A dense cake filled with dried fruits and nuts, often soaked in alcohol; also slang for an eccentric or crazy person.
Compound of 'fruit' and 'cake.' The dessert dates back to Roman times with different variations across cultures. The slang meaning 'crazy person' emerged in American English in the early 1900s, possibly from the cake's unusual ingredients making it seem strange.
Fruitcake has been so heavily given as unwanted Christmas gifts for decades that it became a running joke—people joke that the same fruitcake gets re-gifted year after year, and some modern bakeries are trying to rebrand it.
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