C'est pas de la tarte

Expression: C'est pas de la tarte

Pronunciation: [say pa deu la tart]

Meaning: It's not easy, It's not funny

Literal translation: It's not pie

Register: informal/familiar

Notes: The French expression c'est pas* de la tarte has two distinct meanings:

1) It's not easy, it's tough, it's hard work
What's really interesting is to compare this to the English expression "It's a piece of cake" - at first glance, it seems like an almost perfect equivalent, but then you notice that the French expression is rarely used in the affirmative, to say that something is easy, and the English isn't used in the negative, to say that something isn't easy. The equivalence of tarte and "cake" makes it seem like these expressions are nearly identical, but the French is usually negative and the English is always positive.

2) It's not funny, not a joke, no laughing matter
This less common meaning is fairly straightforward: for example, if you were watching a play in which someone fell down and your companion laughed, you might use c'est pas de la tarte as a reprimand.
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*Why c'est pas rather than ce n'est pas? It's common for ne to be dropped in informal French

Example:
   Je dois travailler pendant douze heures d'affilée aujourd'hui et demain - c'est pas de la tarte !
   I have to work for twelve hours straight today and tomorrow - it's tough!