Easy as pie
Meaning: Something easy to do
Originated in: 🇺🇸 United States of America
Original quote:
Nice as pie
Earliest attestation: Which: the Right, or the Left? by Garrett And Company (1855)
Everyone likes pie. The mere mention of it conjures up images of golden crusts, luscious fillings, and a sense of homey comfort. Pies have been a staple of Western cuisine for centuries, with numerous variations. From sweet to savory, pies have always been associated with nourishment, festivity, and comfort.
Given their delicious popularity, it is natural that they became the object of simile for ease and pleasure. Enjoyable things became known as “nice as pie” because eating pie is really nice.
The phrase “easy as pie” is a natural extension of this idea. One can eat a slice of pie with ease, so doing simple, enjoyable tasks has been hyperbolically likened to eating pie. You don’t have to do any real work to accomplish it. You can just relax and enjoy it.
Nowadays, this phrase is less often used and a bit antiquated. It has instead become largely supplanted by the extremely similar phrase “piece of cake”. Both phrases draw on the universally pleasant and straightforward experience of enjoying a dessert, but “piece of cake” is more commonly used in modern English, likely because of the modern popularity of cakes over pies.