cakewalk
pronunciation
How to pronounce cakewalk in British English:
UK [ˈkeɪkwɔ:k]
How to pronounce cakewalk in American English:
US ['keɪkwɔk]
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- Noun:
- a strutting dance based on a march; was performed in minstrel shows; originated as a competition among Black dancers to win a cake
- an easy accomplishment
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- Verb:
- perform the cakewalk dance
Word Origin
- cakewalk (n.)
- 1863, American English, from cake (n.) + walk (n.), probably in reference to the cake given as a prize for the fanciest steps in a procession in a Southern black custom (explained by Thornton, 1912, as, "A walking competition among negroes," in which the prize cake goes to "the couple who put on most style"). Its figurative meaning of "something easy" (1863) is recorded before the literal one (1879). As a verb, from 1909. This may also be the source of the phrase to take the cake (1847).
Example
- 1. Doing my exams was a cakewalk this semester .
- 2. That made industrialisation a cakewalk compared with earlier times .
- 3. The first round of the 200 meters was a cakewalk for carl lewis .
- 4. Yet it isn 't all a happy cakewalk through cancer yet .
- 5. Langley was a cakewalk compared to this .