Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Cloying speech or sentiment.
- noun Chiefly British Molasses.
- noun A medicinal compound formerly used as an antidote for poison.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A medicinal compound of various ingredients, formerly believed to be capable of curing or preventing the effects of poison, particularly the effects of the bite of a serpent. See
theriac . - noun More generally, a remedy; a panacea; a sovereign antidote or restorative: often used figuratively.
- noun The spume of sugar in sugar-refineries: so called as resembling in appearance or supposed medicinal properties the ancient theriacal compounds.
- noun A saccharine fluid consisting of the inspissated juices or decoctions of certain vegetables, as the sap of the birch or of the sugar-maple.
- noun One of several plants sometimes regarded as antidotes to poison, or named from plants so regarded. See the phrases below.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Old Med.) A remedy against poison. See
theriac , 1. - noun obsolete A sovereign remedy; a cure.
- noun Molasses; sometimes, specifically, the molasses which drains from the sugar-refining molds, and which is also called
sugarhouse molasses . - noun A saccharine fluid, consisting of the inspissated juices or decoctions of certain vegetables, as the sap of the birch, sycamore, and the like.
- noun (Bot.) a name given to several species of the cruciferous genus Erysimum, especially the
Erysimum cheiranthoides , which was formerly used as an ingredient in Venice treacle, or theriac. - noun a compound cordial prepared in different ways from a variety of ingredients, as hartshorn, roots of various plants, flowers, juices of plants, wines, etc., distilled or digested with Venice treacle. It was formerly regarded as a medicine of great virtue.
- noun (Old Med.) Same as
Theriac , 1.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete An
antidote forpoison ;theriac . - noun chiefly UK A
syrupy byproduct ofsugar refining ;molasses orgolden syrup . - noun
Cloying sentimental speech .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun writing or music that is excessively sweet and sentimental
- noun a pale cane syrup
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The English term treacle comes via the French triacle from the Latin theriaca, meaning antidotes against poison.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
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The English term treacle comes via the French triacle from the Latin theriaca, meaning antidotes against poison.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
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We moaned back then, but the politics and bureaucracy you guys face, it must be like swimming uphill in treacle!
If I Can’t Have You Nobody Can « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009
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Rope suspended upon poles, to which was tied by small twine two lumps of pudding drip'd in treacle, under which stood on stools, two boys with their hands tied behind them, whose business it was to catch the pudding in their mouths!
Letter 292 2009
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Molasses Molasses, which is called treacle in the United Kingdom, is generally defined as the syrup left over in cane sugar processing after the readily crystallizable sucrose has been removed from the boiled juice.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
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Molasses Molasses, which is called treacle in the United Kingdom, is generally defined as the syrup left over in cane sugar processing after the readily crystallizable sucrose has been removed from the boiled juice.
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004
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At this point in Abel's meditations, his wife, Ruth, came in with a dish of figs preserved in grape treacle from a famous recipe that she claimed came from Palestine.
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I mean that he’s probably thick as two planks dipped in treacle, dimmo.
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You’ll find other bizarre examples like this one The Power of Nice (Doubleday), a dish of treacle from the advertising executives who created the Aflac duck.
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You’ll find other bizarre examples like this one The Power of Nice (Doubleday), a dish of treacle from the advertising executives who created the Aflac duck.
marco_nj commented on the word treacle
Cloying sentimental speech
December 31, 2006
arby commented on the word treacle
Or, British for jam.
July 13, 2007
uselessness commented on the word treacle
According to Mr. Pronunciation, it's "teekle."
December 12, 2009
frogapplause commented on the word treacle
My new word for today.
March 10, 2010
Prolagus commented on the word treacle
"I've had it done up lately," he explained, as he had explained for the past -- how many? -- weeks. "New carpet," and he pointed to the bright red carpet with a pattern of large white rings. "New furniture," and he nodded towards the massive bookcase and the table with legs like twisted treacle. "Electric heating!" He waved almost exultantly towards the five transparent, pearly sausages glowing so softly in the tilted copper pan.
(The Fly, by Katherine Mansfield)
I'm trying to figure out what the author means by twisted treacle.
Could it be the way thick molasses flows, something like this?
http://footage.shutterstock.com/clip-3042472-stock-footage-red-thick-liquid-in-a-super-slow-motion-flowing-against-a-white-background.html
February 1, 2013
hernesheir commented on the word treacle
I'm imagining the softly glowing pearly sausages mentioned in the quotation below.
February 1, 2013
ruzuzu commented on the word treacle
Oh dear. I feel the inexorable pull of confectio Damocritis trying to suck me in--I'll try to resist, but I will note that treacle has now been added to my sugar list and my list of substances formerly-used-in-medicine, that the decoction reference in the definition is downright iroquoisy, and that there's apparently a long-running joke about treacle mining (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treacle_mining).
February 1, 2013
bilby commented on the word treacle
'concerning venomous beasts', oh my!
June 15, 2021