English has a short phrase for almost every level of difficulty — from something you could do half asleep to something that fights you for a year. None of them mean what the words say. Here are eight you will hear this week.
1. After the first gym session
Maya: So how was it?
Ben: I thought it'd be a piece of cake. It wasn't.
Maya: Nobody's first week is easy.
Ben: My legs are still shaking.
Maya: Give it a month. You'll get the hang of it.
Ben: That's what my brother said.
2. The driving test on Friday
Sam: My driving test is on Friday.
Nadia: You've been practicing for months. It should be a walk in the park.
Sam: Easier said than done. I still can't park.
Nadia: Parking is the part everyone fails first.
Sam: Great. That helps.
Nadia: Sorry. You'll be fine.
3. Three projects at once
Priya: You look tired.
Tom: I took on three projects at once.
Priya: Three? You're in over your head.
Tom: I know. I thought I could handle it.
Priya: Give one back to Dan.
Tom: I might have to.
4. The job in Berlin
Omar: I sent the application last night.
Lena: The one in Berlin?
Omar: Yeah. It's a long shot.
Lena: Everything's a long shot until someone says yes.
Omar: True.
Lena: Let me know when they call.
5. The new system at work
Ray: Has anyone worked out the new system yet?
Hana: I have. It takes about a week.
Ray: A week?
Hana: Then you get the hang of it and forget it was ever hard.
Ray: I'll hold you to that.
6. The garden that fights back
Dan: How's the garden coming along?
Ivy: It's an uphill battle. The soil is terrible.
Dan: Can you fix soil?
Ivy: Slowly. Compost, then wait a year.
Dan: A year.
Ivy: Gardening isn't a quick job.
7. Moving the sofa on Saturday
Kai: Can you help me move the sofa on Saturday?
Mei: How heavy is it?
Kai: Two people, ten minutes. A walk in the park.
Mei: That's what you said about the fridge.
Kai: The fridge was different.
Mei: I'll bring gloves.
8. Six months of weekends
Luis: I passed the exam.
Anya: You did? That's brilliant.
Luis: Six months of weekends. They paid off in the end.
Anya: Hard work does pay off. Was the exam awful?
Luis: The last section was a piece of cake. The rest wasn't.
Anya: Still counts.
Words to know
| a piece of cake | something very easy to do I thought it'd be a piece of cake. It wasn't. |
| get the hang of it | to learn how to do something after a little practice Give it a month. You'll get the hang of it. |
| a walk in the park | something easy that needs almost no effort Two people, ten minutes. A walk in the park. |
| easier said than done | simple to suggest, but hard to actually do Easier said than done. I still can't park. |
| in over your head | in a situation that is too difficult for you Three? You're in over your head. |
| a long shot | something with very little chance of succeeding Yeah. It's a long shot. |
| an uphill battle | something that stays difficult for a long time It's an uphill battle. The soil is terrible. |
| pay off | to give a good result after a lot of effort Hard work does pay off. Was the exam awful? |
Quick practice
Complete each sentence with an idiom from the conversations above. Change the form if you need to.
1. Ben expected the gym to be easy, so he said he thought it'd be ________.
(something very easy)
2. Nadia told Sam that after months of practice the test should be ________.
(easy, almost no effort)
3. Sam agreed the advice was good, but replied that it was ________.
(simple to say, hard to do)
4. Priya saw that Tom had taken on too much and told him he was ________.
(in something too difficult)
5. Omar knew the Berlin job probably would not happen. He called it ________.
(little chance of success)
6. After six months of study weekends, Luis said that they ________.
(gave a good result in the end)
Show the answers
1. a piece of cake 2. a walk in the park 3. easier said than done 4. in over his head 5. a long shot 6. paid off
Common mistakes
Not: The exam was a piece of a cake.
Say: The exam was a piece of cake.
There is only one a, at the front. Nothing goes between of and cake. An idiom is one fixed block of words, so a small extra word makes it sound wrong even when the meaning is clear.
Not: Moving the sofa was a walk in park.
Say: Moving the sofa was a walk in the park.
The the is part of the idiom, not a choice. Compare go to school, where English drops the article — with idioms you keep exactly the words the phrase came with.
Not: After one month you are over your head.
Say: After one month you are in over your head.
In starts this idiom. Without it the phrase sounds like something is physically above you. The picture behind the idiom is water above your head.
Your turn
Say these aloud, then write your answers. Use a full sentence each time, not just the idiom on its own.
- Name one thing you can do now that used to be hard. Finish this sentence: At first it was difficult, but after a few weeks I got the hang of it.
- Think of a job in your house that nobody wants to do. Is it a walk in the park, or an uphill battle? Say why.
- Describe a plan you have that is a long shot. What would have to happen for it to work?
- Tell a friend to study more, then answer as the friend using easier said than done.
- Write two sentences about something you worked hard at. In the second one, use pay off in the past.
Quick review
Eight idioms, and every one of them hides its meaning. A piece of cake and a walk in the park both mean easy — the first is about the task, the second is about the feeling of doing it. Get the hang of it is the moment the hard thing turns easy. Easier said than done answers advice that is true but useless. In over your head and an uphill battle are two kinds of too hard: the first is too hard for you right now, the second is hard for anyone and stays that way. A long shot is about chance, not effort. And pay off is what you say at the end, when the effort finally turns into a result. Learn each one as a single block of words — change one small word and a native speaker hears it straight away.