sweet pea

plural sweet peas · alternative sweetpea

1. A flowering plant, Lathyrus odoratus, grown for its bright colours and sweet fragrance.

   1 more example

   No one had such pinks as he had; his sweet-william was unrivaled,—he had only half a dozen geraniums, but then they were such geraniums,—the cottage, once an unsightly little mass of lath and plaster, was now besprinkled with roses; and then, his sweet peas were in blossom, and, fortunately for him who had not much to do, they required a great deal of sticking and tying.

   1842, [Katherine] Thomson, chapter IX, in Widows and Widowers. A Romance of Real Life., volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 162

2. colloquialA term of endearment for something sweet or lovely; a child or an intimate partner, for example.

   He was a nice enough fellow, the boyfriendo. Sweet pea with Jo.

   2004, Janet Davey, “Saturday”, in First Aid, London: Chatto & Windus, →ISBN, section 6