Fruits are a big part of our everyday lives. We eat them, we grow them, and we even use them when we talk. Over time, people have made fun and smart expressions using the names of fruits. These are called idioms. They don’t always mean exactly what the words say, but they help make speech more colorful and interesting.
In this article, we will learn idioms that use fruits like apples, bananas, and lemons. These phrases are common in conversations and stories. You will find out what they mean and how to use them. Learning these idioms will help you understand English better and maybe even make your writing more fun.
Idioms About Fruit
1. The apple of someone’s eye
Meaning: Someone who is very special or loved a lot.
Example Sentence:
• Emma is the apple of her grandma’s eye.
• That dog is the apple of Dad’s eye.
Other ways to say: Someone’s favorite, very dear
Fun Fact/Origin: This phrase comes from old times when people thought the eye’s center was shaped like an apple.
Usage: Used to show someone is deeply loved or cared for.
2. Go bananas
Meaning: To act wild or silly.
Example Sentence:
• The kids went bananas at the party.
• Mom went bananas when we spilled juice on the rug.
Other ways to say: Go crazy, act wild
Fun Fact/Origin: Bananas were once used to describe craziness in slang during the 1900s.
Usage: Used when someone is overly excited or acting silly.
3. A bad apple
Meaning: One person who causes trouble in a group.
Example Sentence:
• One bad apple in class made everyone get in trouble.
• The team lost because of one bad apple not following the rules.
Other ways to say: Troublemaker, someone who spoils things
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from the idea that one rotten apple can spoil the whole bunch.
Usage: Used when one person has a negative effect on others.
4. As cool as a cucumber
Meaning: Very calm and relaxed.
Example Sentence:
• She was as cool as a cucumber during the test.
• He stayed cool as a cucumber even when the lights went out.
Other ways to say: Calm, not worried
Fun Fact/Origin: Cucumbers feel cool to the touch, which is why they are used in this phrase.
Usage: Used to describe someone who doesn’t panic.
5. Cherry-pick
Meaning: To choose only the best or easiest things.
Example Sentence:
• He cherry-picked the best toys to play with.
• She cherry-picked the easiest jobs to do first.
Other ways to say: Pick the best, choose carefully
Fun Fact/Origin: This comes from picking only the best cherries off a tree.
Usage: Used when someone selects only what they like best.
6. A plum job
Meaning: A very good or easy job.
Example Sentence:
• My uncle got a plum job with great pay.
• That summer job was a plum job—easy and fun.
Other ways to say: Great job, easy work
Fun Fact/Origin: Plums were once thought to be valuable and tasty, like a reward.
Usage: Used when someone has a great position or task.
7. Sour grapes
Meaning: Saying something isn’t good just because you can’t have it.
Example Sentence:
• He said the game was boring, but it sounded like sour grapes.
• She said she didn’t want the prize, but it was just sour grapes.
Other ways to say: Jealous talk, pretend not to care
Fun Fact/Origin: This comes from a story where a fox said grapes were sour because he couldn’t reach them.
Usage: Used when someone pretends not to care after losing.
8. Peachy keen
Meaning: Everything is going great.
Example Sentence:
• Everything is peachy keen now that school is out.
• We had a peachy keen time at the park.
Other ways to say: Great, awesome
Fun Fact/Origin: “Peachy” has long been used to mean nice or fine; “keen” adds more excitement.
Usage: Used when things are going really well.
9. A lemon
Meaning: Something that doesn’t work well.
Example Sentence:
• That old car is a lemon—it breaks down all the time.
• We bought a lemon from a blender.
Other ways to say: Broken item, bad purchase
Fun Fact/Origin: Used in the U.S. since the 1900s for cars that didn’t work right.
Usage: Used when something bought turns out to be a mistake.
10. Go pear-shaped
Meaning: Things went wrong.
Example Sentence:
• Our plan went pear-shaped when it started raining.
• The game went pear-shaped after the power went out.
Other ways to say: Failed, messed up
Fun Fact/Origin: British slang started using this to mean something not going as planned.
Usage: Used when things don’t go the way they were expected.
11. Full of beans
Meaning: Full of energy or excitement.
Example Sentence:
• The kids were full of beans after eating candy.
• He’s always full of beans on game day.
Other ways to say: Energetic, lively
Fun Fact/Origin: Beans were once thought to give energy, especially in older English sayings.
Usage: Used when someone is very active or excited.
12. Spill the beans
Meaning: To reveal a secret.
Example Sentence:
• Don’t spill the beans about the surprise party.
• She spilled the beans about who broke the vase.
