gobstoppern.
/ˈɡɒbˌstɒpə/, U.S. /ˈɡɑbˌstɑpər/ slang or colloquial in early use.
A large, hard, spherical sweet, now typically consisting of a number of layers, each of which dissolves to reveal a different colour.In North American usage usually called jawbreaker.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > confections or sweetmeats > sweets > [noun] > a sweet > globular sweet
aniseed ball1700
bull's-eye1825
brandy-ball1849
blackball1851
dump1869
cake ball1896
gobstopper1906
gulab jamun1917
1906 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 28 Sept. 18 A penny ‘gobstopper’ a seemingly innocuous child's lolly [i.e. sweet], was the indirect cause of a spectacular fire.
1928 W. de la Mare Come Hither (ed. 2) 769 Gob-stoppers and toffee—are these not ‘good’ names for goodies?
1959 D. Barton Loving Cup 89 The sky looks like one of those orange gobstoppers we used to buy in the tuckshop.
1984 Dandy 10 Nov. 20/1 I'll take your sweets and you can have this big gob-stopper!
2002 A. Fuller Don't let's go to Dogs Tonight 87 Black, sweet gobstopperswhich reveal layers of different colours when sucked.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1906