dreamsicle

Why this word is great

DREAMSICLE — [Noun] A cocktail or frozen dessert blending orange juice with cream or vanilla ice cream. A portmanteau of 'dream' (suggesting lightness or whimsy) and 'creamsicle' (a trademarked name for a vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet bar), it conjures the nostalgia of childhood summers. Unlike 'creamsicle' (a specific branded confection with a vanilla core and sherbet shell) or 'orange julius' (a frothy, cream-laden drink), the dreamsicle is a loose, lyrical category—a flavor as much as a form. It is the melting swirl of orange and cream on a sidewalk in July, the faint citrus tang cutting through the richness of a bourbon-laced cocktail, the ghost of a popsicle stick left on a picnic table—proof that some pleasures are fleeting by design.