fudge
fudge
Pronunciation
/fʌdʒ/
Syllable 1 (/fʌdʒ/):
/f/: The 'f' sound, as in "fan."
/ʌ/: The 'u' sound, as in "cup."
/dʒ/: The 'dge' sound, as in "judge."
Word Form Variations
Noun (singular): fudge
Noun (plural): fudges
Verb (base): fudge
Verb (third-person singular): fudges
Verb (past tense): fudged
Verb (present participle): fudging
Adjective: fudgy
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A soft, dense, and rich confection typically made from sugar, butter, and milk, often flavored with chocolate.
Synonyms: confection, sweet
Statements or ideas that are trivial, misleading, or nonsensical.
Synonyms: nonsense, rubbish, balderdash, malarkey
Antonyms: truth, fact, sense, clarity
Verb
To avoid giving a direct answer; to be evasive or noncommittal.
Synonyms: evade, hedge, equivocate, waffle, sidestep
Antonyms: confront, clarify, specify, answer
To adjust, manipulate, or falsify data, figures, or rules, often to conceal a mistake or achieve a desired outcome.
Synonyms: manipulate, alter, falsify, tweak, skew
Antonyms: verify, preserve, standardize
Interjection
A mild exclamation used to express annoyance, frustration, or disappointment.
Synonyms: darn, shoot, rats
Examples of Use
📚 In Books
As the confection: "Harry ... ate his way through Ron's new box of Chocolate Frogs, raising his eyebrows at the news... 'Fudge Flies,' said Ron..." (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).
📰 In Newspapers and Journalism
As a verb (to manipulate): "He accused the previous administration of fudging the figures on unemployment to make the economy look better than it was." (The Guardian, June 2023).
As a verb (to evade): "Asked directly if he supported the new policy, the senator fudged, saying he was 'still reviewing the details.'" (The New York Times, October 2024).
🖥️ In Online Publications
As the confection (culinary): "This 5-minute microwave fudge recipe is foolproof and perfect for the holidays." (Inspired Taste, November 2023).
🎬 In Entertainment Mediums
As an interjection (euphemism): The line "Only I didn't say 'Fudge'"—referring to the main character Ralphie using the word as a substitute for a stronger profanity—is a central joke in the film A Christmas Story.
As part of a brand/name: The popular YouTube channel FudgeMuppet is well-known for its deep-dive lore videos on video games like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
💬 In General Public Discourse
As a verb (to manipulate/guess): "I don't know the exact measurement, so I'll just have to fudge it and hope it turns out."
As a verb (to falsify, social media): "Just saw the official report. They are clearly fudging the statistics to avoid panic. The real numbers must be way worse." (Posted on X, formerly Twitter, May 2024).
10 Famous Quotes Using Fudge
"Ooh, fudge! ... Only I didn't say 'fudge.'" (Ralphie Parker, A Christmas Story, 1983)
"...we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going..." (Barack Obama, 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address)
"Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel... is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae." (Kurt Vonnegut)
"Negro equality, Fudge!! How long... shall there continue to be knaves to vend and fools to gulp, so low a piece of demagoguism as this?" (Abraham Lincoln, Notes for Speech, ca. Sept. 1859)
"In vain we call old notions fudge, / And bend our conscience to our dealing; / The Ten Commandments will not budge, / And stealing will continue stealing." (James Russell Lowell)
"Watching other teams in theWorld Series is like watching somebody else eat a Hot Fudge Sundae." (Joe Torre)
"...From which we're wakened by a friendly nudge / Of our bedfellow Death, and cry: 'O fudge!'" (Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary)
"Avoid any diet that discourages the use of hot fudge." (Don Kardong)
"For who could hate or bear a grudge, against a lovely bit of fudge?" (Roald Dahl)
"A Hot Fudge Sundae and a trashy novel is my idea of heaven." (Barbara Walters)
Etymology
The etymology of "fudge" is a bit uncertain, but the most common story links its two main meanings (nonsense and the candy) together.
The "Nonsense" Meaning (The Original)
The word first appeared in the late 1600s. Its original meaning was basically "nonsense!" or "lies!"
The most famous story traces it to a 17th-century sailor known as Captain Fudge. This captain was apparently notorious for telling tall tales and lying. His sailors and others who knew him would reportedly use his name as an exclamation ("Fudge!") whenever they heard something they didn't believe.
From there, "fudge" evolved into a verb. If "fudge" meant lies, then "to fudge" meant to tell a lie, or more softly, to manipulate the truth, be evasive, or botch a job.
The "Candy" Meaning (The Newcomer)
The sweet, chocolatey confection came much later, in the late 1800s.
The name "fudge" for the candy is believed to be an American invention, and the story goes that it was created by accident. A candymaker (some stories say it was a student at Vassar College) was trying to make caramels but "fudged" the recipe.
Because the word "fudge" already meant "to mess up," "to botch," or "to put together clumsily," the delicious new mistake was given the name "fudge."
Phrases + Idioms Containing Fudge
Phrases & Idioms Using "Fudge"
Fudge the numbers (or figures, facts, results): To manipulate data or statistics to be misleading or to achieve a desired, often false, outcome.
Fudge factor: An arbitrary or ad-hoc value included in a calculation (often secretly) to make the results match one's expectations.
A bit of a fudge: A compromise, evasion, or imprecise solution that isn't entirely honest or direct.
Hot fudge sundae: A common phrase for the specific ice cream dessert.
Oh, fudge!: A mild, polite exclamation of annoyance or frustration, often used as a euphemism for a stronger word.
Idioms with Similar Meanings (Synonyms)
For "to fudge" (meaning to evade or be noncommittal):
Beat around the bush
Dodge the question
Hedge your bets
Sit on the fence
Pussyfoot around
For "to fudge" (meaning to manipulate or falsify):
Cook the books
Bend the rules
Move the goalposts
Play fast and loose
Pull a fast one
For "fudge" (meaning nonsense):
A load of hogwash
Balderdash
Poppycock
Full of hot air
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of fudge from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