Other ways to say: Tell a secret, reveal something
Fun Fact/Origin: May come from old voting methods using beans, where spilling showed the result.
Usage: Used when someone tells a secret or information early.
13. Cool as a melon
Meaning: Very calm and collected.
Example Sentence:
• He stayed cool as a melon during the storm.
• She’s cool as a melon even before a test.
Other ways to say: Calm, relaxed
Fun Fact/Origin: Melons feel cool and smooth, giving a sense of calm.
Usage: Used to show someone is not nervous or worried.
14. Compare apples and oranges
Meaning: To compare things that are too different.
Example Sentence:
• You can’t compare soccer and math—they’re apples and oranges.
• Comparing a dog to a fish is like apples and oranges.
Other ways to say: Totally different, not the same
Fun Fact/Origin: This phrase reminds us not all things can be compared fairly.
Usage: Used when two things are too different to compare.
15. Top banana
Meaning: The boss or leader.
Example Sentence:
• She’s the top banana in her club.
• He wants to be the top banana in the group.
Other ways to say: Leader, person in charge
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from comedy shows where the main act was called the “top banana.”
Usage: Used to describe someone in charge or most important.
16. Second banana
Meaning: The helper or not the main person.
Example Sentence:
• He’s second banana to the team captain.
• She didn’t mind being second banana in the play.
Other ways to say: Assistant, sidekick
Fun Fact/Origin: This also comes from stage shows, where the second funny person was called this.
Usage: Used for someone who supports the leader.
17. Tough nut to crack
Meaning: Someone or something hard to understand.
Example Sentence:
• That puzzle is a tough nut to crack.
• He’s a tough nut to crack—he never talks much.
Other ways to say: Difficult, tricky
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from nuts that are hard to open.
Usage: Used when something or someone is not easy to figure out.
18. Sweet as honey
Meaning: Very kind or nice.
Example Sentence:
• Grandma is sweet as honey.
• That puppy is sweet as honey.
Other ways to say: Very nice, gentle
Fun Fact/Origin: Honey has always been used to describe sweetness, both in taste and in people.
Usage: Used when someone is very kind or friendly.
19. Fruitful
Meaning: Something that gives good results.
Example Sentence:
• Our science project was fruitful—we won a prize.
• That meeting was really fruitful.
Other ways to say: Successful, useful
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from the idea of trees giving fruit as a reward.
Usage: Used when an effort gives something good.
20. Forbidden fruit
Meaning: Something tempting but not allowed.
Example Sentence:
• Sneaking cookies before dinner is forbidden fruit.
• Watching that movie felt like forbidden fruit.
Other ways to say: Not allowed, off-limits
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from the Bible story about Adam and Eve.
Usage: Used when someone wants something they shouldn’t have.
21. Bear fruit
Meaning: To give results or success.
Example Sentence:
• All that practice finally bore fruit.
• The garden work bore fruit in the fall.
Other ways to say: Succeed, pay off
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from fruit growing on trees after hard work.
Usage: Used when efforts lead to good outcomes.
22. The fruit of your labor
Meaning: The result of your hard work.
Example Sentence:
• The A+ was the fruit of his labor.
• They enjoyed the fruit of their labor at the school fair.
Other ways to say: Reward, result
Fun Fact/Origin: This saying shows that hard work can bring good results.
Usage: Used when talking about what someone earns after working hard.
23. Jam-packed
Meaning: Very full or crowded.
Example Sentence:
• The bus was jam-packed after school.
• The party was jam-packed with kids.
Other ways to say: Full, crowded
Fun Fact/Origin: Like jam squeezed tightly in a jar.
Usage: Used when places are overly crowded or full.
24. Ripe old age
Meaning: Living a long life.
Example Sentence:
• My great-grandma lived to a ripe old age.
• He retired at a ripe old age of 90.
Other ways to say: Very old, long life
Fun Fact/Origin: “Ripe” is often used to mean fully grown or mature.
Usage: Used when someone lives a long life.
25. Upset the apple cart
Meaning: To ruin a plan or cause trouble.
Example Sentence:
• Don’t upset the apple cart by arguing.
• He upset the apple cart by changing the rules.
Other ways to say: Mess things up, cause trouble
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from carts used to carry apples. If tipped, they’d all fall out.
Usage: Used when someone ruins a plan.
26. Lemon law
Meaning: A rule to protect people from buying broken things, especially cars.
Example Sentence:
• He got help using the lemon law when his car broke.
• The lemon law saved us when we bought a bad phone.
Other ways to say: Consumer law, protection rule
Fun Fact/Origin: Created in the U.S. to help people who bought “lemons.”
