# Is it s a lollipop or a sucker? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934 "2006-06-08T19:03:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![loquitur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c37758/32.png) [@loquitur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loquitur)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/1 "2006-06-08T19:03:17Z")
When I was a kid (in and around the 70s), I always referred to the spherical candies as lollipops and the flat circular ones as suckers. I thought everyone did – well at least I did until recently, having looked it up after a debate with some buddies. Most websites treat the words as synonymous, but I’m still not convinced. Tell me that Kojack only sucked on lollipops. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/2 "2006-06-08T19:08:05Z")
We had a thread a year or more ago in which I maintained that I’ve _never_ heard the word “sucker” used for any kind of candy-on-a-stick outside of old Warner Brother’s cartoons (and I’ve lived in several places around the country, and traveled most of it). I was shouted down by others who said that “sucker” was indeed common usage in some places. I’ve never used it anywhere in real life, for either flat or spherical candies on a stick, which are all “lollipops” to me and to everyone I know. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/3 "2006-06-08T19:17:44Z")
I’ve only heard of sucker in books but in _plenty_ of books. I would never use the word. Sucker around here means an idiot who is easily taken, mostly for money! Lollipop will do. ---
**Author:** ![loquitur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c37758/32.png) [@loquitur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loquitur)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/4 "2006-06-08T19:18:27Z")
Hmmm. First, I wasn’t able to access the forum search function, so apologies to all that this has been discussed. (still not sure why I can’t search). Second, apologies to all for the extra ‘s’ in my thread title (not sure why I can’t edit my post). And third, I’ve definitely heard ‘sucker’ before (referring to candy, of course) in my part of the woods, Northern Ontario. I would go so far as to say that it appears to be more common on websites than ‘lolli’ for candy-on-a-stick. Anyway, I guess I’ll consider your post as one vote for there being no difference. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/5 "2006-06-08T19:18:30Z")
I’ll also chime in to say that I never, ever heard anyone use ‘sucker’ to describe candy-on-a-stick while growing up, at least in normal conversation. On preview, I see I grew up in **CalMeacham** ’s listed location, so it could be a regional thing. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Logan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Don\_Logan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Logan)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/6 "2006-06-08T19:28:51Z")
Lollipop or lolly, sucker refers to the person sucking on the lollipop. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/7 "2006-06-08T19:38:47Z")
I grew up as an Army brat in the 70s and early 80s, and “lollipop” and “sucker” were pretty much synonymous. When I was in fourth grade or so, those kids who fancied themselves as wits would impress their friends and devestate their enemies with this little gem of an insult: A: You wanna come to my lollipop party? B: Sure. A: You’ll be the only sucker there. Yes, I’m quite aware that shortly after fourth grade, “lollipop party” takes on a whole other meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/8 "2006-06-08T19:46:10Z")
I called them suckers. Unless it was one of the _really_ big ones. You know, the ones that’re almost as big as your head, and appear to be made from some kind of twisted candy rope. Those were lollipops. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/9 "2006-06-08T19:46:38Z")
When I was a kid (late '50s through '60s, southern California), hard candy on a stick was a sucker, period. “Lollipop” was an old-fashioned or sissy word that no one in real life actually used. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/10 "2006-06-08T19:47:39Z")
“Sucker” is flat and “lollipop” is spherical. Colorado. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/11 "2006-06-08T19:48:54Z")
> [@Angel of the Lord](#): > > I called them suckers. Unless it was one of the _really_ big ones. You know, the ones that’re almost as big as your head, and appear to be made from some kind of twisted candy rope. Those were lollipops. We called those “all-day suckers.” ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/12 "2006-06-08T19:54:17Z")
> [@Bobotheoptimist](#): > > “Sucker” is flat and “lollipop” is spherical. > > Colorado. In my home town in Louisiana, we had the opposite usage of both words. The smaller round ones were suckers because, you see, they were easy to suck on. The very big swirly ones were called by the old-fashioned name lollipops because they seemed more special. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/13 "2006-06-08T20:00:03Z")
We always called any candy on a stick a sucker (growing up in So Cal). I guess I say lollipop now because it just sounds more fun, but I don’t remember ever using the term or hearing it used while I was young. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/14 "2006-06-08T20:00:32Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > We had a thread a year or more ago in which I maintained that I’ve _never_ heard the word “sucker” used for any kind of candy-on-a-stick outside of old Warner Brother’s cartoons (and I’ve lived in several places around the country, and traveled most of it). I was shouted down by others who said that “sucker” was indeed common usage in some places. > > I’ve never used it anywhere in real life, for either flat or spherical candies on a stick, which are all “lollipops” to me and to everyone I know. - Suckers are what you get from the doctor - Lollypops are those gigantic muthas (or suckahs, if you prefer) - and Tootsie roll pops are the spherical ones That’s how I’ve always done it. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/15 "2006-06-08T20:09:27Z")
Sucker are any of the one’s that fit into the mouth all at once and you don’t have to always hold in your hand. Lolipops are the ones that are to big to fit fully into your mouth. No kids I hung out with would have ever asked for a lolipop reguardless, because that was way not cool. ---
**Author:** ![loquitur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c37758/32.png) [@loquitur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loquitur)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/16 "2006-06-08T20:18:14Z")
Okay … so which of you will I consider the authority on the topic? Hmmm … As for Kojak (why can’t I go back and edit that first message for spelling ?!?), what did he call it? I’m sure it was spherical and a lollipop. ---
**Author:** ![loquitur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c37758/32.png) [@loquitur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loquitur)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/17 "2006-06-08T20:22:26Z")
A google image search (an authority, if there ever was one) of ‘Kojak’ and ‘lollipop’ will bring several images up. Substitute ‘sucker’, and nothing. Of note, spell it ‘lollypop’ and you actually get an image of a spherical candy called ‘Kojak’. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/18 "2006-06-08T20:23:23Z")
> [@](#): > > As for Kojak (why can’t I go back and edit that first message for spelling ?!?), what did he call it? I’m sure it was spherical and a lollipop. Kojak took place in New York, and I grew up in New Jersey, where I never heard “sucker” used to describe candy-on-a-stick. Since it wasn’t Southern California, Louisiana, or Canada, my bet is that Kojak called it a “lollipop”. Even though he was cool. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/19 "2006-06-08T21:34:48Z")
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lollipop](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lollipop) > [@](#): > > In many regions of the United States (primarily the South and Midwest), the term “sucker” is used interchangeably with “lollipop.” In these areas, the term “lollipop” is often applied to candy that is disc-shaped, while “sucker” is applied to candy that is spherical. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934/20 "2006-06-08T21:48:07Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > We always called any candy on a stick a sucker (growing up in So Cal). [hijack] Anybody else hate getting [these kind](http://www.candyfavorites.com/shop/p985.htm) for Halloween? [/hijack] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-s-a-lollipop-or-a-sucker/359934.md?page=2)