skittle

(all) beer and skittles

Fun and enjoyable. "Skittles" is a British game that is similar to bowling. You've been working all weekend, so just come out with us for a little while—it'll be beer and skittles, I promise. Just because we get good perks doesn't mean this job is all beer and skittles.
See also: and, beer, skittle

be (not) all beer and skittles

To be fun and enjoyable. This phrase is often used in the negative to convey unpleasantness. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. You've been working all weekend, so just come out with us for a little while—it'll be all beer and skittles, I promise. University isn't all beer and skittles—you need to take your schoolwork seriously.
See also: all, and, beer, skittle

life isn't all beer and skittles

A full life is not just composed of simple pleasure, fun, and indulgence—there must also be toil and hardship. A: "What do you mean I have to get a job this summer? That is such crap!" B: "Sorry, kid. Life isn't all beer and skittles, and you've gotta start paying your own way." These trust-fund babies know nothing of having to work for a living. To them, life is all beer and skittles.
See also: all, and, beer, life, skittle

skittle out

In cricket, to dismiss the other team for a low score. A noun or pronoun can be used between "skittle" and "out." Sri Lanka managed to skittle out Pakistan for 90. I know India is looking to skittle Australia out as quickly as they can.
See also: out, skittle

skittles party

drug slang A party in which the guests bring prescription drugs, which are then mixed and taken in combination. I'm worried that my brother went to a skittles party last night because one of my medications is suddenly missing.
See also: party, skittle
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

(all) beer and skittles

all fun and pleasure; easy and pleasant. (Skittles is the game of ninepins, a game similar to bowling. Fixed phrase.) For Sam, college was beer and skittles. He wasted a lot of time and money.
See also: and, beer, skittle

Life isn't all beer and skittles.

Prov. Life is not pleasurable all the time; you cannot always be having fun. (Skittles is a game like bowling.) I don't really mind going back to work when my vacation is over. Life isn't all beer and skittles, and I enjoy my fun that much more because I have work to compare it to. When George's parents stopped supporting him, George suddenly discovered that life isn't all beer and skittles.
See also: all, and, beer, life, skittle
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

not be all beer and skittles

BRITISH
If something is not all beer and skittles,it is not as enjoyable or as easy as other people think it is. Others are keen to make clear that City life is not all beer and skittles. It's not all beer and skittles when you get to be famous. Note: The game of skittles is associated with beer because it is traditionally played in pubs.
See also: all, and, beer, not, skittle
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

beer and skittles

amusement. British
This phrase comes from the proverb life isn't all beer and skittles . The game of skittles is used as a prime example of a form of light-hearted entertainment.
See also: and, beer, skittle
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

beer and skittles

(...ˈskɪdlæz)
n. something very easy to do; an easy time of it. Did you think life was all beer and skittles?
See also: and, beer, skittle
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

