cakes and ale

American  

plural noun

1. the good things of life; material pleasures.

   Their thoughts were only of cakes and ale.

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Example Sentences

Ms. Aitken’s staging is bluntly legible, a grade-saver for Shakespeare-shy students and capable enough for fans in it just for the cakes and ale.

From New York Times

I just finished Cakes and Ale, a work of pure literary assassination of other writers.

From The Guardian

In his lifetime, he provided the model for the social-climbing Alroy Kear, who is mercilessly satirized in Somerset Maugham’s witty masterpiece “Cakes and Ale.”

From Washington Post

Who needs cakes and ale when you have pizza and lager?

From New York Times

But everyone was pleased by the time we sat down for the traditional cakes and ale.

From Slate