taffy

[taf-ee]

noun

plural

taffies 

1. a chewy candy made of sugar or corn syrup boiled down with butter or oil, pulled or stretched back and forth to incorporate air bubbles, then rolled, twisted, and cut into pieces.

2. Informal.,  flattery.

taffy

¹

/ ˈtæfɪ /

noun

1. a chewy sweet made of brown sugar or molasses and butter, boiled and then pulled so that it becomes glossy

2. a less common term for toffee

Taffy

²

/ ˈtæfɪ /

noun

1. a slang word or nickname for a Welshman

Word History and Origins

Origin of taffy¹

First recorded in 1815–25; northern English dialect variant of toffee; toffee ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of taffy¹

C19: perhaps from _tafia

Origin of taffy²

C17: from the supposed Welsh pronunciation of Davy (from David, Welsh Dafydd ), a common Welsh Christian name

Example Sentences

By late September, the striped umbrellas are folded, the taffy shops go dark and the only thing moving along the boardwalk is the autumn wind.

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The Swiss cheese stretched like taffy when you pulled a slider apart.

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Their specific offerings include pretzels, caramels, chocolate, taffy and cupcakes... just to name a few.

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Everything from Mexican pop to European experimentalism was strained, boiled, compressed and stretched into addictive instrumental taffy.

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The weekend was oceanic cliffs and Gilded Age mansions and a kaleidoscopic assortment of saltwater taffy.

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