cakewalk
Strutting contest dance
A cakewalk is something easily accomplished: Getting the permit was a cakewalk.
The term comes from a 19th-century dance competition where enslaved Black Americans performed an exaggerated, high-stepping promenade; the best couple won a cake.
The dance spawned a musical genre and eventually the figurative sense of an effortless task.
Light, gentle air movement
- cinchGuaranteed easy thing
- snapSudden sharp sound
- doddleEffortless task
- pushoverEasily defeated opponent
walkover · easy-peasy · simple · effortless · straightforward · uncomplicated · undemanding · elementary
Leisurely public stroll
- strutProud, showy gait
- high-stepWalk with exaggerated leg-lift
- ragtimeSyncopated piano genre
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
choreography · partnered · ballroom · jubilee · step · routine · strutting · glide
Before a war's start
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- minstrelsyArt of traveling performers
- African-AmericanU.S. ethnic identity category
- emancipationRelease from legal bondage
slavery · 19th-century · vaudeville · Southern · tradition · heritage · promenade · jubilee
breeze
Light, gentle air movement
pushover · walkover · easy-peasy · simple · effortless · straightforward · uncomplicated · undemanding · elementary · trivial
promenade
Leisurely public stroll
syncopation · choreography · partnered · ballroom · jubilee · step · routine · strutting · glide · two-step
antebellum
Before a war's start
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- minstrelsyArt of traveling performers
- African-AmericanU.S. ethnic identity category
emancipation · slavery · 19th-century · vaudeville · Southern · tradition · heritage · promenade · jubilee · prize
contest
Organized competitive event
parade · judging · showmanship · strutting · promenade · elimination · champion · ribbon · trophy · ceremony
triumph
Resounding, celebrated victory
landslide · runaway · shutout · romp · steamroll · cruise · sweep · decisive · lopsided · walkaway
- danceballet, breaking, folk dances, b-boying, folk dance
- difficultyeasy, hard, medium, difficult, moderate
- dancesballet, waltz, tango, salsa, hula
- American dancesCharleston, twist, jitterbug, lindy hop, swing dance
- American traditionsFourth of July, Thanksgiving, county fair, state fair, rodeo
- dance movespirouette, shimmy, waltz, tango, cha-cha
cakewalkordeal
Difficult, painful experience
nightmare · struggle · uphill battle · herculean task · slog
cakewalknail-biter
Suspensefully close competition
toss-up · cliffhanger · dogfight · battle royale · photo finish