take the cake

idiomatic phrase

variants chiefly US take the cake or British take the biscuit

informal

: to win the prize : to rank first

While it didn't take the cake for the warmest Christmas on record, it was close.

—Krista McEnany

—typically used to describe something that is very surprising, foolish, remarkable, annoying, etc.

There have been doozies in the flurry of free-agent signings … but the Giants' acquisition of quarterback Kerry Collins takes the cake.

—Peter King

Of all the invasions of her privacy, this one took the cake.

—Richard Peck

When he was quite sure that the narrative had ended he laughed noiselessly for fully half a minute. Then he said: "Well! … That takes the biscuit!"

—James Joyce

Examples of take the cake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Katy Perry and her daughter Daisy, 4, met Bluey and Bingo while in Australia The singer has been Down Under while on her Lifetimes tour Perry shares Daisy with Orlando Bloom Katy Perry is known for her amazing costumes, but her daughter's Bluey dress might take the cake. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 18 June 2025

For the Giants, Hyatt takes the cake, according to Garrett Podell, as Wilson's presence seems to be doing wonders for the young wideout's third NFL offseason. —Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025

Romeo Is a Dead Man might just take the cake on the weirdness scale. —Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 6 June 2025

Every season seems to be a record season for Ohtani but 2024 really did take the cake. —Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 16 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take the cake

• radiopaque
• ache
• ake
• bake
• brake
• break
• craik
• crake
• fake
• flake
• hake
• jake