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fruitcake

[froot-keyk]
See more synonyms for fruitcake on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a rich cake containing dried or candied fruit, nuts, etc.
  2. Slang. a crazy or eccentric person; nut.
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Origin of fruitcake

First recorded in 1840–50; fruit + cake
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fruitcake

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The fruitcake was duly packed, transported, and eaten—we are bound to say without ill effect.

    Julia Ward Howe

    Laura E. Richards

British Dictionary definitions for fruitcake

fruitcake

noun
  1. a rich cake containing mixed dried fruit, lemon peel, nuts, etc
  2. slang, mainly British a person considered to be eccentric or insane
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fruitcake

n.

1838 in the literal sense, from fruit + cake (n.). Slang meaning "lunatic person" is first attested 1952.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with fruitcake

fruitcake

see nutty as a fruitcake.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.