THE HYBRID FREAK

There is almost too much lip-smacking appeal to the word "banoffee". It's irresistible. When someone says "banoffee" in any context you can immediately taste what that's going to be like.

Banoffee is, of course, the combination of banana and toffee. Hence, banoffee pie, banoffee chewy sweets, banoffee milk drink (which I heartily endorse, incidentally).

When they melded banana and toffee together in that strange alchemical process, it's almost like they got the two words trapped as well.

"Banana-toffee. Banoffee!"

It's like some weird, Siamese twin, hybrid of a word, the two things still complete enough to have their distinct personalities despite the melding of their facets. Implicit in "banoffee" is the idea that these two ingredients could still live separately. We can make them out, they're almost complete. "Nurse, get me an 'Ana' transplant and an artificial 'T' - I'll get these kids living a normal life like the other ingredients."

I think you could add "-offee" to any word or phrase and it would become endearing.

Racism and toffee - Racoffee!

Death Row and toffee - Deaoffee!

Dog food and toffee - Dogoffee!

Suddenly all those things sound appetising, don't they?