Usage: Used when people get help after buying broken items.
27. Peach of a deal
Meaning: A very good offer.
Example Sentence:
• That was a peach of a deal on those shoes.
• We got a peach of a deal on our new bike.
Other ways to say: Great offer, sweet deal
Fun Fact/Origin: “Peach” has long been used to mean something good.
Usage: Used when something is a great bargain or value.
28. Banana oil
Meaning: Something that’s not true; nonsense.
Example Sentence:
• That story sounds like banana oil.
• Don’t believe his banana oil.
Other ways to say: Nonsense, silly talk
Fun Fact/Origin: Used in the 1920s to mean silly or fake talk.
Usage: Used when someone says something unbelievable.
29. Nuts about
Meaning: To really like something.
Example Sentence:
• She’s nuts about soccer.
• He’s nuts about chocolate ice cream.
Other ways to say: Loves, crazy for
Fun Fact/Origin: “Nuts” means silly or crazy, used in a fun way here.
Usage: Used when someone really loves something.
30. Out of your gourd
Meaning: Acting very silly or strange.
Example Sentence:
• He’s out of his gourd for wearing shorts in the snow.
• She was out of her gourd laughing at that joke.
Other ways to say: Silly, crazy
Fun Fact/Origin: Gourds were used to describe heads in old sayings.
Usage: Used when someone is acting funny or weird.
31. Easy as pie
Meaning: Very easy to do.
Example Sentence:
• That homework was easy as pie.
• Learning to ride a bike was easy as pie for her.
Other ways to say: Simple, no problem
Fun Fact/Origin: Pie is sweet and fun to eat, so people say it’s easy.
Usage: Used when something is not hard at all.
32. To stew over something
Meaning: To think or worry about something for too long.
Example Sentence:
• He stewed over the mistake all night.
• She kept stewing over her grade.
Other ways to say: Worry, overthink
Fun Fact/Origin: Stewing is a way of cooking things slowly, just like slow worrying.
Usage: Used when someone can’t stop thinking about something.
33. Fruitcake
Meaning: A silly or crazy person (often in a funny way).
Example Sentence:
• He’s a real fruitcake when he tells jokes.
• That fruitcake wore socks on his hands.
Other ways to say: Goofy, odd
Fun Fact/Origin: Fruitcakes have many ingredients, so calling someone one means they’re a bit mixed up.
Usage: Used playfully to describe strange behavior.
34. The cream of the crop
Meaning: The best in a group.
Example Sentence:
• She’s the cream of the crop in math class.
• That team is the cream of the crop.
Other ways to say: Best, top choice
Fun Fact/Origin: Cream rises to the top of milk, just like the best rise in a group.
Usage: Used when talking about the very best.
35. Don’t cry over spilled milk
Meaning: Don’t be upset about something you can’t change.
Example Sentence:
• It’s okay—you forgot your lunch. Don’t cry over spilled milk.
• We lost, but let’s not cry over spilled milk.
Other ways to say: Move on, don’t worry
Fun Fact/Origin: Once milk is spilled, it can’t be saved—just like some mistakes.
Usage: Used to help people stop feeling bad about past things.
36. Packed like sardines
Meaning: Very crowded together.
Example Sentence:
• We were packed like sardines in the car.
• The gym was packed like sardines during the assembly.
Other ways to say: Crowded, crammed
Fun Fact/Origin: Sardines are tightly packed in cans.
Usage: Used when a space is very full.
37. Like two peas in a pod
Meaning: Very similar or close friends.
Example Sentence:
• Those twins are like two peas in a pod.
• My best friend and I are like two peas in a pod.
Other ways to say: Very alike, inseparable
Fun Fact/Origin: Peas in a pod are side-by-side and alike in shape.
Usage: Used for people who are very close or similar.
38. Nutty as a fruitcake
Meaning: Very silly or strange.
Example Sentence:
• He’s nutty as a fruitcake when he dances.
• That idea is nutty as a fruitcake.
Other ways to say: Wild, odd
Fun Fact/Origin: Fruitcakes often contain nuts, so the phrase grew from that.
Usage: Used in a fun way to call someone silly.
39. Carrot and stick
Meaning: A mix of reward and punishment.
Example Sentence:
• The teacher used a carrot and stick to get us to finish our work.
• Mom used the carrot and stick method—TV time or no dessert.
Other ways to say: Reward and warning
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from giving a carrot to a donkey or using a stick to move it.
Usage: Used to describe ways to get people to do something.
40. Low-hanging fruit
Meaning: The easiest thing to do or get.
