muffin
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈmʌfɪn/
rhymes: -ʌfɪn
Forms: form: muffins
Etymology: From earlier moofin, probably a diminutive of Low German Muffe ("small cake"; Muffen (plural)), from Middle Low German muffe (“small pastry”). An alternative, and phonologically less plausible theory suggests a connection to Old French (pain) moflet (“roll”, literally “soft (bread)”). Sense “vulva” influenced by muff.
Senses: examples: text: […] but he had still at intervals a kind listener in Mrs. Phillips, and was by her watchfulness, most abundantly supplied with coffee and muffin.
ref: 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter XVI, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 174:
text: We take a less gloomy view of our errors now our father confessor listens to us over his egg and coffee. We are more distinctly conscious that rude penances are out of the question for gentlemen in an enlightened age, and that mortal sin is not incompatible with an appetite for muffins.
ref: 1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XVI, in Adam Bede […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:
text: It was felt at once that the mouth did not come over from Sleswig with a band of Saxon pirates whose lips met like the two halves of a muffin.
ref: 1878 January–December, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1878, →OCLC:
text: Little did poor Doctor Walker imagine as he sat at his breakfast-table next morning that the two sweet girls who sat on either side of him were deep in a conspiracy, and that he, munching innocently at his muffins, was the victim against whom their wiles were planned.
ref: 1891, Arthur Conan Doyle, Beyond the City:
text: “A cup of tea and a muffin, please,” he ordered.
ref: 1915, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC:
synonyms: English muffin
glosses: A type of flattish bun, usually cut in two horizontally, toasted and spread with butter, etc., before being eaten.
examples: text: Aubrey got a bowl of soup, a cup of coffee, beef stew, and bran muffins, and took them to an empty seat by the window. He ate with one eye on the street.
ref: 1919, Christopher Morley, The Haunted Bookshop, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, →OCLC:
text: Newland and his wife had had no idea of obeying this injunction; but Mrs. Carfry, with her usual acuteness, had run them down and sent them an invitation to dine; and it was over this invitation that May Archer was wrinkling her brows across the tea and muffins.
ref: 1920, Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
text: […] to prepare sustenance like roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, vinaigrettes, guacamole, and bananabread muffins.
ref: 2007, New York, volume 40, page 129:
text: To start we'll go with an easy choice, a delicious chocolate muffin made with Mexican chocolate that goes well with ice cream or fruit […]
ref: 2014, Martha Stone, Muffin Tin Menus: 32 Recipes That Are Delicious and Easy to Make, page 1:
text: Dust the frosted muffins with cocoa powder. […] Store extras in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. The muffins can be frozen if unfrosted, but do not freeze the frosting.
ref: 2017, Maria Emmerich, Keto Comfort Foods, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 58:
text: Originally, I planned to write two sections here – one about how you get flat cupcakes and one about how to get tall, domed muffins. It quickly became clear that I was pretty much writing the same thing twice: factors that make cupcakes flat in opposite make muffins domed, unsurprisingly enough.
ref: 2021, Katarina Cermelj, Baked to Perfection: Delicious gluten-free recipes with a pinch of science, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:
coordinate_terms: cupcake
mug cake
glosses: A cupcake-shaped baked good (for example of cornbread, banana bread, or a chocolate dough), sometimes glazed but typically without frosting, eaten especially for breakfast (in contrast to a cupcake, which is a dessert).
examples: text: I love you, muffin!
synonyms: word: cupcake
word: babber
word: babe
word: precious
word: bae
word: baby
word: babycakes
word: bubba
word: bully
word: buttercup
word: cabbage
word: chickabiddy
word: chickadee
word: chuck
word: cupcake
word: cutie
word: dag
word: darling
word: dear
word: dear heart
word: dearest
word: dearie
word: dearling
word: doll
word: doodlebug
word: dove
word: duck
word: ducky
word: dumpling
word: fam
word: heart
word: heartface
word: heartling
word: heartmate
word: hinny
word: hon
word: honey
word: honey bun
word: honeybunch
word: honeybug
word: honeybunny
word: honeycakes
word: honeypie
word: jewel
word: jo
word: kidder
word: lambchop
word: lambkin
word: lass (archaic except UK
word: dialectal (chiefly Geordie
word: Wearside)
word: informal or poetic)
word: liefling
word: little one
word: love
word: lovebug
word: loveling
word: lovie
word: luvvy
word: m'dear
word: miting
word: moppet
word: mopsy
word: mouse
word: muffin
word: muss
word: old bean
word: old sport
word: pally
word: pet
word: petal
word: poppet
word: pug
word: pumpkin
word: pussums
word: pussy
word: sausage
word: schnookums
word: shug
word: snicklefritz
word: snookums
word: snuggums
word: squishy
word: sug
word: sugar
word: sugar baby
word: sugar beet
word: sugar-plum
word: sugarpie
word: sweet pea
word: sweetcheeks
word: sweetheart
word: sweetie
word: sweetie pie
word: sweets
word: sweetling
word: treasure
word: woobie
glosses: Term of endearment.
