taffy

taffy
/taf"ee/, n.
1. a chewy candy made of sugar or molasses boiled down, often with butter, nuts, etc.
2. Informal. flattery.
Also, toffee, toffy.
[1810-20; var. of TOFFEE]

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candy
      flavoured syrup candy of Europe and the Americas that is cooked and then rigorously worked during cooling into a hard, chewy, glossy mass. Although the great 19th-century demand for taffy gave way in the mid-20th century to the popularity of chocolates and caramels, taffy remained widely available in its original “penny candy” form of small, colourfully wrapped pieces.

      The basic recipe for taffy calls for sugar and molasses or corn syrup to be heated with water to a prescribed temperature. This cooked mass is then poured over cooling slabs and flavoured with essential oils. As it cools, the candy is rhythmically pulled, spread, and folded until it takes on a firm, satiny consistency. Saltwater taffy, once a staple of amusement parks and ocean resorts, took its name from a characteristic ingredient.

      Toffee, a brittle confection of English origin, is a highly cooked mixture of syrup and butter to which nutmeats, flavourings, and colourings are commonly added during cooling.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Taffy — can refer to any of the following: * Taffy is a sometimes pejorative term for a Welsh person or thing. * A type of chewy candy. See Taffy (candy). * A nickname for Navy Task Units in World War II. e.g.: Taffy III for Task Unit 77.4.3. * Taffy… …   Wikipedia

  • Taffy — Taf fy, n. [Prov. E. taffy toffy.] 1. A kind of candy made of molasses or brown sugar boiled down and poured out in shallow pans. [Written also, in England, {toffy}.] [1913 Webster] 2. Flattery; soft phrases. [Slang] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • taffy — plural taffies n [U and C] [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: Probably from toffee] AmE a type of soft ↑chewy sweet …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Taffy — characteristic name of a Welshman, c.1700, from Teifi, Welsh corruption of DAVID (Cf. David) (q.v.) …   Etymology dictionary

  • taffy — (n.) candy made from sugar or molasses, 1817, related to TOFFEE (Cf. toffee), but of uncertain origin; perhaps associated with tafia (1763), a rum like alcoholic liquor distilled from molasses, presumably of W.Indian or Malay origin (perhaps a… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Taffy — (also Taff) ► NOUN (pl. Taffies) Brit. informal, often offensive ▪ a Welshman. ORIGIN representing a supposed Welsh pronunciation of the given name Davy or David (Welsh Dafydd) …   English terms dictionary

  • taffy — ► NOUN (pl. taffies) N. Amer. ▪ a sweet similar to toffee. ORIGIN earlier form of TOFFEE(Cf. ↑toffee) …   English terms dictionary

  • taffy — [taf′ē] n. [< ?] 1. a chewy candy made of sugar or molasses boiled down and pulled: cf. TOFFEE ☆ 2. [Old Informal] flattery or cajolery …   English World dictionary

  • taffy — n. (esp. AE) 1) to make; pull taffy 2) saltwater taffy * * * [ tæfɪ] pulltaffy (esp. AE) to make saltwater …   Combinatory dictionary

  • Taffy — UK [ˈtæfɪ] / US noun [countable] Word forms Taffy : singular Taffy plural Taffies offensive an insulting word for someone from Wales …   English dictionary

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