candy boxn.adj.
/ˈkandɪ bɒks/, U.S. /ˈkændi ˌbɑks/ A. n.
A box or tin filled with candy, in later use stereotypically one decorated in a conventionally pretty or sentimental style. Cf. chocolate box n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > container for food > [noun] > chest, box, or bag > for sweets
dredge-box1525
candy box1799
bonbonnière1818
drageoir1861
chocolate box1865
1799 J. Fuller Hist. Berwick upon Tweed xi. 413 State of Freights from London to Berwick... A Candy Box.
1892 Bismarck (N. Dakota) Daily Tribune 6 Feb. 4/2 An exquisite candy box of heavy cream torchon, with a parchment lid decorated with a delicate wreath of pink flowers.
1922 School Arts Mag. Nov. 176/1 There are..occasional shops in some cities that sell..cake boxes and candy boxes with lace frills inside.
2013 H. Perkel Place Called Paradise (e-book, accessed 1 Oct. 2019) Lulu..chose another chocolate mint truffle from the candy box.
B. adj.
Of a view, picture, artistic style, aesthetic, etc.: resembling or reminiscent of the stereotypical decoration of a candy box; pretty in a conventional or sentimental way. Cf. chocolate box adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > qualities or styles of painting > [adjective] > other qualities or styles
plangent1666
dry1695
sticky1753
flat1755
spotty1798
touchy1809
definitive1815
edgy1825
painty1827
scratchy1827
unideal1838
tinglish1855
generalist1858
tinny1877
Christmas-cardy1883
tinty1883
surfacy1887
chocolate box1892
chocolate-boxy1894
Christmas card1895
juicy1897
candy box1898
pastose1901
busy1909
pompier1914
posterish1914
painterly1932
X-ray1940
illusional1942
all-over1948
figurative1960
hard-edge1961
1898 Musical Standard 22 Jan. 54/3 An art exhibition is a horror to me... I limp through the forbidden pastures of delight, the candy-box pictures.
1993 Time 20 Dec. 66/3 Lloyd Webber's music..has the lush extravagance and candy-box prettiness of Puccini.
2009 Wall St. Jrnl. 17 Dec. d6/2 Tissot..was known primarily for his candy-box depictions of contemporary high society on the Continent and in England.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2020; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.adj.1799