candy coatingn.
/ˌkandɪ ˈkəʊtɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌkændi ˈkoʊdɪŋ/ (otherwise, and in sense 1b)Brit. /ˈkandɪ ˌkəʊtɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈkændi ˌkoʊdɪŋ/ 1.
a. A layer or covering of sugar or another sweet substance.
ΚΠ
1880 Freeport (Illinois) Jrnl. 20 Oct. 7/3 To prepare these fruits with a candy coating is a very simple process.
1923 Farm Jrnl. Mar. 101/1 Part of the sugar filling will ooze down into the pan, forming a candy coating which is delicious.
2018 Bismarck (N. Dakota) Tribune (Nexis) 6 Nov. b1 The M&M-style candy coating adds crunch.
b. figurative and in figurative contexts. Something used to make a difficult, unpleasant, or controversial issue, situation, etc., appear to be more tolerable, appealing, or acceptable, esp. only superficially. Cf. candy-coat v. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > [noun]
hue971
glozea1300
showingc1300
coloura1325
illusionc1340
frontc1374
simulationc1380
visage1390
cheera1393
sign?a1425
countenance?c1425
study?c1430
cloak1526
false colour1531
visure1531
face1542
masquery?1544
show1547
gloss1548
glass1552
affectation1561
colourableness1571
fashion1571
personage?1571
ostentation1607
disguise1632
lustrementa1641
grimace1655
varnish1662
masquerade1674
guisea1677
whitewash1730
varnish1743
maya1789
vraisemblance1802
Japan1856
veneering1865
veneer1868
affectedness1873
candy coating1885
simulance1885
window dressing1903
1885 Rochester (Indiana) Republican 1 Oct. Mr. Flower was put on the Democratic ticket in New York to sugar-coat a big lump of bitterness... Mr. Flower declines to play the part of a candy coating.
1976 Washington Post 17 Mar. b8/6 Henry Fonda has been tacked onto the films..but it's doubtful he will prove to be sufficient candy coating for a very dull dose of medicine.
2018 Times Educ. Suppl. (Nexis) 31 Aug. Because this book is well and truly British,..it's infinitely preferable to The Fault in Our Stars... It's grittier, and without the candy coating.
2. The action or process of covering something with sugar or another sweet substance. Cf. candy-coat v. 1. Recorded earliest as a modifier.
ΚΠ
1895 J. C. Ruby U.S. Patent 539,548 4/2 In a candy coating machine, the combination with a casting-box, of a carriage, a lifting or pick-up device, [etc.].
1919 C. Dearing Muscadine Grape Paste (U.S. Dept. Agric. Farmers' Bull. No. 1033) 11 Commercial candy makers have their own methods of candy coating.
2004 Fresno (Calif.) Bee (Nexis) 9 June Panning is an ancient method of candy coating that has been updated with modern equipment.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2020; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1880