Fruits are not just yummy to eat they are also used in funny and clever ways when people talk. In English, we sometimes use fruits in sayings that don’t really mean what the words say. These are called idioms. For example, if someone says “He’s a bad apple,” they don’t mean he’s actually a piece of fruit. They mean he’s a person who causes trouble.
Idioms about fruit help us talk in a more fun and interesting way. These phrases are often used by adults and kids to explain feelings, people, or situations. You might hear them in books, shows, or everyday talks. In this lesson, you’ll learn what some of these fruit idioms mean and how to use them the right way. Let’s pick some fruity sayings and find out what they’re really about.
Idioms about Fruit
1. A bad apple
Meaning: A person who causes trouble in a group
Within a Sentence: One bad apple in class made everyone get extra homework. / He’s the bad apple on the team.
In Other Words: Someone who behaves badly and affects others.
2. The apple of my eye
Meaning: Someone very special or loved
Within a Sentence: My little sister is the apple of my eye. / Grandma calls me the apple of her eye.
In Other Words: A favorite person.
3. Go bananas
Meaning: To act silly or get very excited
Within a Sentence: We went bananas when school was canceled. / He went bananas at the party.
In Other Words: Went wild or acted crazy.
4. A plum job
Meaning: A really good job or position
Within a Sentence: He got a plum job at the new ice cream store. / That role in the school play is a plum job.
In Other Words: A great job or lucky spot.
5. Sour grapes
Meaning: Pretending not to care after losing
Within a Sentence: She said she didn’t want the prize, but it sounded like sour grapes. / That’s just sour grapes after losing.
In Other Words: Acting like you didn’t want it anyway.
6. Cherry-pick
Meaning: To choose only the best
Within a Sentence: He cherry-picked the biggest cookies. / They cherry-picked the best players for their team.
In Other Words: Took the top choices.
7. A peach of a person
Meaning: A very kind and sweet person
Within a Sentence: Our teacher is a peach of a person. / He helped carry my books what a peach!
In Other Words: A really nice person.
8. Compare apples and oranges
Meaning: Comparing two very different things
Within a Sentence: You can’t compare a book and a movie it’s apples and oranges. / Homework and video games are apples and oranges.
In Other Words: They are too different to match.
9. Not give a fig
Meaning: Not care at all
Within a Sentence: He didn’t give a fig about the test. / She doesn’t give a fig what others think.
In Other Words: Didn’t care at all.
10. In apple-pie order
Meaning: Very neat and tidy
Within a Sentence: My room was in apple-pie order after I cleaned. / She keeps her books in apple-pie order.
In Other Words: Perfectly organized.
11. A lemon (thing)
Meaning: Something that doesn’t work well
Within a Sentence: My old bike is a lemon. / That toy car turned out to be a lemon.
In Other Words: It’s broken or useless.
12. Full of beans
Meaning: Very energetic or lively
Within a Sentence: My dog is full of beans today. / The kids were full of beans after recess.
In Other Words: Super active and excited.
13. Spill the beans
Meaning: To tell a secret
Within a Sentence: Don’t spill the beans about the surprise party! / He spilled the beans too early.
In Other Words: Gave away the secret.
14. Top banana
Meaning: The most important person
Within a Sentence: She’s the top banana in our class play. / He acts like he’s the top banana.
In Other Words: The leader or boss.
15. Second banana
Meaning: The helper or less important person
Within a Sentence: I was the second banana in our project. / He’s happy being second banana on the team.
In Other Words: The assistant or sidekick.
16. Like two peas in a pod
Meaning: Two people who are very alike
Within a Sentence: My best friend and I are like two peas in a pod. / Those twins are just like two peas in a pod.
In Other Words: Very similar or always together.
17. Bear fruit
Meaning: To produce good results
Within a Sentence: His hard work is starting to bear fruit. / Studying every day will bear fruit soon.
In Other Words: Bring good results.
18. Juicy gossip
Meaning: Interesting or exciting news
Within a Sentence: She always has the juiciest gossip. / That story was full of juicy gossip.
In Other Words: Fun or shocking news.
19. Low-hanging fruit
Meaning: Easy things to do or fix
Within a Sentence: Let’s do the low-hanging fruit first on our chore list. / That spelling error is low-hanging fruit.
In Other Words: Simple task or easy win.
20. The fruits of labor
Meaning: Results from hard work
Within a Sentence: Getting an A was the fruit of my hard work. / His trophy shows the fruits of labor.
In Other Words: What you earn after effort.
21. A bunch of grapes
Meaning: A group of people or things together
Within a Sentence: The kids stood like a bunch of grapes. / Books were stacked like a bunch of grapes.
