The bonds between you and your loved ones are indescribable. You love them more than words can say. And that soaring feeling when you nibble a delicious sweet treat? That鈥檚 also a joyful love. So, naturally, we give our loved ones tasty nicknames because that鈥檚 the best we can do!聽On the menu are some of the lovable edible endearments we give the ones we can鈥檛 get enough of.聽
Starting us off is the name that cuts right to those sugar-loving taste buds. Sweet foods are appreciated the world over, and have been for thousands of years. We probably associate babies with sweetness because infants love sweet foods from birth. Sweet came to mean 鈥渓oved one鈥� in 1300. Adding 鈥渋e鈥� at the end made sweet even cuter in the 1700s, when sweetie and lollipop were used for 鈥渓over鈥� and 鈥渟weetheart.鈥�
Nectar of the gods! Why wouldn鈥檛 we want every (mere) mortal to be compared to such superior syrup? In English, honey has been a term for our lovies since at least the 1350s (but because the nectar鈥檚 been around for, oh, 8000 years, we鈥檙e pretty sure our ancestors were sweet on honey for a lot longer). Honey is a great name for your loved one, not just because it鈥檚 sweet, but because it has so many healing properties, too. The Romans healed their battle wounds with honey. Think of that when you soothe your 鈥渉oney鈥� with 鈥渉oneyed words.鈥�
We鈥檝e only really been using this edible endearment since 1930! That seems downright impossible, considering we鈥檝e been pouring sugar for at least 800 years. We鈥檒l never know what took us so long to hit sugar鈥檚 sweet spot. But after we finally did, musicians like Def Leppard put out songs whose lyrics dripped with sweet (and saucy) innuendos about their 鈥渟ugar鈥� babes.
Cookie is another slang food-nickname that鈥檚 only been around about 100 years. The word derives from the Dutch word koekje, meaning 鈥渓ittle cake.鈥� Because it鈥檚 鈥渓ittle鈥�, cookie鈥檚 especially sweet for young鈥檜ns. Like cookies, cupcakes are little cakes (originally baked in鈥攕urprise, surprise鈥攃ups). The word actually didn鈥檛 have 鈥渒iddy鈥� cute origins, though; a cupcake was an 鈥渁ttractive young woman鈥� in the 1930s.
Jellybeans probably came from the聽Turkish Delight,聽a Middle Eastern sweet that has been around since Biblical times. In the US, from the 1930s on, the multi-colored rounds have been linked with Easter and the blossoming of the new year. Perfect for the budding bean in your life.
This one reminds us that edible endearments aren鈥檛 always sweet. On the face of it, pumpkins aren鈥檛 exactly attractive either (unless they鈥檙e lit up for Halloween). Some would say they鈥檙e not even delicious鈥ut, pumpkin pie, people! Sadly, we鈥檙e not entirely sure how pumpkin became cute. Early 1850s references to 鈥渓ittle pumpkins鈥� describe round little children with names like Dumpy Dorcas. But pumpkin has obviously lost its short-and-stout meaning over the years.
Cracker Jack popcorn lends its peppy name as an exceptional endearment for someone special. We also use crackerjack for a person who demonstrates excellence. There鈥檚 certainly a lot of that in a box of the sugary snack, alongside the popcorn and peanuts drenched in caramel-molasses that made the treat a giant hit at the World鈥檚 Fair in 1893.
We鈥檝e just teased your taste buds with this list of edible endearments鈥攂ut we鈥檙e hungry for more! Send us your best ones on 鈥ith chocolate fudge and a cherry on top!
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