Sentence:  A quarter inch this way or that for the hardbake , or the toffee , or the barley <WSD>sugar</WSD> , or the sardines , or the bitters , or the condensed milk , or the stationery , or the needles - what could it mean ? 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a white crystalline carbohydrate used as a sweetener and preservative