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“Icing on the cake” is an idiom with two meanings: adding a positive factor to an already good situation or adding a negative factor to an already bad situation. It is often used sarcastically and can refer to situations or tangible objects. The phrase is used in various contexts, including as business names.
The “icing on the cake” is an idiom that carries at least two well-known and related meanings. It means that a positive or negative situation has been made more positive or less negative by the addition of another factor. A good situation, for example, could be enriched by a second good thing, making it even better. Like many idiomatic expressions, the true meaning behind the phrase is most easily discerned by considering the context in which the idiom is said or written.
Perhaps the positive meaning of “icing on the cake” is the most commonly used one. A person uses this saying when he already has something good, but another good thing comes along to make the first thing even better. Often the “good thing” is a situation, although it can also refer to tangible objects. For example, if a newlywed couple finds an apartment rental within their budget, that’s a good thing. If that apartment comes with its own washer and dryer for your laundry, that makes it even better.
Somewhere along the way, the positive meaning behind this phrase morphed into a negative and sarcastic one. Similar to the positive version, a person uses this negative version when he already has something bad, but another negative thing comes along to make the situation worse than it already was. Also similar to the positive version, the “bad something” can be a situation or a tangible object. For example, if the same newlywed couple in the budget apartment with private washer and dryer find that their apartment has a termite infestation, that’s something bad. If they find that their private washer and dryer drives up their water and electricity bills more than is affordable, that’s icing on the cake.
Typically, this negative version of the expression is used ironically. The speaker or writer doesn’t really want the listener or reader to think that good things are associated with more good things. Rather, he is using sarcasm to convey the opposite of the real situation.
These days, people use this phrase in a variety of ways. For example, it’s not uncommon for bakery shops to use the saying to name their businesses, which is a fairly obvious use of the expression. Other businesses, such as event planners, use the expression as a business name in a more subtle way. The idea is that two good things come together with the help of that company’s services.
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