Dictionary

icing on the cake en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) A thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good, or (ironic) the regretting of something already bad.
   • Like the stations on Birmingham's Camp Hill line, Darlaston and Willenhall are arriving later than expected. But for those living in the area they're certainly worth the wait. And if a service to Walsall can be funded, that will be the icing on the cake for two areas that have been without a railway station for more than 50 years. 2026 January 21, Peter Plisner, “Rail's resurgence in the Midlands”, in RAIL, number 1053, page 35:
   • With such advantages as these, the superior thermal efficiency of the diesel becomes no more than the icing on the cake. 1957 August 14, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 564:
   • I was having a really bad day at work, but the icing on the cake was getting soaked by a car passing through a puddle.
   • We went out for dinner and dancing and the icing on the cake was when my boyfriend proposed to me as we danced.
   • The London School of Economics’ local government pundit, Tony Travers, has been totting up the capital’s groaning portfolio of infrastructure projects and the support given to them by the nation’s taxpayers. They include the new Elizabeth line (£14.8bn), Crossrail Two (£27bn), a possible new Heathrow (£25bn), the HS2 link in west London (£6bn), the Thames Tideway tunnel, of questionable necessity (£4.2bn), and such icings on the cake as an Olympic legacy culture park, a garden bridge for Joanna Lumley and a concert hall for Simon Rattle. 2016 February 25, Simon Jenkins, “While London rides the Crossrail gravy train, the north is stuck in reverse”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Feb 2016:
   • Aankhen : A laugh riot had twin Kader Khans as the fathers of Govinda, Chunky Pandey and Govinda. Govinda and David Dhawan formed a dynamite box-office combination in the 1990s and Kader Khan’s short roles in many of their films were frothy icings on the cakes. 2019 January 2, Diptakirti Chaudhari, “Kader Khan: a man of many parts”, in The Hindu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu: The Hindu Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Feb 2026:
   • Lewis Hamilton is eyeing a hat-trick after victories at Silverstone in the last two years – he’d become the first to do the British GP treble, all on this historically important track, and he could even leapfrog his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the overall standings which would be the sweetest of icings on the cake at his home circuit. 2016 July 10, Gerard Meagher, “F1: British Grand Prix – live!”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Jul 2016:
   • “I'm happy right now. I don't need to test-drive a bunch of lemons to get me there. But happily ever after? That's a trip worth taking. The pièce de résistance. The crème de la crème. The—” “The icing on the cake,” Dana said. Michelle raised her glass in a toast. “Exactly.” 2013, Alison Kent, The Icing on the Cake, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

Forms

Synonyms

cherry on the cake · cherry on top · frosting on the cake

Translations (27)

uk ви́шенька на то́рті (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · sv grädde på moset (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · es colmo (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · be ві́шанька на то́рце (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · fo rosinan í pylsuendanum (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · he הדובדבן שבקצפת (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · pl wisienka na torcie (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · hu hab a tortán (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · it la ciliegina sulla torta (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · ru ви́шенка на то́рте (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · es guinda (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · ro cireașa de pe tort (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · no prikken over i'en (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · da prikken over i'et (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · fi sokerina pohjalla (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · sk čerešnička na torte (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · is rúsínan í pylsuendanum (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · ga an dlaíóg mhullaigh (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · cmn 錦上添花 /锦上添花 (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · cs třešnička na dortu (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · de Sahnehäubchen (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · pt a cereja no topo do bolo (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · ca la cirereta del pastís (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · nl kers op de taart (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · sv pricken över i (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · pt a cereja do bolo (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad) · fr cerise sur le gâteau (thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good or the regretting of something already bad)