jellies
jellies — noun
1. smooth sweet pastes made by boiling fruit juice with sugar until it sets, eaten
smooth sweet pastes made by boiling fruit juice with sugar until it sets, eaten on toast or sandwiches and stored in small jars.
Eitan's grandmother lined the pantry with homemade jellies in jars of every color.
plural countable: jars/varieties of jelly
The farmers' market sold grape and apple jellies beside fresh sourdough bread.
collocation: grape / apple / strawberry jellies
Mayumi spread peanut butter and grape jellies onto two thick slices of white bread.
Rodrigo gave us four jars of jellies he had made from peaches grown in his backyard.
文法句型
plural noun referring to multiple jars or kinds
用法筆記
Mainly American English; British speakers usually say 'jams' for fruit spreads with pieces of fruit and reserve 'jelly' (sense 2) for the wobbly dessert. Subject is typically a person making, selling, or eating the spread.
常見錯誤
2. brightly coloured cold desserts made by mixing fruit-flavoured powder with hot w
brightly coloured cold desserts made by mixing fruit-flavoured powder with hot water and gelatin, then chilling them until they wobble when shaken; called 'Jell-O' or 'gelatin desserts' in American English.
Eve set six strawberry jellies in the fridge to serve at her daughter's party.
plural countable: individual servings
The children laughed as the red and green jellies wobbled on their paper plates.
characteristic verb: wobble / shake / quiver
Anjali stirred boiling water into the powder, then poured the jellies into little glass cups.
At the school fair, Christopher carried a tray of orange and lime jellies for the dessert table.
- Jell-O
American brand name now used generically for the same dessert
- gelatin desserts
formal cookbook label for the same food category
文法句型
plural referring to individual servings or flavours
用法筆記
British English usage; the American word for this dessert is 'Jell-O' or 'gelatin'. Distinguishes from sense 1 by context: dessert table, party food, fridge-set, wobbly — never spread on bread.
常見錯誤
3. soft, semi-solid substances that hold their shape loosely and wobble when touche
soft, semi-solid substances that hold their shape loosely and wobble when touched — for example, eyeballs sitting in their sockets, the inside of a sea slug, or thick medicated gels in jars.
Hassan pointed to the translucent jellies washed up along the wet morning sand.
marine/biological context: jelly-like blobs on a beach
The biology teacher showed how the jellies inside a frog's eye keep its round shape.
anatomical context: vitreous / aqueous jellies
Inside the broken egg, the clear and yellow jellies slowly spread across the kitchen counter.
The pharmacist showed Vivek a row of cooling jellies meant for sunburn and skin rashes.
- solids
rigid materials that hold a fixed shape
文法句型
used metaphorically: 'jellies' for soft, shaky substances
用法筆記
Often used to describe soft tissues inside the body (eye, brain), translucent sea creatures, or commercial gel products like burn treatments. Object word here is the wobbly substance, not the container.
jellies — verb
1. (of a hot liquid mixture) cools and thickens into a soft, shaky substance that h
(of a hot liquid mixture) cools and thickens into a soft, shaky substance that holds its shape; also used about ideas or plans that finally come together in a clear form.
The fruit syrup jellies as it cools at the bottom of Élise's copper saucepan.
intransitive: subject is a cooling liquid
Leave the broth in the fridge overnight; it jellies into a wobbly amber layer by morning.
time + temperature clause shows process
After three rough drafts, Daichi's argument finally jellies into a clear three-part plan.
The team's strategy jellies once Sophia explains how the budget pieces fit together.
- melts
opposite process: solid loosens into liquid
文法句型
sth jellies (as it cools)
用法筆記
Mostly American informal; the British equivalent is usually 'sets' or 'jells'. Often appears in cooking writing (broths, stocks, juices) or in informal talk about plans that suddenly make sense.
常見錯誤
2. (of a cook) treats a fruit juice or savoury liquid with sugar, gelatin, or pecti
(of a cook) treats a fruit juice or savoury liquid with sugar, gelatin, or pectin so that it changes from a flowing liquid into a soft, shaking substance.
Zayd jellies the quince juice each autumn and stores the jars on a high shelf.
transitive: subject is a cook; object is the liquid
The old recipe book teaches readers how to jelly red currants without using packaged pectin.
infinitive 'how to jelly + object'
Hui jellies the cooked chicken stock so that thin layers can be sliced over the salad.
Emily learned at culinary school how to jelly the leftover wine into shining purple cubes.
- liquefies
opposite action: turn a solid food into a liquid
文法句型
sb jellies sth (a fruit, a juice, a stock)
用法筆記
Rare and largely confined to recipe writing and traditional cookbooks. Object must be a liquid that contains enough natural pectin or has gelatin / pectin added — you cannot 'jelly' a solid food.
常見錯誤
jellies — idiom
1. light, see-through plastic shoes in bright colours, made for walking on hot sand
light, see-through plastic shoes in bright colours, made for walking on hot sand, wet rocks, or shallow seawater so the wearer's feet stay safe from sharp shells.
Eri packed pink jellies for the children to wear on the rocky beach in Okinawa.
typical context: beach / rocky shore / shallow water
Michael bought a pair of clear blue jellies from the shop near the harbour.
collocation: pair of jellies, clear/bright colour adjectives
The tourists changed into yellow jellies before walking across the hot black sand.
Sophia kept her old purple jellies in a beach bag under the porch.
- jelly shoes
fuller form; less ambiguous in writing
- water shoes
broader category that includes non-plastic versions too
文法句型
wear / put on / buy jellies
用法筆記
Informal plural-only noun; you would not normally see 'a jelly' meaning one shoe. Common in beach, summer-camp, and children's-fashion contexts. Distinguish from sense 1-3 of the noun entry: those refer to food or substances, never footwear.