cakewalk

What it means

A cakewalk is a task, contest, or victory that turns out to be remarkably easy, requiring little effort to succeed. It's commonly used about exams, games, projects, or jobs that proved simpler than expected. The phrase often appears in 'it was a cakewalk' or in the negated form 'no cakewalk' to stress that something was actually hard.

Examples

• The final exam was a complete cakewalk after all that studying.
• Don't think this project will be a cakewalk — the client is famously picky.
• Winning the opening match was a cakewalk; the other team barely defended.
• Raising a toddler is no cakewalk, trust me.

Where it comes from

From 19th-century African-American dance contests held on plantations and later on the variety circuit, where the prize for the most stylish couple was literally a cake. By the 1860s 'to take the cake' meant winning easily, and by the early 1900s 'cakewalk' had shifted to mean any effortless victory.

Related idioms