What does allsorts mean?
Allsorts is a chiefly British term for an assortment of mixed items, best known through 'liquorice allsorts' — the brightly coloured sweets made of layered liquorice and coconut-paste cylinders in pink, blue, black, and white. Beyond the confectionery, the phrase 'all sorts' is widely used in informal English to describe a diverse collection of people or things: 'the event attracted all sorts.' The word derives from the verb 'sort', meaning to arrange by kind, so it literally evokes a gathering of every kind together. In tone, allsorts suggests variety, eclecticism, and a certain cheerful disorder; the candy version carries strong nostalgia for traditional British sweet shops. For learners, it is useful both as a concrete noun naming the sweets and as part of the idiomatic expression 'all sorts of' used to introduce miscellaneous groups.
nounA British term for a mixture of assorted items, most famously 'liquorice allsorts', the colourful layered liquorice sweets. More generally, it can mean a collection of things or people of many different kinds.
- A mixture of assorted things or people of different kinds ('all sorts').
- Chiefly British: liquorice allsorts — a confection of layered liquorice and coloured paste sold as an assortment.
"The shop window was filled with jars of liquorice allsorts in every colour."
"The festival drew all sorts, from folk musicians to food vendors."
"He bought a quarter-pound of liquorice allsorts from the sweet shop."
The word is already plural in form and normally stays plural; it is rarely used with a singular article.
"She offered around a tin of allsorts."
Liquorice allsorts were reportedly born by accident in the 19th century when a salesperson spilled a tray of sweets and the jumbled mix proved more popular than the originals.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of allsorts
The word comes from the verb 'to sort', meaning to arrange things into kinds or classes, which entered English via Old French 'sortir' and ultimately from Latin 'sors', meaning lot or share. The compound 'allsorts' arose as a commercial label for goods sold as a mixed assortment, becoming firmly attached to the layered liquorice sweets introduced in Britain in the nineteenth century. Its cognates include 'assort' and 'assorted', which share the same root idea of classifying by kind.
How allsorts is actually used
In everyday speech, 'all sorts' is often used informally to mean 'many kinds of people or things'. The noun form 'allsorts' is especially associated with the British confectionery sense and carries a nostalgic, old-fashioned sweet-shop connotation. American usage typically refers only to the candy, where it may be spelled 'licorice allsorts'.
Easily confused with allsorts
'Assorted' is an adjective describing items of various kinds, while 'allsorts' is a noun referring to the mixture itself.