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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

Related Words for fruitcake

psychopath, maniac, schizophrenic, bigot, freak, lunatic, fanatic, loony, zealot, fiend, psycho, misfit, geek, crackpot, screwball, nut, crazy, flake, dingbat, crank

Examples from the Web for fruitcake

Contemporary Examples of fruitcake

Historical Examples of fruitcake

  • 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.