Cake vs. Pie Traditional Cache

There is no clear answer concerning the origin of easy as pie, although the word "pie" has had several slang meanings over the years. During the 19th century, pie represented living the easy or simple life, similar to the modern use of "sunshine and lollipops" or other pie-in-the-sky analogies.

This reference to simplicity and ease could also explain the use of the word "pie" in other expressions, such as pie-eyed and pie-in-the-sky.

Brewer (1870) tells of the tradition in USA slavery states when couples would walk in a procession around a cake at a social gathering or party, the most graceful pair being awarded the cake as a prize. This also gave us the expression 'cake walk' and 'a piece of cake' both meaning a job or contest that's very easy to achieve or win.

Whether it's a piece of cake or easy as pie, there is usually no doubt that the task at hand should be remarkably easy to accomplish.