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Story: English language in New Zealand

New Zealand lollies

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'Lolly' is a New Zealand word for confectionary - British people use 'sweet' and Americans 'candy'. Australians also use lolly. It comes from the older British word 'lollipop' which referred to confectionary but came to have a narrower meaning in Britain of a sweet on a stick or an ice block ('ice lolly'). These are a selection of distinctively New Zealand lollies.

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How to cite this page

Dianne Bardsley, English language in New Zealand – Studying New Zealand English, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/40319/new-zealand-lollies (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Dianne Bardsley, published 3 December 2012.