Spot the Frippet: lolly.

Yes, lolly is short for lollipop, but what else is it?

Well, it depends.

In Britain it might be an ice lolly - that is, something made of flavoured ice (not necessarily impaled on a stick) and eaten as a treat.


Illustration by Jay 

In Australia and New Zealand, however, a lolly might be a boiled sweet, and in this case lolly water isn't the stuff that dribbles stickily down your front from your ice lolly and attracts wasps, but a soft drink.

In Australia, if you do the lolly, or do your lolly then you're blowing your top - that is losing your temper.

In all these places lolly also means money. Have you got the lolly? someone might ask, whether it's to buy a round of drinks or a new house.

Lollywood isn't all that much to do with money, anger, or sweet things: it's a term that describes the Pakistani film industry.

And here is something specifically American: lollygag (or lallygag) which means to loiter aimlessly.

Lollygagging: isn't that brilliant? And I was looking for a new hobby, too.

Spot the Frippet: lolly. No one is sure about this word, but it may have come from the Northern English lolly which means tongue. Lollywood is a mixture of Lahore and Hollywood using as a model of the Indian Bollywood.