beer and skittles, (life is) not all

Life is not all fun and games. Skittles, a kind of bowling game played by throwing wooden disks at pins, was very popular in Great Britain, where drinking beer remains a widespread form of recreation. Pairing the two came about quite naturally in the nineteenth century. Dickens’s Sam Weller assures Mr. Pickwick, who is about to enter a debtor’s prison, that the prisoners enjoy themselves there: “It’s a regular holiday to them—all porter and skittles” (Pickwick Papers). But Dickens’s contemporary Thomas Hughes observed that “Life isn’t all beer and skittles” (Tom Brown’s School Days). Essentially a British cliché, it spread to America but is heard less often today. Legendary adman David Ogilvy had it in Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963): “Managing an advertising agency is not all beer and skittles.”
See also: all, and, beer, not
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • (all) beer and skittles
  • beer and skittles
  • be (not) all beer and skittles
  • be (not) all fun and games
  • as much fun as a barrel of monkeys
  • a good trip
  • good trip
  • (one) hasn't lived (until)
  • barrel of fun
  • are we having fun yet
References in periodicals archive
That's chiefly thanks to the two skittles teams (12 players each side plus reserves) which are facing offagainst each other - the home side the Vic Nomads versus the visitors the Crown Jokers, from Gabalfa Community Centre.
The secret life of skittles; It's the Welsh pub sport that has endured for more than a century - David Owens pays a visit to one community which still flies the flag for this entertaining game..
That's chiefly thanks to the two skittles teams (12 players each side plus reserves) that are facing off against each other -- the home side The Vic Nomads versus the visitors, The Crown Jokers, from Gabalfa Community Centre.
The secret life of skittles - the South Wales pub sport that has endured for more than a century; For more than a hundred years it's brought communities together
Now the fun part - decide how to decorate your skittles. You could decorate them as people, flowers, bugs or animals.
MAKE A SUPER SKITTLES GAME TO PLAY OUTDOORS
The recent donation to the Chatsworth archives of over 200 letters from Hartington to Skittles has changed the situation, and I am grateful to the Duke of Devonshire for allowing me to quote from the correspondence, which provides a valuable insight into mid-Victorian social life, as well as an almost day by day account of an unexpectedly intense personal relationship.
'Skittles' and the marquis: a Victorian love affair
<B The skittle team from Whitchurch Legion Club have time for a laugh
WALES IN PICTURES
A tweet by US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's son, Donald Junior, with a photo of Skittles -- the candy -- used as an analogy to the threat posed by Syrian refugees, has sparked a huge social media reaction.
Trump Skittle pic used without permission, says Greek Cypriot photographer
CLOWN CUPCAKES (Makes 15) INGRED50g butter, softened 11/21/2cups (300g) white sugar 2eggs 3/4t3/4 teaspoon vanilla essence 1up milk 1/2c1 1/2cups (200g) self raising flour, sifted Icing sugar (use about two cups/260g) Decorations 1/2c1/2 ircular cereal like Cheerios or Froot Loops 16 mini Skittles or Smarties 16 sour worms Icing pen or writing icing INGREDIENTS: 50g butter, softened 11/21/2cups (300g) white sugar 2eggs 3/4t3/4 teaspoon vanilla essence 1up milk 1/2c1 1/2cups (200g) self raising flour, sifted Icing sugar (use about two cups/260g) Decorations 1/2c1/2 ircular cereal like Cheerios or Froot Loops 16 mini Skittles or Smarties 16 sour worms Icing pen or writing icing METHOD: PRE.HEAT cupcake papers into cupcake tin/s.
cook with the kids
If you have enjoyed a game of Old English skittles lately, it probably means you were visiting the Freemason's Arms on the edge of London's Hampstead Heath.
It's a funny old game; The memory of long-lost bar room sports will live on, says Terry Grimley
During the fight, the clown briefly loses one of his skittles and bends down to pick it up.
CLOWN seriously injured in brutal street attack 'after one of his skittles damaged assailant's car'; CCTV from Brazil captured the bizarre fight between a clown and another man who left performer in intensive care
TRIBUTES have been paid to an outstanding Cardiff skittle champion who helped the remarkable rise of his team from division eight to division one, before going on to win seven division one titles.
Skittle champion Colin helped team rise to top league
Almost in a dream state, the idea of creating a dress out of Skittle sweets came to her.
Rags to riches; a year ago, sarah louise was homeless, then she dreamed of a dress made of skittles..
A TINY village pub has been voted the best in Britain by judges who were bowled over by its skittle alley and brilliant beer.
All h-ale best pub in Britain
Skittle facts 1) Nine pin skittles has been a relatively popular game since the medieval times with skittles traditionally being played in pubs.
Skittling the Skittling the opposition ...aged 80 opposition ...aged 80; Octogenarian Bridget's the first woman to bowl over the blokes in 34 years
A 118ml bottle is pounds 6.99 from www.firebox.com A CHARMING wooden soldier skittle set is sure to march straight into their favourite toy box.
Kids' stuff
When I finally obliged, Susannah pronounced: "You are a skittle."
YOU LOOK A SKITTLE LIKE HALLE BERRY; Trinny and Susannah verdict on Razz girl