In Other Words: Gathered closely together.
22. Forbidden fruit
Meaning: Something tempting but off-limits
Within a Sentence: The game during class was forbidden fruit. / Sneaking snacks was like forbidden fruit.
In Other Words: Tempting but not allowed.
23. Packed like sardines
Meaning: Crowded in a small space
Within a Sentence: We were packed like sardines in the car. / The bus was packed like sardines.
In Other Words: Very crowded.
24. Go pear-shaped
Meaning: To go wrong or not as planned
Within a Sentence: Our science project went pear-shaped. / Everything went pear-shaped at the sleepover.
In Other Words: Didn’t go well.
25. Rotten to the core
Meaning: Very bad or mean
Within a Sentence: That villain was rotten to the core. / The bully seemed rotten to the core.
In Other Words: Deeply bad.
26. Sweeten the deal
Meaning: To make something more appealing
Within a Sentence: I’ll sweeten the deal with candy if you help. / He sweetened the deal with extra time.
In Other Words: Make it better.
27. Tough nut to crack
Meaning: A hard problem or person to understand
Within a Sentence: That math puzzle is a tough nut to crack. / My cat is a tough nut to crack.
In Other Words: Hard to figure out.
28. Peachy keen
Meaning: Great or excellent
Within a Sentence: Everything is peachy keen today. / The trip was peachy keen!
In Other Words: Very good.
29. Cool as a cucumber
Meaning: Very calm
Within a Sentence: She was cool as a cucumber during the test. / He stayed cool as a cucumber.
In Other Words: Stayed calm.
30. A bite at the cherry
Meaning: A chance or opportunity
Within a Sentence: I got a bite at the cherry to join the team. / Here’s your bite at the cherry.
In Other Words: A chance to try.
31. Lemon law
Meaning: A law that protects buyers from bad products
Within a Sentence: We used the lemon law for our broken laptop. / Thanks to the lemon law, we got a refund.
In Other Words: A rule for fairness in buying.
32. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
Meaning: A child is like their parent
Within a Sentence: He’s just like his dad the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. / She loves books like her mom.
In Other Words: They’re similar.
33. Bite the apple
Meaning: To try something new
Within a Sentence: He decided to bite the apple and join the club. / I bit the apple and tried sushi.
In Other Words: Took a chance.
34. A mixed bag
Meaning: A mix of good and bad
Within a Sentence: The test results were a mixed bag. / Our picnic was a mixed bag of fun and bugs.
In Other Words: Not all good or all bad.
35. Go nuts
Meaning: To get excited or silly
Within a Sentence: The kids went nuts at recess. / I go nuts for pizza night.
In Other Words: Act wild.
36. Big cheese
Meaning: An important person
Within a Sentence: The principal is the big cheese. / He thinks he’s the big cheese.
In Other Words: A leader.
37. Cry over spilled juice
Meaning: Be upset about something small
Within a Sentence: It’s just a broken pencil don’t cry over spilled juice. / He cried over spilled juice when he lost his turn.
In Other Words: Don’t worry too much.
38. Sweet as honey
Meaning: Very nice or kind
Within a Sentence: She’s sweet as honey to everyone. / That puppy is sweet as honey.
In Other Words: Very kind.
39. Nuts about something
Meaning: Really love something
Within a Sentence: He’s nuts about dinosaurs. / I’m nuts about chocolate chip cookies.
In Other Words: Loves it a lot.
40. Half-baked idea
Meaning: A plan that’s not ready
Within a Sentence: That was a half-baked idea for the science fair. / Don’t bring a half-baked idea to the group.
In Other Words: Not thought out.
41. Bite off more than you can chew
Meaning: Try to do too much
Within a Sentence: I bit off more than I could chew with three projects. / She did too many jobs it was too much.
In Other Words: Took on too much.
42. Sell like hotcakes
Meaning: To sell very quickly
Within a Sentence: The cookies sold like hotcakes at the bake sale. / Our bracelets sold like hotcakes.
In Other Words: Sold fast.
43. Go sour
Meaning: To become bad or stop working well
Within a Sentence: Their friendship went sour. / My idea went sour when we ran out of time.
In Other Words: Didn’t work out.
44. Fruitcake (person)
Meaning: A silly or strange person
Within a Sentence: He’s a real fruitcake when he dances. / That fruitcake wore two hats.
In Other Words: Acts funny or weird.
45. Money doesn’t grow on trees
Meaning: Don’t waste money
Within a Sentence: I can’t buy everything money doesn’t grow on trees. / Dad says that when we ask for new toys.
In Other Words: Be careful with money.
