Fruits are not only tasty, but they are also part of many funny and smart phrases. These phrases are called idioms. People use them to explain things in a fun way. Idioms about fruit can help us speak better and understand what others mean in daily talk.
This article will show you some of those idioms. You will see how fruit words can mean much more than just food. Some will make you smile. Others might help you understand feelings or actions. Let’s take a closer look and learn how fruits help us say things in clever ways.
Idioms about Fruit
1. Apple of my eye
Meaning: Someone who is loved very much.
Samples: My little brother is the apple of my eye. / Grandma says her cat is the apple of her eye.
To Put it Another Way: He’s really special to me. / I care about her a lot.
2. Go bananas
Meaning: To get very excited or act silly.
Samples: The class went bananas when the teacher said no homework. / Kids go bananas at the school fair.
To Put it Another Way: Everyone got really loud and wild. / They started acting goofy.
3. A bad apple
Meaning: A person who causes trouble in a group.
Samples: One bad apple made the whole team look bad. / Don’t let one bad apple ruin your fun.
To Put it Another Way: One kid misbehaved and others got blamed. / single troublemaker can spoil things.
4. The big apple
Meaning: A nickname for New York City.
Samples: My cousin is going to college in the Big Apple. / We took a trip to the Big Apple last summer.
To Put it Another Way: They’re visiting New York City. / She lives in NYC now.
5. Cherry-pick
Meaning: To choose only the best or easiest items.
Samples: He cherry-picked the best toys from the shelf. / Don’t just cherry-pick the fun jobs.
To Put it Another Way: She only picked the good stuff. / He didn’t choose fairly.
6. A plum job
Meaning: A great job that is easy and well-paid.
Samples: Her dad got a plum job at a tech company. / That summer camp job was a plum job!
To Put it Another Way: It was a great and lucky job. / She found a sweet deal.
7. Compare apples and oranges
Meaning: To compare things that are very different.
Samples: You can’t compare football and chess. That’s apples and oranges. / Comparing a bike to a car is like apples and oranges.
To Put it Another Way: Those things are not alike. / They’re too different to compare.
8. Sour grapes
Meaning: Pretending something you can’t have isn’t good anyway.
Samples: She said she didn’t want the prize, but it sounded like sour grapes. / He called the new game boring after losing. That’s sour grapes.
To Put it Another Way: She acted like she didn’t care, but she really did. / He pretended it didn’t matter.
9. Peachy keen
Meaning: Very good or nice.
Samples: Everything’s peachy keen at summer camp. / That’s a peachy keen idea!
To Put it Another Way: It’s all going well. / That sounds awesome.
10. Top banana
Meaning: The most important person.
Samples: She’s the top banana in the drama club. / He acts like he’s the top banana at school.
To Put it Another Way: She’s in charge. / He thinks he’s the boss.
11. Second banana
Meaning: The helper or someone less important.
Samples: I’m fine being second banana in the group. / He didn’t want to be second banana on the team.
To Put it Another Way: I don’t need to be the leader. / He wanted more attention.
12. Go pear-shaped
Meaning: Something goes wrong or fails.
Samples: The science fair plan went pear-shaped. / Everything went pear-shaped after the power went out.
To Put it Another Way: Things didn’t go as planned. / It all went badly.
13. Rotten to the core
Meaning: Completely bad or mean.
Samples: That villain was rotten to the core. / He seemed nice but was rotten to the core.
To Put it Another Way: He was mean inside and out. / She wasn’t a good person.
14. A bite at the cherry
Meaning: A chance or opportunity.
Samples: She got a second bite at the cherry in the contest. / He wanted just one bite at the cherry.
To Put it Another Way: She got another chance. / He hoped for one try.
15. Fruit of your labor
Meaning: The result of hard work.
Samples: The trophy was the fruit of her labor. / His good grades were the fruit of hard study.
To Put it Another Way: Hard work gave them success. / They earned it.
16. Lemon law
Meaning: A law to protect buyers from bad cars.
Samples: The lemon law helped her return a broken car. / Thanks to the lemon law, they got a refund.
To Put it Another Way: It helped them fix a car problem. / The rule protected the buyer.
17. Life is a bowl of cherries
Meaning: Life is good and easy.
