take the cake

take the cake  {v. phr.},  {slang}

1. To take the first prize; be the best; rank first.

Mr. Jones takes the cake as a storyteller.

2. To be the limit; to be the worst; have a lot of nerve; be a very rude, bold, or surprising action.

I let Jack borrow my baseball and he never gave it back. Doesn't that take the cake?

For being absent-minded, Mr. Smith takes the cake.

Compare: BEAT ALL.