- an elaborate step or walk formerly performed by blacks in the South competing for the prize of a cake
- a strutting dance developed from this
- something easily accomplished, won, etc.
- Something easily accomplished: Winning the race was a cakewalk for her. See Synonyms at breeze1.
- A public entertainment of the 1800s among African Americans in which walkers performing the most accomplished or amusing steps won cakes as prizes.
- a. A strutting dance, often performed in minstrel shows.b. The music for this dance.
intransitive verbcake·walked, cake·walk·ing, cake·walks
- To achieve or accomplish something easily.
- To perform a strutting dance.
Originally a form of dance that white masters had their slaves perform for them and their audiences as entertainment. The slaveowners considered the spectacle extremely amusing since the dances derived from sophisticated white European aristocracy. As such, slaveowners dressed the slaves in costumes of exaggerated finery, like ridiculously tall tophats and flashy striped pants, and taught the slaves variations of the original dance steps designed as highly comical parodies. Audiences selected their favorites, and the slaves who performed most entertainingly for their masters were rewarded with a piece of cake.