acid dropn.
/ˈasɪd ˌdrɒp/, U.S. /ˈæsəd ˌdrɑp/ Chiefly British.
1. A kind of boiled sweet flavoured with tartaric acid and having a sharp, sour taste.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > confections or sweetmeats > sweets > [noun] > a sweet > acid sweets
sour-sweet1603
acid drop1783
acidulated drop1827
acidulated tablet1889
acid tablet1893
sour-ball1900
nippy sweetie1994
1783 S. Hoole Aurelia iii. 43 Here in clear glasses quivering jellies play, There candied fruits are pil'd in bright array... Smooth comfits, acid drops, and creams of ice.
1836 Mag. Domest. Econ. July 28 Acid Drops.—Boil one pound of lump-sugar, one cupful of water, and one table spoonful of vinegar till it snaps like glass.
1889 Pract. Confectioner 1 May 5/1 Run through the small acid-drop rollers.
1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 18 Bull's eyes.., acid drops, fondants..are still in demand.
1944 ‘N. Shute’ Pastoral iv. 103 He..found his bag of sweets and began to suck an acid drop.
1963 Broons & Oor Wullie (2001) 130/5 We'll transfer our centre for two bull's-eyes, a stick o' chewin' gum, four acid drops, three gobstoppers an' two mint lumps!
2003 N. Slater Toast 27 I spent most of my money on sweets that made your tongue sore: acid drops, sherbet lemons,..and roll after roll of Refreshers.
2. figurative. Something resembling an acid drop, now esp. in being sharp or sour.
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1869 Porcupine 17 July 149/3 Saturday Review Acid-drops may do for babes—strong men want sharper sauce.
1960 Times 27 Oct. 15/2 Her best characters are viewed satirically..but, even so, many of her acid-drops are soft-centred.
2006 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 29 Nov. (Sports section) 4 Paisley liked to praise his opponents before a match: ‘giving them a bit of toffee’, he called it. Mourinho prefers to hand out acid drops.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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