English

Noun

1. A variant spelling of jelly bean.

|Cinnamon |- |Orange |Orange |Ginger |- |Yellow |Lemon |Pina Colada |- |Green |Lime or Kiwi or Pear |Margarita |- |Blue |Blueberry |Dr Pepper |- |Violet |Grape |Cappucino |- |Black |Blackberry |Cola |- |White |Vanilla |Vanilla |- |Pink |Candyfloss or Raspberry |Tutti Frutti |}

Most jelly beans are sold as an assortment of about eight more or less standard fruit flavors. Assortments of "spiced" jellybeans and gumdrops are also available, which include a similar number of spice and mint flavors. The colors of jelly beans are also more or less standardized, and a fairly typical scheme is shown in the table to the right.

On the other hand, some premium brands, such as Jelly Belly, are available in dozens of different flavors, including berry, tropical fruit, soft drink, popcorn and novelty ranges in addition to the familiar fruit and spice flavors. While these are also sold as assortments, individual flavors can be individually purchased from distributors.

However the mixing of several flavours all together in the mouth at one time can form a whole new flavour entirely. eg. several fruity flavours can create a fruit salad, and banana and toffee can create Banofee Pie.

In the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was President of the United States, he was known for keeping a jar of Jelly Belly jelly beans on his desk, which was credited with helping to increase the candy's popularity in the U.S.

There are other candy products which also have a hard candy shell and a gummy interior, such as Skittles. However, these are not marketed as "jelly beans" and are not typically referred to as such.

Slang

In United States slang in the 1910s and early 1920s a "Jelly bean" or "Jellybean" was a young man who made great efforts to dress very stylishly, presumably to attract women, but had little else to recommend him; similar to the older terms dandy and fop and the slightly later drugstore cowboy. However, the word was also used as a synonym for pimp.

The type was memorialized in the song, "Jelly Bean (He's a Curbstone Cutie)", kept popular through the 1940s by Phil Harris. It was written by Jimmie Dupre, Sam Rosen, and Joe Verges and published in New Orleans in 1920 by Universal Music Publishers, Inc.

In the semiconductor industry, a "jelly bean" component is one which is widely available, used generically in many applications, and has no very unusual characteristics - as though it might be grabbed out of a jar in handfuls when needed, like jelly beans. For example, the 741 might be considered a jelly bean operational amplifier.

References