banana split
10
1.0
- noun
- /bəˈnænə splɪt/
:
banana split
- Later that afternoon, Mother and I went to the drive-in for banana splits, and then we went into the comic book store.
- eat a banana split
- order a banana split
- cherries on a banana split
Oh, I was going to do a banana split.
- Oh, I was going to do a banana split.
Examples
-
We ordered big, old banana splits and devoured them.
Blog text (10) -
I ordered a triple banana split.
Fiction book (1992) -
- How about a banana split?
-
Or maybe a banana split.
-
No, he'll have a hot chocolate and a banana split.
-
I'll have the banana split.
-
Laura is eating a banana split.
Fiction book (1992) -
we'd go to a fancy restaurant and have banana splits.
-
In Laura's painting, the one that hangs above my desk, a man and a monkey are sitting at an ice cream parlor eating banana splits.
Fiction book (1993) -
For dessert, I ordered a delicious banana split topped with chocolate sauce and nuts.
Synonyms
14
3.7
A dessert of sliced banana and ice cream topped with whipped cream and a cherry
How Indulgent
41
1.0
10
1.0
55
1.0
- US
19
2.0
16
2.7
13
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound literally combines 'banana' (the fruit) with 'split' (indicating something is split/open or a type of dessert), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer a banana that is split and served as a dessert, typically with ice cream and toppings. This noun-noun composition is compositional and cross-linguistically common for food names, so the general meaning is readily derivable even if precise toppings are cultural detail.
Etymology
Banana split comes from the simple image of cutting a banana down the middle into a split and putting scoops of ice cream and toppings in the gap. One popular story says an ice-cream maker first served it this way in the early 1900s, so the name came to mean this sweet 'dessert'.