What does ‘the icing on the cake’ mean?
To “the icing on the cake” means to an extra benefit that makes a good thing even better. A modern idiom; the image is self-explanatory.
Origin
- A modern idiom; the image is self-explanatory.
How to use it
- Used of pleasant bonuses.
- Example: Winning the bonus was the icing on the cake.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
- Definitions and origins are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), with modern usage notes clearly marked.