molasses kiss

8.6

A small chewy sweet made from thick dark sugar syrup, often wrapped

noun
/məˈlæsɪz kɪs/

: caramelo de melaza

Every Halloween, my grandmother would hand out homemade molasses kisses to the neighborhood children.

Examples

The wrapper of the molasses kiss stuck slightly, but the candy was worth the effort.
I love molasses kisses during the holidays.
He reminisced about the molasses kiss treats he enjoyed during his childhood in Canada.
Have you ever tried a molasses kiss?
My grandmother's homemade molasses kisses were always my favorite Halloween treat.
During family gatherings, we enjoyed sharing molasses kisses from the local candy shop.
As a child, I looked forward to receiving a molasses kiss in my Halloween bag every year.

Synonyms

candy kiss

vsmolasses kiss

1 2.3

A small wrapped piece of chocolate you eat in one bite

is a chewy syrup-based confection rather than a small chocolate piece

molasses taffy

vsmolasses kiss

1 5.8

A chewy candy made from molasses

is usually individually wrapped and has a firm toffee-like texture

How Chewy

taffy

12 4.2

molasses kiss

8.6

hard candy

12 1.0

Surface Forms

molasses kiss singular

molasses kisses plural

Morphology

molasses + kiss

The meaning is straightforwardly composed from 'molasses' (a dark syrup) and 'kiss' (a small candy), so a learner who knows both words can infer a small candy made with molasses. This compositional, literal naming follows regular English noun-noun formation and is therefore immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Molasses kiss may come from the picture of a small sweet called a kiss made from thick, sticky molasses. That's why the name now means a chewy candy often wrapped on its own.