Example Sentence:
• Cleaning my room was the low-hanging fruit.
• They chose the easiest question—the low-hanging fruit.
Other ways to say: Easy choice, quick win
Fun Fact/Origin: Fruit on lower branches is easier to reach.
Usage: Used when someone chooses something simple first.
41. Have a lot on your plate
Meaning: To be very busy.
Example Sentence:
• She has a lot on her plate with homework and sports.
• He couldn’t help—he had a lot on his plate.
Other ways to say: Very busy, too much to do
Fun Fact/Origin: If your plate is full, you can’t add more.
Usage: Used when someone has too many tasks.
42. As nutty as a peanut butter sandwich
Meaning: Very silly or funny.
Example Sentence:
• That joke was as nutty as a peanut butter sandwich.
• He’s as nutty as a peanut butter sandwich at lunch.
Other ways to say: Funny, goofy
Fun Fact/Origin: Peanut butter is made of nuts and is used in fun ways in language.
Usage: Used in a light, playful way to call something silly.
43. Pick of the bunch
Meaning: The best choice.
Example Sentence:
• That puppy was the pick of the bunch.
• She’s the pick of the bunch for class leader.
Other ways to say: Best one, top pick
Fun Fact/Origin: Picking the best fruit from a bunch gave rise to this saying.
Usage: Used when talking about the best item or person.
44. Cool as a melon slice in July
Meaning: Very calm even in a tense time.
Example Sentence:
• He was cool as a melon slice in July during the spelling bee.
• She stayed cool as a melon slice in July on stage.
Other ways to say: Calm, steady
Fun Fact/Origin: Melon slices are refreshing in hot months like July.
Usage: Used when someone stays calm in heat or stress.
45. Like apples falling from the tree
Meaning: Kids who act like their parents.
Example Sentence:
• He plays baseball just like his dad—like apples falling from the tree.
• She sings like her mom—apples don’t fall far from the tree.
Other ways to say: Just like, similar to
Fun Fact/Origin: Comes from how apples land close to the tree they grow on.
Usage: Used when children are very similar to their parents.
Quiz: Idioms About Fruit
Question Key
1. What does “the apple of someone’s eye” mean?
A) Someone who likes apples a lot
B) Someone who is deeply loved
C) Someone who eats fruit every day
2. If someone “goes bananas,” what are they doing?
A) Being calm and relaxed
B) Acting wild or silly
C) Eating too many bananas
3. What does “a lemon” mean when talking about a car?
A) A fresh and new car
B) A car that smells like fruit
C) A car that doesn’t work well
4. If a plan “goes pear-shaped,” what happened?
A) It turned into a fruit salad
B) It went wrong
C) It became tasty
5. What does it mean to “spill the beans”?
A) Drop a can of beans
B) Eat too fast
C) Tell a secret
6. What does “a peach of a deal” mean?
A) A good offer
B) A fruit sale
C) A basket of peaches
7. If someone is “the top banana,” who are they?
A) The slowest in the group
B) The funniest person
C) The leader or boss
8. What does “sour grapes” mean?
A) Grapes that taste bad
B) Pretending you don’t want something you couldn’t have
C) Making grape juice
9. If a person is “like two peas in a pod” with their friend, what are they like?
A) Very different
B) Very close or similar
C) Always arguing
10. What does “packed like sardines” mean?
A) Everyone is standing far apart
B) A place is very crowded
C) There’s a fish party
11. What does “the cream of the crop” mean?
A) The most expensive crop
B) The worst choice
C) The best or top choice
12. If someone “has a lot on their plate,” how do they feel?
A) They are very full from lunch
B) They have too many things to do
C) They are cooking food
13. What does “pick of the bunch” mean?
A) The fruit that is hardest to reach
B) The one that tastes worst
C) The best one in a group
Answer Key
- B) Someone who is deeply loved
- B) Acting wild or silly
- C) A car that doesn’t work well
- B) It went wrong
- C) Tell a secret
- A) A good offer
- C) The leader or boss
- B) Pretending you don’t want something you couldn’t have
- B) Very close or similar
- B) A place is very crowded
- C) The best or top choice
- B) They have too many things to do
- C) The best one in a group
Wrapping Up
Fruit idioms are a fun way to talk about feelings, people, and everyday things. These expressions help us describe things in a more interesting way. You don’t need to eat fruit to use them—but knowing what they mean makes reading and speaking easier and more fun.
Next time you hear someone talk about “going bananas” or being the “apple of someone’s eye,” you’ll know they aren’t talking about real fruit. They’re using clever phrases to share ideas. Try using one yourself!
