Meanings
plural marmalade droppers
- UKinformalAstonishing information, especially something learned from the news media.
- UKinformalA publicity stunt; something shocking intended to receive news coverage.
2023 'The return of David Cameron: What is going on?', BBC News. "Just because something is a marmalade dropper, doesn't make it a good idea."
1 more example
How to get wall-to-wall coverage for your new album even if your name is not Taylor Swift: […] Allow the BBC Today programme to deliver a proper marmalade-dropper: "Open marriage, infidelity, vasectomies, sex toys, I mean every track has got something in it."
2025 October 31, “Hackwatch”, in Private Eye, number 1661, page 10Synonyms: muffin choker
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA publicity stunt; something shocking intended to receive news coverage.
Origin
Suggesting the idea of an astonished person dropping marmalade at the breakfast table while reading or hearing the news.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
marmalade dropper. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marmalade%20dropper
“marmalade dropper.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marmalade%20dropper. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “marmalade dropper,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marmalade%20dropper.
Source: marmalade dropper on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.