – He decided to work as an engineer just like his father, the apple never falls far from the tree.

 

45 – The apple of your eye is something or someone that you are very proud of or love very much.

Example – Her son graduated from college and is the apple of her eye.

 

46 – The Big Apple is another name for the city of New York in the United States of America.

Example – He is planning to move to The Big Apple next month and start a new job.

green pears close up
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47 – The bitter fruits are consequences or bad results that come from actions.

Example – The bitter fruits of his gambling were that he lost his house and car.

 

48 – The green apple quickstep is slang for diarrhea. It is most commonly used to describe having this problem while traveling.

Example – He ate some bad seafood on his holiday and got the green apple quickstep.

 

49 – The Australian fruit idiom the rough end of the pineapple is used to describe getting the bad end of a deal or bad treatment.

Example – I really got the rough end of the pineapple when I took that job, it was terrible.

 

50 – The top banana is the head of a company or the most important person in an organization or activity.

Example – If you are having problems with the manager, you should go and talk to the top banana.

 

51 – To trade off the orchard for an apple means to focus on small details and not see the bigger, overall picture of something.

Example – I know there are some small problems with the company but don’t trade the orchard for an apple, business is going very well.

 

52 – If you upset the apple cart, you destroy something that is going well or ruin plans.

Example – Harry was planning on going to the party but his children got ill and upset the applecart.

 

53 – To use your coconut is to use your head or brain.

Example – Don’t give up so easily, use your coconut and find a solution.

 

54 – The expression “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” means that when you have problems in life you should try to find some good things in bad situations.

Example – I know that you are sad that can’t go on holiday but you can use that free time to learn a new skill. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

 

55 – If someone says “You’re a peach” they are thanking you for being either kind or helpful.

Example – Thank you for making me dinner last night, you’re a peach!

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