take the cake

1. To be the most outstanding; sometimes used in a derogatory sense: “When it comes to eating like a pig, Gordy really takes the cake.”

Idioms and Phrases

Be the most outstanding in some respect, either the best or the worst. For example, That advertising slogan really took the cake, or What a mess they made of the concert—that takes the cake! This expression alludes to a contest called a cakewalk, in which a cake is the prize. Its figurative use, for something either excellent or outrageously bad, dates from the 1880s.

Example Sentences

I’m not the first person to make the point that the music on the series is almost sickeningly on the nose, but this episode took the cake for me.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Cake and Colbert in bed We take the cake home with us, and in bed we watch Colbert and eat cake and then brush our teeth because there’s been so much cake.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

While the fractious opposition parties fought for the crumbs, Fidesz took the cake.

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As far-fetched as all the conspiracy theories have been thus far, this one takes the cake.

Read more on Salon

I didn’t take the cake from the angel’s hand.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• conquer 
• dominate 
• flourish 
• overcome 
• overwhelm 
• prevail 
• prosper 
• sweep 
• thrive 
• trounce 
• win