Samples: Summer vacation felt like a bowl of cherries. / With no homework, life is a bowl of cherries.
To Put it Another Way: Things are fun right now. / Life is easy and happy.
18. Banana oil
Meaning: Silly or false talk.
Samples: Don’t believe his banana oil story. / That excuse sounded like banana oil.
To Put it Another Way: He was making stuff up. / That didn’t sound true.
19. Full of beans
Meaning: Very lively and energetic.
Samples: The kids were full of beans after lunch. / She’s always full of beans on game day.
To Put it Another Way: They had tons of energy. / She was super active.
20. As cool as a cucumber
Meaning: Very calm and not nervous.
Samples: He stayed cool as a cucumber during the test. / She was cool as a cucumber on stage.
To Put it Another Way: He stayed calm. / She wasn’t scared.
21. Apples and oranges
Meaning: Very different things.
Samples: TV and books are apples and oranges. / Cats and dogs are apples and oranges too.
To Put it Another Way: They’re not the same. / You can’t match them.
22. To bear fruit
Meaning: To get good results.
Samples: Her hard work finally bore fruit. / The team’s effort is bearing fruit.
To Put it Another Way: They are starting to succeed. / It’s paying off.
23. A lemon
Meaning: Something that doesn’t work well.
Samples: That phone was a lemon from the start. / He bought a lemon of a laptop.
To Put it Another Way: It didn’t work right. / The thing was broken.
24. Ripe old age
Meaning: Living a long life.
Samples: My grandpa lived to a ripe old age. / The turtle reached a ripe old age.
To Put it Another Way: He lived many years. / She was very old.
25. Cherry on top
Meaning: Something extra that makes things better.
Samples: The sunny weather was the cherry on top. / The bonus gift was a cherry on top.
To Put it Another Way: It made a good day even better. / That was a nice extra.
26. Bananas about something
Meaning: To really like something.
Samples: She’s bananas about soccer. / He’s bananas about comic books.
To Put it Another Way: She loves it a lot. / He’s crazy for it.
27. Pick of the bunch
Meaning: The best one.
Samples: That puppy is the pick of the bunch. / This book is the pick of the bunch.
To Put it Another Way: It’s the best choice. / That one stands out.
28. Jam-packed
Meaning: Very full or crowded.
Samples: The gym was jam-packed during the game. / The backpack was jam-packed with snacks.
To Put it Another Way: It was really full. / There was no space left.
29. In a jam
Meaning: In a tough situation.
Samples: He was in a jam after missing the bus. / She got in a jam with her homework.
To Put it Another Way: He was stuck. / She needed help.
30. Peaches and cream
Meaning: Everything is smooth and nice.
Samples: Their weekend was all peaches and cream. / The trip started out peaches and cream.
To Put it Another Way: Things were going well. / It was easy and sweet.
Find the Topics: Idioms about Fruit
Reading Passage:
It was the day of the school dance. Mia felt cool as a cucumber even though everyone around her was rushing to get ready. Her best friend Jake, who was usually full of beans, was being extra quiet today. Mia guessed it had something to do with Lily, the girl who was the apple of his eye.
In the gym, the decorations looked great. The teachers really did the cherry on top by adding fairy lights. The place was jam-packed with students. Music played loud, and people danced like they had gone bananas.
During the slow song, Jake tried to ask Lily to dance. But Max, the class clown and known bad apple, cut in and made jokes. Jake just smiled and said, “Let him have his moment. I’ll get my bite at the cherry later.”
By the end of the night, things worked out. Jake got his dance. Mia said, “Looks like all your effort bore fruit.”
Instructions:
Underline or list all the idioms you found in the story.
Answer Key
- Cool as a cucumber
- Full of beans
- Apple of his eye
- Cherry on top
- Jam-packed
- Gone bananas
- Bad apple
- Bite at the cherry
- Bore fruit
Conclusion
Fruit idioms make talking and writing more fun. They help us share big ideas with small, easy words. Instead of saying someone is very special, we can say they are the apple of our eye. If something goes wrong, we might say it went pear-shaped. These sayings make language more colorful.
Learning these idioms can also help us understand what others are saying. People use them in books, shows, and even in class. Now that you know them, try using one the next time you tell a story. Just like fruit, these idioms add flavor to our words.
