Sugar daddy is an American term that is approximately a hundred years old. We will look at the meaning of the term sugar daddy, where the idiom comes from and some examples of its use in sentences.
A sugar daddy is an older man who provides lavish and expensive gifts to a young woman in exchange for her companionship and usually, sexual favors. The oldest example of the idiom’s use is in a newspaper article in the Kingston Daily Freeman newspaper of Syracuse, New York in 1923. Though the term sugar daddy probably existed before this time, it became a popular idiom during the 1920s. A young woman who was supported by a sugar daddy was known as a sugar baby. The word sugar was a slang term for money, and daddy, of course, is a slang term for father. The term became so ubiquitous that a large caramel lollipop of the time changed its name from Papa Sucker to Sugar Daddy, a confection that is still produced today, as well as smaller candies known as Sugar Babies. The plural form of sugar daddy is sugar daddies.
Examples
The concept seems seemed simple enough: In return for a “mutually beneficial arrangement,” a young woman, a “sugar baby,” would provide a “girlfriend experience” to a deep-pocketed older man, a “sugar daddy.” (The Montreal Gazette)
Some 17 per cent of students said they considered stripping an acceptable way of funding university life, and one in 25 students surveyed said they were considering looking for a sugar daddy to support them financially. (The Independent)
But I really believe that when it comes to true love and long-term happiness, older guy older woman has a much better chance of success than the sugar daddy relationship. (The Huffington Post)