toffee

Everyday

1. A hard or chewy brown sweet made by boiling sugar and butter. tree →
2. A single sweet of this kind: "a toffee". tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life toffee is a treat; in the UK and Ireland, toffee apples are eaten at autumn fairs and Bonfire Night. In science and cooking, toffee shows how sugar changes when heated. Phrases: toffee apple, sticky toffee pudding, can't do it for toffee (very bad at it).

Examples

• Grandma made sticky toffee pudding. tree →
• I bought a bag of toffees. tree →
• Toffee apples are sold at the fair. tree →
• Chewy toffee can pull out loose teeth! tree →
• He can't sing for toffee. tree →
• The sugar turned into golden toffee. tree →

Note

Uncountable for the food ("some toffee"), countable for single sweets ("three toffees"). In the USA "taffy" is a similar chewy sweet. Safety: hot toffee is very dangerous because boiling sugar sticks to skin; only an adult should make it. Toffee is bad for teeth if eaten often.