barley sugar

noun

1. a brittle, amber-colored, transparent candy, formerly boiled in a decoction of barley, consisting of sugar, cream of tartar, and orange or lemon juice, usually twisted into strips or molded into a variety of shapes.

barley sugar

noun

1. a brittle clear amber-coloured sweet made by boiling sugar, originally with a barley extract

Word History and Origins

Origin of barley sugar¹

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

That was the barley-sugar skylight, and I shall certainly be boiled!

From Project Gutenberg

He is snow-white outside, with eyes of red barley sugar; see his ears, and his little snubby tail!

From Project Gutenberg

Then she went to bed, and dreamed she was Judy, and was beating Punch with a stick of Barley-sugar.

From Project Gutenberg

The manufacture of barley-sugar is a familiar example of crystallization.

From Project Gutenberg

So I planted a bull's-eye tree, and a barley-sugar-cane grove, and one or two other things, and made a jolly ripping place of it.

From Project Gutenberg