fruit-cake

A baker decorates a fruit-cake with candied cherries.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A type of cake: "fruit-cake" is a dense cake containing dried fruits, nuts, and spices, often associated with celebrations (e.g., Christmas).
   • A disparaging term for a person: Informally, "fruit-cake" is used to describe someone considered eccentric, crazy, or foolish.

Usage Examples

• Cake:

  • She baked a traditional fruit-cake for the holiday party. (A dense cake with dried fruits and nuts.)
  • This fruit-cake is soaked in brandy for extra flavor. (The cake is infused with alcohol.)

• Person (informal):

  • Don't listen to him; he's a complete fruit-cake. (He is irrational or eccentric.)
  • My uncle is a bit of a fruit-cake, but we love him anyway. (He is quirky or odd.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be a fruit-cake": to behave in a silly or irrational manner.

  • After staying up all night, I felt like a fruit-cake. (I felt confused or irrational.)

• "nutty as a fruit-cake": a simile meaning extremely eccentric or crazy.

  • That professor is as nutty as a fruit-cake. (He is very eccentric.)

Variants and Related Words

• Fruitcake (n): the standard spelling; same meanings as "fruit-cake."

  • I gave him a fruitcake for his birthday. (A cake with fruit.)

• Fruitcakery (n): the quality of being eccentric or foolish (rare).

  • His fruitcakery made the meeting entertaining. (His odd behavior.)

Synonyms

• For the cake:
• For the person (informal):

Phrasal Verbs

• None directly associated with "fruit-cake." However, the verb "to fruit-cake" (rare, informal) can mean to behave foolishly.
  • He fruit-caked around the office, making everyone laugh. (He acted silly.)

Related Idioms

• "Nutty as a fruitcake": extremely eccentric or crazy.

  • Her ideas were as nutty as a fruitcake. (Her ideas were bizarre.)

• "Fruitcake of the family": the most eccentric member of a family.

  • Aunt Martha is the fruitcake of the family. (She is the odd one.)