cupcake

Etymology

cup + cake.

noun

1. A small cake baked in a usually paper container shaped like a cup, often with icing on top.
2. (slang) An attractive young woman.
   Whatever else this cupcake might be up to, she was no piker. 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 604
3. (slang) A weak or effeminate man.
4. Term of endearment.
   “Listen, cupcake,” Cash tried to soothe. “Sometimes when grownups get mad, they say things they don't mean. I'm sure your mother—” 2010, Kimberly Cates, The Perfect Match

verb

1. (slang, intransitive) To flirt; to talk or act amorously or intimately.
   I watched Brian as he drove off down the street. I turned and went back inside the studio and found Len at my desk. “I saw you and Brian cupcaking out there.” 2011, Deontra Woods, Blood, Sweat and Tears, page 102
   But I figured Najah was cupcaking with Johan, Chelsea was eating something that didn't match while Greg rubbed her feet, and Kalena wasn't in a space to talk or listen. 2013, Michelle Robinson, Right Before My Eyes II, page 100
   She said, “You're always Cupcaking.” I replied, “I'm not cupcaking. I'm enjoying my conversation so hush.” David and I would stay on the phone all night and talk. It was normal for us. 2014, Zaneeya S., Overcoming My Past, page 170
   “Luck is cupcaking on Myanna.” His eyebrows shot up. “Cupcaking?” “Old man.” She giggled. “Crushing. Your boy has a big time crush on Myanna.” 2015, Mahalia Levey, Promiscuous Wolf
   Let's review the tale of the tape: My best friend is being held hostage, I boosted his ride and mobile, then cupcaked with a heater-packing widow-maker. 2018, Carlos Bayne, Napkin Nights: The Crunk Chronicles
2. To mash a cupcake at; to cover with cupcake.
   After waving and smiling a quick farewell, I turned back on my way out of the lunchroom – and ran smack into Rusty Kuznevoy, flattening his chocolate cupcake against his chest.[…]Maybe he’d forgotten all about being cupcaked?[…]I recalled my vow of supremacy from last year, the one I’d made just before I cupcaked Rusty, and I reasoned that my science project could also bring me some redemption for the events of yesterday. 2008, T. David Lee, 108th Street, New York, N.Y.: Eloquent Books, pages 60, 169, and 199
   So Colin crouched down, allowing her to smash a slightly used cupcake against his nose.[…]Avery took the aprons from him, carefully folding them so more crumbs wouldn’t fall to the already cupcaked snow. 2016, Rachel Hauck, A Royal Christmas Wedding (The Royal Wedding Series), Zondervan, pages 92–93
   She grabs another cupcake and quickly smushes it into the side of my face. I put down the camcorder and get her back. We’re now decorated in pink and white frosting. “I want a selfie of us,” she says. I pick up the camera and record us, cupcaked faces squeezed together, as we crack up. 2016, Christina Hoag, Girl on the Brink, Fire and Ice, page 11
   Got any diabetes jokes you can share with readers? “I never got bullied the same as other kids—my house never got egged. It got cupcaked.” —Geoff Grant (Las Vegas, Nevada) 2016, Brian King, The Laughing Cure, Skyhorse Publishing
   “[…]That was after I cupcaked him.” Dead silence greeted her. It ticked on for a few seconds as Nicolette yanked her cupcake-covered T-shirt off and tossed it onto her bathroom floor. “Are you there?” “Yes. I’m trying to figure out if I had a brain aneurysm or if I heard you right,” returned Clara. “Clara!” Nicolette squeaked. “I need your advice right now.” “On what part? The bringing-home-a-guy-to-have-sex-with or the Viking-cake bit?” “Not a Viking cake. A Viking covered in cake—erm, cupcake,” stressed Nicolette. 2018, Mandy M. Roth, Act of Brotherhood (Paranormal Security®= and Intelligence® (Psi-Ops®) an Immortal Ops® World Novel), Raven Happy Hour
   “I cupcaked her.” “You did what?” “I cupcaked her. It was red velvet. I should’ve used a vanilla one, but I already picked a red velvet one.” “A cupcake.” “They had cupcakes for the birthday party. There was juice, too, but I didn’t have any. It had chunks.” “I don’t understand. What does that mean, you cupcaked her?” “You know, like I mashed a cupcake on her. In her face. Like at weddings and stuff.” 2018, Alex Grecian, The Saint of Wolves and Butchers, G. P. Putnam’s Sons
   The 28th straight win to open the season was greeted with cupcakes purchased by parents who made the spring break trip to Hawaii. “We cupcaked Murph’s face,” catcher Reagan Dykes said. “He didn’t seem too happy about that.” Confirmed. “I ran away from them too,” Murphy said. “I got one in the earhole. I smelled the frosting for like 12 hours.” 21 March 2019, Michael Casagrande, “The story behind Alabama softball’s record 31-0 start”, in AL.com
3. (slang) To handle easily and successfully.
   “Being an independent coach sure, I cupcaked my schedule,” said McGuire. 28 January 1981, Mike Fish, “College basketball — the power’s at…: UCLA rules, but ACC top conference”, in The Kansas City Times, page D-3
   After John Garr popped out, Jeff Ward cupcaked a ball to short for a forceout and Black scored. 19 July 1988, Jack Oakley, “Modified battle is for 2nd”, in The Register, volume 110, number 221, page 2B
   A&M also tackles Louisiana State and Tulsa and further cupcaked its campaign by arranging a game with Division I-AA Middle Tennessee State so it would have a sixth home game, moving Southwestern Louisiana back a year. 15 April 1995, Kirk Bohls, “A mere 56 years later, Aggies will take 2nd title”, in Austin American-Statesman, page C1
   The Tigers have cupcaked their way to a 10-0 start against giant killers like Arkansas State, Monmouth and Charleston Southern. 12 December 2006, Keith Jarrett, “Great record might not help Tigers”, in Asheville Citizen-Times, volume 137, number 346, page E4
   I cupcaked the bitch! 28 August 2014, Seth Stevenson, “Who’d Pay £600M to Watch This?”, in The Independent, number 8,701, page 38
   Competitively, I want to play yesterday. I know if I had to go out there and lace ’em up and everything was on the line, like, I’m doing it 100%. … Not that I’m cupcaking it or anything but you have to be a little smarter, take care of your body. 14 February 2022, “Suns G Landry Shamet out through All-Star break with ankle injury”, in Arizona Sports
4. (transitive, intransitive) To cover or be abundant with cake-like decorations such as frills.
   Maeve joined them in happy admiration of the baby girl, who had just been christened with the name Genesis and was cupcaked for the occasion with endless bits of lace frill. 1997, Lawrence J. Taylor, The Road to Mexico, Tucson, Ariz.: The University of Arizona Press, page 34
   By nine o’clock that night the snow had begun to fall even harder. Brendon stood on the corner of 87ᵗʰ Street and Stony Island Avenue beneath a green canvas awning now cupcaked with a layer of white. 2015, Joe Kilgore, A Farmhouse in the Rain, Winchester, Washington: Top Hat Books, published 2016
   It was no longer light, but I still could make out the front yard, which was cupcaked in snow. 2016 March, Catherine Lowell, The Madwoman Upstairs, Touchstone, page 271
   Ahead in the dim dawn rose the white cupcaked dome of the Capitol. 2016 December, David Poyer, Onslaught: The War with China—The Opening Battle, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, page 18
   It seemed like a beautiful moment as the billowy fabric cupcaked around her lower half. 4 May 2017, Stephanie Haney, “The terrifying moment a bride nearly drowns as she gets stuck under her wedding dress after jumping into water before FIVE people come to her rescue”, in MailOnline
5. (transitive, informal) To eat/feed cupcakes.
   So—we offered a cup cake a day for life to anybody who would find us a better word than the word “market.”[…]She wrote to say that the Farmers Market defies description and asks why we don’t just keep on referring to it as the original Farmers Market and send the cup cakes to some home for under cup-caked children. 10 March 1942, Fred Beck, “Farmers Market Bulletin”, in Los Angeles Times, volume LXI, page 2
   W[?] Ellis “cupcaked” her Decorative Stitchery group and [?] Barnett baked enough of her special bran muffins for all of the Meals on Wheels [?]. 11 September 1975, Kerrville Mountain Sun, volume 94, number 48, Kerrville, Tex., page six
   Ross, a pastry chef who recently moved from California, reels off half a dozen cupcake bakeries in the Santa Monica area she went to all the time, including one called “Le Cupcake” which opened last fall and prompted one food blogger to ask, “Are we cupcaked out? Is there room for yet another cupcake shop in Southern California?” 26 September 2007, Darry Madden, “Opening her own business is icing on the cupcake”, in The Boston Globe, volume 272, number 88, page E4
   I love baking cupcakes, but I was starting to feel cupcaked-out. 2013, Coco Simon, Katie’s New Recipe (Cupcake Diaries; 13), Simon Spotlight, page 42
   She slid a blue mini cupcake with green and teal sprinkles my way. “Try this Neptune’s Nibble.” I said regretfully, “I think I’m cupcaked out.” 2021, Josh Lanyon, Bell, Book and Scandal: Bedknobs and Broomsticks
6. (intransitive, informal) To make cupcakes.
   “I told ’em that you would bake us 30 cupcakes instead.” And so Mrs. Smith cupcaked the other night until 1 a. m. 23 December 1955, Gerald (Gunny) Gunthrup, “The Gunny Sack”, in The Oneonta Star, volume LXIV, number 657, Oneonta, N.Y., page 4
   And make cupcakes. I’ve cupcaked three times in the last few days. 25 August 2011, Suzanne Thibeault, “500 Things Project: Thinking about cupcakes and pickles”, in TribLocal, page 12
   While many a bakery cupcaked and failed, Robicelli’s continues to withstand the test of time. 2015, Off Track Planet’s Brooklyn Travel Guide, Running Press