It's interesting that the origin of the word "cakewalk" shows Africian-American roots...from http://www.word-detective.com
"Cakewalk" is an American invention, meaning "a very easy victory against little or no real opposition."
I've never understood why folks back in the 19th century spread the word that the streets of America were "paved with gold," as it's likely that we'd have attracted even more immigrants had we claimed cake as our national pavement. Cake has been a synonym for something good or easy since ancient Egypt, when mummies were often interred with a doggie bag of cakes and ale, and "cakes and ale" is still common shorthand for "the good life" in Britain. Not even Marie Antoinette's (probably apocryphal) rejoinder to the news that her subjects could not afford bread, "Then let them eat cake," dampened our love affair with a good slice of cake.
Cake is so popular, in fact, that it has long served as a prize awarded to the winner of all sorts of competitions, giving rise to the 19th century expression "take the cake." Originally simply meaning "to win," "take the cake" now is usually used sarcastically to mean "to be an outrageous example of something bad" (as in "Ken Lay filing for unemployment takes the cake").
One kind of contest popular in the African-American community in the 19th century was the "cakewalk," in which couples competed strolling arm in arm, with the prize, a cake, being awarded to the most graceful and stylish team.
Since "cakewalking" demanded both skill and grace, victory in the contest was rarely a "cakewalk" in our modern "easy" sense. That modern use of "cakewalk" in the came from the boxing ring, where a very easy victory over an outclassed opponent was likened to a refined "cakewalk" compared to the ordinarily prolonged and brutal nature of the matches. By 1877, "cakewalk" had graduated from the boxing ring and acquired its general meaning of "an effortless victory."
Incidentally, the term "piece of cake," meaning "something easily accomplished," has only been traced back to the 1940s, and there is no apparent direct connection with "cakewalk." "Piece of cake" originally simply meant "something good," which cake certainly is.
It's interesting that the origin of the word "cakewalk" shows Africian-American roots...from http://www.word-detective.com
"Cakewalk" is an American invention, meaning "a very easy victory against little or no real opposition."
I've never understood why folks back in the 19th century spread the word that the streets of America were "paved with gold," as it's likely that we'd have attracted even more immigrants had we claimed cake as our national pavement. Cake has been a synonym for something good or easy since ancient Egypt, when mummies were often interred with a doggie bag of cakes and ale, and "cakes and ale" is still common shorthand for "the good life" in Britain. Not even Marie Antoinette's (probably apocryphal) rejoinder to the news that her subjects could not afford bread, "Then let them eat cake," dampened our love affair with a good slice of cake.
Cake is so popular, in fact, that it has long served as a prize awarded to the winner of all sorts of competitions, giving rise to the 19th century expression "take the cake." Originally simply meaning "to win," "take the cake" now is usually used sarcastically to mean "to be an outrageous example of something bad" (as in "Ken Lay filing for unemployment takes the cake").
One kind of contest popular in the African-American community in the 19th century was the "cakewalk," in which couples competed strolling arm in arm, with the prize, a cake, being awarded to the most graceful and stylish team.
Since "cakewalking" demanded both skill and grace, victory in the contest was rarely a "cakewalk" in our modern "easy" sense. That modern use of "cakewalk" in the came from the boxing ring, where a very easy victory over an outclassed opponent was likened to a refined "cakewalk" compared to the ordinarily prolonged and brutal nature of the matches. By 1877, "cakewalk" had graduated from the boxing ring and acquired its general meaning of "an effortless victory."
Incidentally, the term "piece of cake," meaning "something easily accomplished," has only been traced back to the 1940s, and there is no apparent direct connection with "cakewalk." "Piece of cake" originally simply meant "something good," which cake certainly is.