treacle

noun

1. (Ireland, UK, countable, uncountable)A syrupy byproduct of sugar refining; molasses or golden syrup.

   “Didn’t you see how the cub was ashamed of the thick bread-and-butter? I dare say they’re going to have treacle if they are good.”

2. (countable, uncountable)Cloying sentimental speech.

   “The public tributes to Griffith were over-the-top in a way his acting never was, spreading treacle from the evening newscasts to the front page of the New York Times.”

3. (Cockney, countable, slang, uncountable)Sweetheart (from treacle tart).

   “Listen, treacle, this is the last time I'll warn you!”

4. (countable, historical, uncountable)Synonym of theriac: an antidote for poison, especially snakebite; a supposedly universal antidote.

   “CHEWING-BALLS, a kind of balls made of aſafœtida, liver of antimony, bay-wood, juniper-wood, and pellitory of Spain; which being dried in the ſun, and wrapped in a linen-cloth, are tied to the bit of the bridle for the horſe to chew: they create an appetite; and it is ſaid, that balls of Venice treacle may be uſed in the ſame manner with good ſucceſs.”

5. (broadly, countable, figuratively, historical, obsolete, uncountable)Synonym of theriac: an antidote for poison, especially snakebite; a supposedly universal antidote.
6. (broadly, countable, figuratively, historical, obsolete, uncountable)Synonym of theriac: an antidote for poison, especially snakebite; a supposedly universal antidote.

verb

1. (transitive)To apply treacle to a surface, so as to catch flies or moths, etc.