46. Pick of the bunch
Meaning: The best one
Within a Sentence: This puppy is the pick of the bunch. / That drawing was the pick of the bunch.
In Other Words: The best choice.
47. Plum tuckered out
Meaning: Very tired
Within a Sentence: I’m plum tuckered out after the field trip. / She was plum tuckered out from the game.
In Other Words: Really tired.
48. Full of hot air
Meaning: Says things that aren’t true
Within a Sentence: That story was full of hot air. / He’s full of hot air about his fish story.
In Other Words: Exaggerates or lies.
49. Cherrypie smile
Meaning: A sweet, cute smile
Within a Sentence: She gave a cherrypie smile at the camera. / He has a cherrypie smile in every picture.
In Other Words: A nice smile.
50. Fruit for thought
Meaning: Something to think about
Within a Sentence: That idea gave me fruit for thought. / Here’s some fruit for thought: what if we swapped roles?
In Other Words: Made me think.
51. Like rotten fruit
Meaning: Bad or mean person
Within a Sentence: Don’t act like rotten fruit to others. / That behavior was like rotten fruit.
In Other Words: Not nice.
52. Pick a plum
Meaning: Choose something great
Within a Sentence: I picked a plum with this shirt. / That book was a plum pick.
In Other Words: Chose well.
53. Chew the fruit
Meaning: Have a long talk
Within a Sentence: We sat and chewed the fruit after lunch. / Grandpa loves to chew the fruit on the porch.
In Other Words: Chatted for a while.
54. Like biting into a lemon
Meaning: A sudden bad surprise
Within a Sentence: Getting that grade was like biting into a lemon. / The ending of the movie felt like biting into a lemon.
In Other Words: Not fun.
55. A fruitless trip
Meaning: A trip with no success
Within a Sentence: The store was closed it was a fruitless trip. / Our search for the toy was fruitless.
In Other Words: Didn’t find anything.
56. All ripe and ready
Meaning: All prepared
Within a Sentence: The snacks were all ripe and ready for the party. / We’re ripe and ready for the game.
In Other Words: All set.
57. Turn into a pumpkin
Meaning: Time to stop something or go home
Within a Sentence: I turn into a pumpkin at 9 p.m. / Dad says we turn into pumpkins after bedtime.
In Other Words: Time is up.
58. Bunch of bananas
Meaning: A silly group of people
Within a Sentence: Our class is a bunch of bananas today. / That team acts like a bunch of bananas.
In Other Words: Being funny or silly.
59. Ripe for the picking
Meaning: Ready or perfect for something
Within a Sentence: That idea is ripe for the picking. / These apples are ripe for the picking.
In Other Words: Ready to go.
60. As nutty as a fruitcake
Meaning: Very silly or strange
Within a Sentence: That costume is as nutty as a fruitcake. / My uncle’s jokes are nutty as a fruitcake.
In Other Words: Really silly.
Idioms About Fruit – True/False Quiz
- Saying someone is “a bad apple” means they’re healthy and helpful.
True / False - If you’re “the apple of someone’s eye,” they really care about you.
True / False - “Go bananas” means to stay calm and quiet.
True / False - A “plum job” is a job that nobody wants.
True / False - If you say “sour grapes,” it means someone is happy they lost.
True / False - To “cherry-pick” means you pick the worst things first.
True / False - If someone is “a peach of a person,” they are very nice.
True / False - Comparing “apples and oranges” means two things are the same.
True / False - “Not give a fig” means you really care about something.
True / False - When things are in “apple-pie order,” they are neat and tidy.
True / False - If a car is called “a lemon,” it’s probably very fast and new.
True / False - A “forbidden fruit” is something that is allowed and safe.
True / False - “Rotten to the core” means someone is very kind.
True / False - A “peachy keen” day is a really fun day.
True / False - “Money doesn’t grow on trees” means you should be careful with money.
True / False
Answers:
- False
- True
- False
- False
- False
- False
- True
- False
- False
- True
- False
- False
- False
- True
- True
Scoring Guide:
- 15 Correct Answers: Topics Master!
- 10–14 Correct Answers: You really get Topics nice work!
- 6–9 Correct Answers: You’re learning keep going!
- 0–5 Correct Answers: Let’s learn about Topics together!
Conclusion
Idioms about fruit help us speak in fun and smart ways. They don’t really mean what the words say, but they help us share ideas clearly. When you say someone is a “bad apple” or “sweet as honey,” people know just what you mean.
Now that you’ve learned 60 fruit idioms, try using them in class or at home. It’s a great way to sound more natural when you speak and write. Just remember these idioms aren’t about real fruit, but they sure make language more colorful.
