muffin top

n. rolls of flesh bulging over a waistband. Subjects: English, Body, Slang

Editorial Note: This term was nominated as one of the words of the year, voted on by the American Dialect Society January 6, 2006. It did not win. This term may have first been popularized by the Australian television show Kath & Kim. An episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld, “The Muffin Tops,“ first broadcast May 8, 1997, spawned a different, short-lived usage of muffin top as a name for anything good. The 2003 citation probably does not refer to the bulging appearance of a midriff. The first 2004 citation gives a different term for the phenomenon and uses muffin top as a description of a different part of the body.

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Citations: [2003 Drusilla Campbell Wildwood (Feb.) p. 185: Edith eased her muffin-top backside into the chair opposite the desk.] [2004 [Danielle] (Thought this witches brew was more than bullet-proof) (Vineland, N.J.) (June 4) “Funny Ass Shit”: Fatty Tuna Rolls—The pinched fat on or around the hips caused by low-rise pants in size 4 when you are really a size 12.…Passion Fruit Souffle—Sometimes when the breasts outgrow the bra they simply spill over it like a muffin top or a rising souffle.] 2004 Alicia Pyke Courier-Mail (Queensland, Australia) (July 29) “Gone belly up” p. 20: For an unfriendly fashion that can render even slim young girls unsightly, with middles spilling over the top of tight jeans in what has become known as the “muffin top” effect, it has proved to be alarmingly enduring. 2005 Lesley Thomas Daily Telegraph (U.K.) (Jan. 8) “Body Beautiful” p. 5: My father-in-law told me about a new expression he had imported from Australia to describe the roll of fat that hangs over women’s hipster jeans: “It’s called a “muffin top.” Look, there’s one,“ he exclaimed, gesturing in the direction of my waistband. 2005 Lesley Thomas Telegraph (U.K.) (July 11) “The last-minute beach plan”: After a year of fruitless side bends, I still had a considerable “muffin-top” spilling over the waistband of my jeans. This lazier method all but erased my love handles.

Posted 26 Dec 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend