Cakewalk

A cakewalk is any endeavour that can be accomplished easily without any great effort. The expression is American and dates from the 1870s. It has its roots in slavery, when black couples would dress elegantly and stroll arm in arm past judges. The prize for the most elegant, most stylish couple was a cake. Cakes were offered as prizes at rural fairs throughout America. It was probably not that easy to win ‘most elegant couple’ but the relaxed nature of the cakewalk led to its current meaning. See also Doddle, Piece of cake, Takes the biscuit/cake and Walk/stroll in the park.