tenderoni

English
WOTD – 14 February 2023

Etymology

Blend of tender +‎ macaroni, a former trademark in the United States for a brand of quick-cooking macaroni introduced in the 1930s.[1]

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌtɛndəˈɹəʊni/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌtɛndəˈɹoʊni/
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -əʊni
  • Hyphenation: ten‧der‧o‧ni

Noun

tenderoni (plural tenderonis)

  1. (originally African-American Vernacular, slang) A younger (often female) love interest. [from 1970s]
    • 1976 September, Allan Felder (lyrics and music), “Sweet Tenderoni”, in Goin’ Up in Smoke, performed by Eddie Kendricks:
      Sweet tenderoni, a man should never be lonely / Sweet tenderoni, girl if I could only / I got my eye, I got my eye on you, ah you
    • 1983 September 19, James Ingram, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson (lyrics and music), “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”, in Thriller, performed by Michael Jackson:
      Tenderoni, you've got to be / Spark my nature, sugar, fly with me
    • 1988 December 27, Babyface, Darnell Bristol (lyrics and music), “Roni”, in Don’t Be Cruel, performed by Bobby Brown:
      Only tenderonis can give a special love / A special kind of love that makes you feel good inside
    • 2008 June, Nina Tracy, “Prologue: Lonely?”, in Twenty-Eight Days, West Babylon, N.Y.: Urban Soul, →ISBN, page 3:
      I must admit to having been somewhat taken back by the question posed to me by the young tenderoni. "Are you desperately lonely?" he had asked a few minutes after we had pulled up in front of his dwelling, after having shared an intimate spell together and then grabbing a fast-food combo.

Translations

See also

References
  1. Compare Jonathon Green (2005) “tenderoni”, in Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang, 2nd edition, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, →OCLC, page 1423, column 1.

Further reading

Anagrams
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