examples: text: I wanna be stuffin' Martha's muffin!
ref: 1986, “Stuffin' Martha's Muffin”, in Frenzy, performed by Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper:
text: Is your muffin buttered?
ref: 2004, Tina Fey, Mean Girls (motion picture), spoken by Jason (Daniel DeSanto):
text: She peeled off her clothes and stretched out on a towel. At first she lay still, then slowly Maddie slid a hand down her smooth tummy and into her muffin.
ref: 2012 September 24, Barely Legal, →ISSN, page 42:
synonyms: word: muff
word: axe wound
word: bearded clam
word: beaver
word: berk
word: bonne bouche
word: box
word: bun
word: bush
word: cavern
word: clunge
word: coin slot
word: cooch
word: coochie
word: cookie
word: cooter
word: cooze
word: crack
word: crevice
word: cunny
word: cunt
word: fanny
word: fish lips
word: foo-foo
word: front bottom
word: front bum
word: front hole
word: gash
word: ginch
word: girl
word: Grand Canyon
word: honeypot
word: hoo-ha
word: innie
word: juice box
word: kebab
word: kitty
word: la-la
word: love box
word: love tunnel
word: minge
word: minnie
word: monosyllable
word: moocha
word: muff
word: muffin
word: nonny
word: pee-pee
word: penis fly trap
word: pink
word: pink bits
word: poontang
word: pump
word: punani
word: pussy
word: quim
word: sausage wallet
word: sheath
word: slit
word: snapper
word: snatch
word: squish mitten
word: stench trench
word: strange
word: sugar walls
word: tuppence
word: trap
word: twat
word: twinkle
word: vadge
word: vag
word: vagina
word: vaginer
word: va-jay-jay
word: vertical smile
word: Virginia
word: vulva
word: wee-wee
word: whisker biscuit
word: wizard's sleeve
glosses: The vulva or vagina; pubic hair around it.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A less talented player; one who muffs, or drops the ball.
qualifier: dated or LGBTQ slang
glosses: A charming, attractive young man.
glosses: A small plate, smaller than a twiffler.
qualifier: especially Manchester
glosses: A roll, bap or cob, which may or may not be flat or toasted.
topics: hobbies
ice-hockey
lifestyle
skating
sports
glosses: A very weak shot in ice hockey where the puck does not travel fast.
examples: text: I had a charming muffin yesterday. She is engaged to be married, so don't be alarmed.
ref: 1854, Margaret Oliphant, quoting Laurence Oliphant, Memoir of the Life of Laurence Oliphant and of Alice Oliphant, His Wife, new edition, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1892, page 92:
text: The fair Canadians may have been too kind in accepting the name and position of "muffins" from the young Britishry; but the latter cannot say they have suffered much in consequence. A muffin is simply a lady who sits beside the male occupant of the sleigh—Sola cum solo, "and all the rest is leather and prunella."
ref: [1865, William Howard Russell, Canada: Its Defenses, Condition, and Resources, London: Bradbury and Evans, page 149:
text: A long string of two-seated sleighs, a pleasant tête-à-tête drive for many miles snugly ensconced in the buffalo robes with your "muffin" by your side, a halt at some hospitable settler's, and an impromptu dance in his barn, wTith a return journey in the crisp moonlight air, left impressions that are still vivid. ¶ The "muffin" was a social institution of those days, which may or may not have survived. Every young swain by unwritten but acknowledged law was permitted to make his choice of a partner for the season, with whom he danced exclusively, and whom he drove in his sleigh and skated with hand in hand.
ref: 1904, Arthur Griffiths, Fifty Years of Public Service, London […]: Cassel and Company, Limited, pages 52–53:
glosses: A young woman who would regularly accompany a particular man during a social season.
examples: text: The name/value pairs provided by the PersistenceService are similar to browser cookies. The Java Web Start implementation honors this legacy by naming the pairs "muffins."
ref: 2001 May 30, “Technical Articles and Tips”, in Sun Developer Network, archived from the original on 09 Jul 2008, JNLP and Java Web Start:
qualifier: Java programming language
glosses: A mechanism used in the Java Network Launching Protocol analogous to the cookie mechanism and which permits a program running in a browser to perform operations on a client machine.
Derived terms: American muffin
blueberry muffin baby
bruffin
buff the muffin
cruffin
duffin
English muffin
make muffins
McMuffin
meadow muffin
minimuffin
muffin cap
muffin choker
muffin cup
muffineer
muffinery
muffin-face
muffinless
muffin-less
muffin-like
muffinlike
muffin pan
muffin stand
muffin tin
muffin top
muffin-warm
muffin worry
muffiny
scuffin
sparklemuffin
stud muffin
studmuffin
whatever butters your muffin