Word of the Day:

October 27, 2021

treacle

noun TREE-kul

What it Means

Treacle is a British word for molasses. The heavy sweetness of the syrup influenced people to apply its name to things overly sentimental.

// From beginning to end, the movie had many lines of sentimental treacle.

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Treacle in Context

"But Parr's script swings so often between artistic triumph and personal tragedy that the structure quickly feels predictable, and lines likely intended to be inspirational sound more like pat treacle." — Steve Barnes, The Times Union (Albany, New York), 25 Aug. 2021

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Did You Know?

Treacle begins in ancient Greece. The Greek word thēriakos, meaning "of a wild animal," came from thērion ("wild animal"). Since wild animals are often known to bite, these words gave rise to thēriakē, meaning "antidote against a poisonous bite." Latin borrowed thēriakē as theriaca. Those roots gave life to treacle referring to molasses (developing from the "antidote" sense). The "molasses" sense was extended to things excessively sweet or sentimental.