| 释义 |
molasses|məˈlæsɪz|
Forms: 6 melasus, molassos, 6–7 malasso(e)s, 7 molosso(e)s, malosses, mallassus, mellasses, mullasses, 7–8 molosses, -us, 8 molossa's, mollossus, 7–9 melasses, 7– molasses.
[a. Pg. melaço = It. melazzo:—late L. mellāceum must, neut. of *mellāceus of the nature of honey, f. mell-, mel honey. A fem. form (:—late L. *mellācea) occurs in Sp. melaza, F. mélasse (whence It. melassa), which may be the source of some of the Eng. forms.
The word was adopted in the plural form, and this has remained constant in Eng. exc. in the application to an alcoholic spirit (see molass); the word is however construed as a sing. In the Western U.S. (according to Bartlett Dict. Americanisms 275) it is treated as a plural.]
1. a. The uncrystallized syrup drained from raw sugar; also, the syrup obtained from sugar in the process of refining.
The word is now rare in British use, but in the U.S. is commonly used promiscuously with treacle. In technical language, molasses is applied to the drainings of raw sugar and treacle to the syrup from sugar in the process of refining.
1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. xxiv. 61 b, There was nothing els but Cocos and Melasus, which is a certeine kinde of Sugar made of Palmes or Date trees. 1588N. H. Voy. Cavendish in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 810 One was laden with..molassos or sirrope of sugar, beanes [etc.]. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. ii. 8 We spent here very neere three moneths before we could get in our lading, which was Sugar, Dates, Almonds, and Malassos or sugar Syrrope. 1663Boyle Usef. Exp. Nat. Philos. ii. iv. 105 Which, together with Rice and Molossos (or black course Suger) they put into a quantity of Water, and distil it in an Alimbick. 1694W. Westmacott Script. Herb. (1695) 6 Good store of Molossus or common Treacle to sweeten it. 1731P. Shaw Three Ess. Artif. Philos. 31 An Inquiry into a Method of converting Melasses or Treacle into tolerable Sugars. 1764Museum Rust. II. iii. 17 Whatever saccharine particles touch the greatly-heated boiler are turned black, and form what is called molasses. 1864Gladstone Sp. on Budget 7 Apr., There was also liquid sugar under the class of melasses or molasses.
b. fig.
1925T. Dreiser American Tragedy (1926) I. i. xvii. 127 ‘You're the cutest thing here,’ whispered Clyde, hugging her fondly. ‘Gee, but you can pour on the molasses, kid, when you want to,’ she called out loud. 1972N.Y. Times Book Review 26 Nov. 1/1 The mournful molasses of his [sc. Eisenhower's] prose.
†2. Sc. A spirit distilled from this: see molass.
1789W. Buchan Dom. Med. (1790) 98 note, Above two thousand private stills [in Edinburgh] are constantly employed in preparing a poisonous liquor called Molasses.
3. attrib. and Comb., as molasses barrel, molasses cake, molasses candy, molasses cask, molasses cookie, molasses gingerbread, molasses hogshead, molasses jug, molasses scone, molasses taffy, molasses tierce; molasses acid = melassic acid; molasses beer, a fermented liquor flavoured with molasses (cf. treacle beer); molasses bird (see quot.); molasses cistern, a tank which receives the molasses; molasses-gate (see quot. 1875); molasses spirit = sense 2.
1838T. Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 624 The nature of the *melasses acid is not better known than that of the herbaceous matter.
1846D. Corcoran Pickings 29 Isn't that cotton bale dancing a quadrille with the *molasses barrel?
1742Lond. & Country Brew. i. (ed. 4) 31 Of Brewing *Molosses Beer. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 91 Molasses beer.
1878Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. (1879) I. 190 [Birds of St. Vincent] Certhiola saccharina... Called the ‘*Molasses bird’.
1836W. G. Simms Mellichampe II. xxiv. 192 The negro broke his *molasses-cake evenly between himself and the soldier. 1863B. Taylor H. Thurston i. 19 The distribution of wedges of molasses-cake. 1869Harper's Mag. Oct. 753/1 With that penny he bought a ‘bolivar’—as the huge molasses-cake was called in those days.
1809‘D. Knickerbocker’ Hist. N.Y. II. vii. iii. 195 Each..he patted on the head..and gave him a penny to buy *molasses candy. 1850N. Kingsley Diary (1914) 103 [We] are privately enjoying ourselves over a dish of molasses candy. 1945This Week Mag. 15 Dec. 2/2 Cookies, molasses candy, popcorn balls and cider were brought out.
1834H. J. Nott Novellettes I. 79 He was in a *molasses cask. 1851A. O. Hall Manhattaner 5 It was a modest commercial plain..with..molasses casks, and corn sacks.
1845Encycl. Metrop. VIII. 503/2 The curing-house is a large airy building provided with a capacious *molasses cistern.
1887I. Alden Little Fishers xxi. 373 Dough-nuts, *molasses cookies, and soft gingerbread. 1974‘D. Shannon’ Crime File (1975) iv. 66 She asked for my recipe for molasses cookies.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Molasses-gate, a faucet with a sliding lip at the discharge end, to cut off the flow positively and prevent drip. 1884J. Phin Dict. Apicult. 44 Beekeepers have adopted the ‘molasses-gate’.
1832L. M. Child Amer. Frugal Housewife 70 A very good way to make *molasses gingerbread. 1864T. L. Nichols 40 Yrs. Amer. Life I. 36 The spectators..ate molasses-gingerbread.
1849Thoreau Week Concord River 198 An ‘untameable fly’ buzzed at my elbow with the same non-chalance as on a *molasses hogshead. 1863‘G. Hamilton’ Gala-Days 76 He..came back with a molasses-hogshead.
1839Southern Lit. Messenger V. 65/2 Behind the bar were..a *molasses jug, a bottle of vinegar, and..decanters. 1906F. Lynde Quickening 111 She went..to fill the molasses jug.
1927M. de la Roche Jalna xxii. 275, I am bringing you a *molasses scone to stay you, Mamma.
1731P. Shaw Three Ess. Artif. Philos. 123 History of *Melasses spirit. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Sugar spirit, The manner of preparing it is the same with that used for malt and melasses spirits.
1928S. V. Benét John Brown's Body 113 An awful *molasses-taffy voice Behind them yelled ‘Halt!’ 1946Partridge & Bettmann As We Were 13 Molasses taffy was cooked in a kettle on top of the kitchen stove and when ready for pulling was served out in gobs.
1910Chambers's Jrnl. Feb. 88/2 A few rusty *molasses-tanks.
1851H. Melville Moby Dick I. xxii. 168 Have an eye to the *molasses tierce, Mr. Stubb.
Hence moˈlassed a. = molassied a.; moˈlassied, moˈlassy adjs., charged with molasses.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 1209 The liquor..can dissolve none of the crystalline sugar, but only the coloured molassy matter. 1866Blackmore C. Nowell vii, A glass of first-rate brown sherry—not the vile molassied stuff, thick as the sack of Falstaff, but the genuine thing. 1941Nature 3 May 532/2 Nehring & Schramm also tested the effect..of molassed bran plus urea [on sheep]. 1960Farmer & Stockbreeder 16 Feb. 128/3 Dried molassed beet pulp can replace an equal weight of oats in rations for store cattle and calves. |