taffy

[taf-ee]

noun

a chewy candy made of sugar or molasses boiled down, often with butter, nuts, etc.
Informal. flattery.

Also toffee, toffy.

Origin of taffy

First recorded in 1810–20; variant of toffee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for taffy

Contemporary Examples of taffy

I made a painting of the scene with Katy licking an ice cream cone in a taffy forest.
Artist Will Cotton Talks Katy Perry
Isabel Wilkinson
February 6, 2011
Taffy Brodesser-Akner has written for the Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Self, among other publications.
Confessions of a 90210 Addict
Taffy Brodesser-Akner
March 8, 2010
Taffy Brodesser-Akner, a devotee of 90210, Gossip Girl, and One Tree Hill, searches for answers.
Confessions of a 90210 Addict
Taffy Brodesser-Akner
March 8, 2010
Taffy Brodesser-Akner has written for the Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Babble, among other publications.
Who's Killing the Soaps?
Taffy Brodesser-Akner
December 14, 2009
Erin Wasson speaks with a slow, gravelly drawl, chewing on her words like sticky pieces of taffy.
The Anti-Supermodel
Rachel Syme
March 11, 2009

Historical Examples of taffy

This is the test that is made for taffy and other hard candies.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 5
Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
Taffy was the name of this fellow from Denbigh, in Wales, and he was a drover.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
Taffy was not used to such toil, and his muscles were soon weary.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
By this time, Taffy was so eager for treasure, that he spoke up at once.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
There, in the faint, red light, Taffy discerned a great cave.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis

British Dictionary definitions for taffy

taffy

noun plural -fies

US and Canadian a chewy sweet made of brown sugar or molasses and butter, boiled and then pulled so that it becomes glossy
mainly US and Canadian a less common term for toffee

Word Origin for taffy

C19: perhaps from tafia

Taffy

noun plural -fies

a slang word or nickname for a Welshman

Word Origin for Taffy

C17: from the supposed Welsh pronunciation of Davy (from David, Welsh Dafydd), a common Welsh Christian name

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 taffy

candy made from sugar or molasses, 1817, related to 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). On this theory, the candy would have been made from the syrup skimmed off the liquor during distillation.

Taffy

characteristic name of a Welshman, c.1700, from Teifi, Welsh corruption of David (q.v.).