taffy

taffy
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 Creole shortening of RATAFIA (Cf. ratafia)). On this theory, the candy would have been made from the syrup skimmed off the liquor during distillation.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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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 — (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 — /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] * * * ▪ candy       flavoured syrup candy of Europe and the Americas that is… …   Universalium

  • 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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