toffee

Sometimes tof·fy

[taw-fee, tof-ee]

noun

1. a brittle or chewy brown candy made of sugar or molasses boiled down with butter, often mixed with nuts.

2. British.,  taffy.

toffee

/ ˈtɒfɪ /

noun

1. a sweet made from sugar or treacle boiled with butter, nuts, etc

2. informal,  (preceded by can't) to be incompetent at a specified activity

   he can't sing for toffee

Word History and Origins

Origin of toffee¹

First recorded in 1860–65; the earlier variants toughy, tuffy were first recorded in 1825–30 ; southern British dialect form of original northern British dialect taffy ( def. ); further origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of toffee¹

C19: variant of earlier _taffy

Example Sentences

Or classic brown butter chocolate chip cookies, which adds notes of butterscotch and toffee that enhance the cookies’ overall depth.

From Salon

Long known as the home of sticky toffee pudding, Cartmel in Cumbria is experiencing its own sweet taste of success.

From BBC

Over at Nama Ko, dessert is a miso-honey black truffle soft serve with dark chocolate toffee crunch, drizzled with both chocolate and caramel sauces.

From Salon

The sun glares through the trees, and the air is thick and sticky; it feels like walking through toffee.

From Literature

The oven was metal, probably for practical reasons, but the chimney above it seemed to be made of hard toffee.

From Literature