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What people call sweets around Britain
Ask for spice in Yorkshire, kets in the North East or sweeties in Scotland and you will get the same thing. Here is how Britain names its sweets.
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Everyone in Britain knows what a sweet is, but not everyone calls it one. The word you grew up with often says where you grew up. Here are some of the regional words for sweets, with where they are recorded.
Sweeties in Scotland
In Scotland, sweets are sweeties. The Scottish National Dictionary records sweetie, meaning a sweet, confection, sugar lozenge or caramel, from 1782. A sweetie shop is a sweet shop, a sweetie bottle is a glass jar for sweets, and a sweetie man was a confectioner or sweet seller. A sweetie wife was a woman who sold sweets, and the phrase came to mean a gossip, often a gossipy man. It is also the word behind our own name.
Spice in Yorkshire
In Yorkshire dialect, sweets are spice. Wiktionary's example gives the flavour: going down to the spice shop to see what they have in stock. Another northern word recorded for sweets is spoggs.
Kets in the North East
In parts of northern England, sweets are kets. Wiktionary records ket for sweets in Northumbria and on Wearside. In older northern dialect, the same word also meant carrion or rubbish, so a bag of kets could be sweets or something much less appealing depending on who was speaking.
Spanish and kali
Northern England has its own names for particular sweets too. Liquorice is colloquially called Spanish, and kali is the name for a sherbet like powder. See why is liquorice called Spanish? and why is sherbet called kali?
Lollies and candy abroad
Travel further and the words change again. In the UK and Ireland a lolly is a lollipop or an ice lolly, but in Australia and New Zealand lollies means sweets of any kind. In the United States, sweets are candy. And lolly has another meaning in Britain altogether: slang for money.
Sherbet, but not as you know it
Even familiar words can surprise. In parts of both the UK and Australia, sherbet has long been slang for an alcoholic drink, especially beer, so a few sherbets down the pub means a few pints.
Whatever you call them, you will find old sweet shop names in our pick and mix. For the names of the sweets themselves, see old fashioned sweets from A to Z.
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For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
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Questions and answers
What do people in Yorkshire call sweets?
Spice. The word is recorded as Yorkshire dialect for sweets, as in going down to the spice shop.
What are kets?
Kets is a Northern English dialect word for sweets, recorded in Northumbria and on Wearside. In older use, ket could also mean rubbish or carrion.
Why do Scots say sweeties?
Sweetie has been used in Scots for a sweet since at least 1782, according to the Scottish National Dictionary. A sweetie shop is a sweet shop, and a sweetie wife was a woman who sold sweets.
Sources
- Sweetie, Dictionaries of the Scots Language
- Spice, Wiktionary
- Ket, Wiktionary
- Spanish, Wiktionary
- Lolly, Wiktionary
- Northern food words and regional vocabulary, Yorkshire Dales Food
- Sherbet (powder), Wikipedia
Keep reading
- British heritage sweetsWhy is sherbet called kali?In parts of northern England, sherbet is called kali. Where the word may come from, how it links to the word alkali, and how sherbet makes its fizz.
- British heritage sweetsWhy is liquorice called Spanish?In Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and County Durham, liquorice is called Spanish. Two old stories explain why, one about monks and one about the Spanish Armada.
- British heritage sweetsTraditional English sweetsA county by county guide to traditional English sweets, from Pontefract cakes and Kendal Mint Cake to Uncle Joe's Mint Balls and Love Hearts.
- British heritage sweetsOld fashioned sweets: the A to ZAn A to Z of old fashioned British sweets, from acid drops and aniseed balls to Wham bars and yellowman, with a line on each and a link to its full story.
- Questions people askDo Americans have pick and mix?Yes, but they call it bulk or loose candy. Woolworth's five and dime stores sold it for much of the 20th century, and Swedish candy walls are spreading.
- British heritage sweetsOld fashioned toffeeA guide to Britain's old fashioned toffees, from slab toffee broken with a hammer to Everton, Harrogate, Walker's Nonsuch, Riley's, Sharps and Mackintosh's.