A muffin top (also muffin-top) is a slang term typically used to describe a person's body fat that extends horizontally over the edges of the waistline of tightly fitting pants or skirts, visible when there is a gap between the upper and lower garment. The term is a reference to the way a muffin appears when it has been baked in a muffin tin, so that the top of the muffin extends horizontally over and around the top of the tin or casing.
Muffin-top originated as Australian slang in mid-2003,[1] but has since become popular in other English-speaking countries. Its use has also been adopted in many non-English-speaking countries across western Europe, such as Germany and France. It may have been first popularized by the Australian television show Kath & Kim.[2] Australia's Macquarie Dictionary named "muffin-top" the word of the year in 2006;[3] the American Dialect Society named it one of the "most creative" new terms that same year.[4] The Oxford English Dictionary added the term to its revised online edition in March 2011.[5]
According to William Safire, writing in The New York Times Magazine, "Muffin-top fills a lexical void" and "describes the roll of excess flesh spilling out primarily in front but possibly all around."[6]
By 2007, the fashion for low-waist trousers and skirts had lost ground to higher-waisted garments, making muffin tops less ubiquitous.[2]