icing on the cake
stɪŋ, ˈfrɒs noun
Idioms 1.
a sweet mixture, cooked or uncooked, for coating or filling cakes, cookies, and the like; icing.
2.
a dull or lusterless finish, as on metal or glass.
3.
a process of highlighting the hair by bleaching selected strands.
4.
a material used for decorative work, as signs, displays, etc., made from coarse flakes of powdered glass.
5.
the frosting on the cake, something added to make a thing better or more desirable. Also, icing on the cake.
00:10
Icing on the cake
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To icing on the cake
Collins
World English Dictionary
frosting (ˈfrɒstɪŋ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a soft icing based on sugar and egg whites |
| 2. | Also called: icing a sugar preparation, variously flavoured and coloured, for coating and decorating cakes, biscuits, etc |
| 3. | a rough or matt finish on glass, silver, etc |
| 4. | slang the practice of stealing a car while the owner has left it idling to defrost the windows and heat the engine |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
frosting
1610s as an action; 1750s as a substance; meaning "cake icing" is from 1858; from prp. of frost.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
frost (frôst)
n.
A deposit of minute ice crystals formed when water vapor condenses at a temperature below freezing.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
frost  (frôst) Pronunciation Key
A deposit of tiny, white ice crystals on a surface. Frost forms through sublimation, when water vapor in the air condenses at a temperature below freezing. It gets its white color from tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice crystals. See more at dew point. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
icing on the cake definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
icing on the cake
Also, frosting on the cake. An additional benefit to something already good. For example, All these letters of congratulation are icing on the cake, or After that beautiful sunrise, the rainbow is just frosting on the cake. This metaphoric expression alludes to the sweet creamy coating used to enhance a cake. [Mid-1900s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Nearby Words
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