Ding Dongs
7
3.6
- proper noun
- /dɪŋ dɔŋz/
- US
:
Ding Dongs
- Will you buy some Ding-Dongs and Twinkies for old times' sake?
- eat Ding Dongs
He, he doesn't eat a Ding Dong with cream cheese on it.
- He, he doesn't eat a Ding Dong with cream cheese on it.
- Just have another drink, watch TV for another hour, eat that fucking Ding Dong and then chase it down with a Twinkie.
- Now, you may say, but Doctor Berry, I have stopped snacking on Doritos and Ding Dongs and honey buns and doughnuts.
Examples
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The company that makes Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Wonder Bread is closing its doors.
Blog text (3) -
For me, my guilty pleasure is Ding Dongs, but I'll buy one... oh, once every couple of years or so.
Blog text (3) -
Now we know what happens when lawyers eat too many Ding Dongs.
Blog text (13) -
So yeah, right now, all I care about is laying in a supply of Ding Dongs!
Blog text (6) -
They ate the Ding Dongs, believe it or not.
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I was always much more fond of Ding Dongs and Ho Hos.
Blog text (12) -
A world without Twinkies and Ding Dongs would be a sadder place.
Blog text (10) -
Hostess brand Twinkies, Ho Hos, and Ding Dongs are not as good as they were years ago.
Blog text (11) -
Customers told us that they grew up with Hostess products like Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Ho Hos.
Blog text (10) -
Many people enjoy snacking on Ding Dongs during movie nights.
Surface Forms
Morphology
ding + Dongs
This is a brand name for a manufactured snack cake, and the literal constituents ('ding' = bell-like sound; 'Dongs' is not a transparent lexical item here) do not combine to produce the meaning 'round chocolate-covered snack cake'. Brand names are arbitrary and often non-compositional, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would not be able to infer the product meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Ding Dongs the snack cake got its name to be catchy and fun, like the cheerful bell sound 'ding dong'. The playful name made the round, chocolate cakes feel like a happy treat, so it became the brand name for those snack cakes.