"As cool as a cucumber" – Phrase of the week

Phrase  

“Cool as a cucumber” 

Examples

Q: How did Emily do at her job interview?

A: She did well, she was as cool as a cucumber.

Meaning

As cool as a cucumber means being calm, relaxed and unruffled by an event, sight or challenge.

Uses

• It is used quite widely in spoken and written English in a social context.

That’s interesting! 

Cucumbers are cool to the touch. This expression was first recorded in 1732 in a poem by John Gay: “I … cool as a cucumber could see the rest of womankind.”

Other food and drink idioms

• As useful as a chocolate teapot (something that has no practical use)
• That’s the way the cookie crumbles (that’s the way things are)
• A sharp cookie (somebody who cannot be easily fooled)
• A tough cookie (somebody who is self-confident and will do what is required to succeed)