jawbreaker

See also: jaw-breaker and jaw breaker

English

Alternative forms

• jaw-breaker, jaw breaker

Etymology

Compound of jaw +‎ breaker.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

jawbreaker (plural jawbreakers)

1. A large, extremely hard, boiled candy, typically spherical.

   Synonym: (UK) gobstopper

   • 2005, Keith Zimmerman, MythBusters: The Explosive Truth Behind 30 of the Most Perplexing Urban Legends of All Time, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

     If somebody microwaves a large jawbreaker and nibbles on the outside, a crack can cause molten candy to burst out and cause painful burns. Exploding jawbreakers have been documented on television news and in police reports.

2. A long, hard-to-pronounce word.

   Synonyms: mouthful, jaw-twister

   The word “callipygous” is something of a jawbreaker.

3. (boxing, slang) A hard blow to the side of the face.
   • 1987, James Clarke, Like it was: The Star, 100 Years in Johannesburg, page 9:

     Bendoff went pluckily forward, but only to receive a jawbreaker from Couper's left, […]

See also

• crackjaw
• niggerball (South African, dated, offensive)