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Glite Dictionary
hot cross bun

hot cross bun

1 2.5
A small sweet roll with dried fruit and a cross on top eaten at Easter
  • noun
  • /hɑt krɔs bʌn/
translation icon : panecillo de Pascua
  • Children love to find chocolate eggs and eat freshly baked hot cross buns during Easter celebrations.

Examples

  • Easter is not complete without enjoying a hot cross bun with friends and family.

  • Oh, would you like a hot cross bun?

    The Ladykillers (2004)

  • But you know, I'm trying to be healthy, but hot cross buns are so good.

  • I can get you bread, mounds of hot cross buns.

    The Brave Little Toaster (1987)

  • I got these chalky hot cross bun bites.

  • Wahid bought halal hot cross buns.

    Material (2012)

  • Every Good Friday, we bake delicious hot cross buns for breakfast.

Synonyms

bun
vshot cross bun
164 1.0

A small round bread roll that is plain or sweet

is a spiced sweet festive roll eaten at a holiday rather than any roll
cross bun
vshot cross bun
1 3.7

A small sweet roll with spices, raisins, and a cross of icing on top

is mainly eaten at a specific spring holiday rather than generally
tea bread
vshot cross bun
  • UK
2.3

A sweet bread often made with dried fruit and served with tea

is associated with a particular religious holiday rather than tea time

Surface Forms

hot cross bun singular
hot cross buns plural

Morphology

hot + cross + bun

The elements 'bun' and 'cross' make it reasonably predictable that this is a type of bun marked with a cross, so part of the meaning is compositional. However, 'hot' can be read literally (temperature) and does not signal the spiced/dried-fruit pastry or the cultural Easter association, so the full, culturally specific sense is not derivable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Hot cross bun comes from an old English custom. Bakers marked a small spiced bun with a cross and sold it hot on 'Good Friday' to remember the cross of Christ, so the name and the cross on the bun became linked to 'Easter'.