Food is one of the friendliest Part 1 topics. Idioms about appetite ("a sweet tooth", "eat like a horse") fit naturally. Food idioms with other meanings, like "take it with a pinch of salt", can carry you into Part 3.
The labels tell you how each one lands with a listener. Natural idioms are safe in any Speaking part. Informal ones suit relaxed Part 1 and Part 2 answers. Overused ones are correct but examiners hear them constantly, so use them once at most. Avoid means dated, slang or a cliché that sounds memorised. None of these belong in Writing Task 2.
13 idioms
love sweet food
I have a terrible sweet tooth; I can't resist chocolate.
Natural and perfect for Part 1 food questions.
eat a lot
My teenage brother eats like a horse.
Casual and humorous.
eat very little
My aunt eats like a bird, just a few spoonfuls.
Casual. The opposite of "eat like a horse".
have a quick meal or snack
We usually grab a bite near the office at lunchtime.
Very natural in everyday speech.
eat something very quickly
I was so hungry I wolfed down two sandwiches.
Natural and vivid.
eat a lot of food, especially unhealthy food
We pigged out on pizza after the exam.
Slangy but common among young people. Use lightly.
make you want to eat something
The smell from the bakery makes my mouth water.
Natural for describing food you love.
a large, healthy and filling meal
Students living alone often don't eat a square meal.
Natural and works in Part 3.
start eating with enthusiasm
As soon as the food arrived, we all dug in.
Natural in stories about meals.
something extra that makes a good thing even better
The food was great, and the sea view was the icing on the cake.
Natural and positive.
not completely believe something
I take online restaurant reviews with a pinch of salt.
Good bridge into Part 3 topics like advertising and media.
your main source of income or main activity
Weddings are the bread and butter of my cousin's catering business.
Natural for business topics.
too many people involved can ruin something
We tried to plan the party together, but too many cooks spoil the broth.
A well-worn proverb. Fine once, but explain what went wrong instead.
Part 1
Here is a sample answer we wrote to show how a few of these idioms fit into natural speech. Notice that it uses only a handful, spread out, with plain English around them.
I'll eat almost anything, but I have a real sweet tooth, so desserts are my weakness. There's a bakery near my flat, and the smell of fresh bread every morning makes my mouth water. On weekdays I don't have much time, so I usually grab a bite near the office. At weekends I like cooking a proper meal with my family, and if there's a home-made cake at the end, that's the icing on the cake.
"Have a sweet tooth", "grab a bite", "make my mouth water" and "dig in" are natural, common and easy to fit into answers about meals and eating habits.
It is slangy but widely used. It is acceptable in a relaxed Part 1 answer about weekends; avoid it in Part 3, where your tone should be more measured.
No. Idioms belong in Speaking. Writing Task 2 is a formal essay, so idioms and contractions make it sound too casual. Use precise, neutral vocabulary there instead.
One or two, only where they fit what you want to say. Forced idioms sound memorised and can lower your score. On this page, be careful with "too many cooks spoil the broth": examiners hear them often or they sound dated.
Keep going
More idiom themes:
Practise them on real questions:
Written by Fizza Butool Zaidi and Ali Zaidi. Lexical Resource is one of the four Speaking criteria in the public IELTS scoring guide on ielts.org. BandLadder is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council or IDP, and no list of idioms guarantees a band score.
© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy