Fruit idioms
Here is a big list of English fruit idioms with definitions and example sentences.
- A bite at the cherry
- Speak with a plum in your mouth
- A plumb job
- An apple knocker
- An apple polisher
- Apples and oranges
- A bad apple
- Banana oil
- A banana republic
- A banana skin
- To bear fruit
- Blow a raspberry
- A cherry on top
- Cherry-pick
- Cut your peaches
- A fruit cake
- Fruits of labor
- Full of prunes
- Go bananas
- Go pear-shaped
- Go suck a lemon
- Extend an olive branch
- In full fig
- In the limelight
- Irish apricots
- A lemon
- Life is a bowl of cherries
- A ripe plum
- Low-hanging fruit
- A melon head
- A moldy fig
- Not give a fig
- Not worth a fig
- On the grapevine
- A banana short of a bunch
- A peach
- Peaches and cream
- A road apple
- Second banana
- She’ll be apples
- A smart apple
- Sour grapes
- Squeeze an orange
- The apple never falls far from the tree
- The apple of your eye
- The big apple
- Bitter fruits
- The green apple quickstep
- The rough end of a pineapple
- Top banana
- Trade off the orchard for an apple
- Upset the apple cart
- Use your coconut
- When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
- 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
