Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2023 June 24

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June 24

Mivvi

There is, or was, an ice lolly called a Cornish mivvi, which was a fruit-ice outside and vanilla Cornish ice-cream inside. Strawberry was the best. What was the origin of the name? Other lollies of the time had names like Zoom or Fab or Sea Jet. Thanks, DuncanHill (talk) 00:52, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

Our article on the product's manufacturer, Lyons Maid, gives the names of some of their other treats ("Lolly Gobble Choc Bomb"?), which don't suggest that a great deal of careful thought went into their naming. Someone here opined, without evidence, that the name may have referred to the middle of vanilla ice cream. I also found one of those baby-naming sites saying that "Mivvi" is a nickname for the Welsh girl's name Myfanwy, but I can't see any connection between that and the frozen confection. Clearly, more research is called for. Deor (talk) 02:13, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

"Lolly Gobble Choc Bomb" makes sense, it's a lolly that you gobble and you get a big surprise there's a bar of choc inside! DuncanHill (talk) 20:37, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

Maybe a cousin of Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:31, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

Vastly superior! DuncanHill (talk) 22:55, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

Cor blimey! The clip is region-locked to UK IP's... 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 12:19, 25 June 2023 (UTC)

Lolly has a different meaning in Australia. In Britain, it's either a sweet on a stick or an ice lolly, but Down Under, it's any kind of sweet (i.e. "candy" for Americans). Alansplodge (talk) 18:43, 25 June 2023 (UTC)