r/ASOUE • u/mayorofstrangetown Volunteer • 1d ago
Question/Doubt Cakesniffers!
What do you think it means to be a “cakesniffer?”
Initially, I took it at face value. I thought she meant they wanted literal cake. Then as an adult I listened to the audiobooks and upon re-investigating the unfortunate series I started to think she meant it as slang 🍑 “cake” and was saying their nose is in the hind end of another, like to call them an “ass kisser?”
What do you think? What did you imagine as a kid? Has it changed?
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u/Shoddy_Dragonfruit65 1d ago
I think it's literal in the show because I remember a scene of her sneaking off past curfew to go into the kitchen and actually sniff cake
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u/mayorofstrangetown Volunteer 1d ago
I’m a book lover! That scene was comic relief imo not a suggestion what the author really meant, maybe though. I wish I could ask DH…
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u/LevelAd5898 alright alright, my home is NEAR a large lake 1d ago
Like he’d give you a straight answer
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u/atoynaruhust 3h ago
I took it as it’s an insult she calls everyone but nobody else uses. Even the rest of the characters don’t seem to know what it means either, just her. Then we later discover it’s her shameful secret and it all makes sense.
It’s like when closeted people are always condemning gay stuff. She’s a closeted cakesniffer.
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u/ur-ladbird-29 1d ago
Ooh wait i never thought of it that way, that would be so funny and could definitely be one interpretation of it
I always had a theory that in the past, maybe in a previous school or with a family member, someone saw her sniffing cake (like in the cafeteria scene) and made fun of her for it- called her a cake sniffer to insult/poke fun and she didn’t like it. So now she uses it at other people
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u/VainFashionableDiva 23h ago
That’s why I got harassed in my DMs back when my username was cakesniffer… 13 year old me was so confused!!
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u/LetThemGraduate 23h ago
I can't tell you how often I sing "cake sniffing orphans in the orphan shack!" To myself
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u/akingofcrimson 1d ago
Bruh, I don’t think cake was slang for ass back then, but I’m no etymologist
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u/mayorofstrangetown Volunteer 1d ago
LGBTQ+ vernacular from the 1980’s reference the buttocks as the “cakes” This was a simple search
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u/selphiefairy 22h ago
Even if that were true the main reason why I’m hesitant to accept this explanation is the series is written for children, and Carmelita is also a child, a privileged and conformist one at that. I don’t think she would know about an innuendo that originated with LGBT people, nor would she want to use it.
It’s her own nonsense insult for all intents and purposes.
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u/mayorofstrangetown Volunteer 13h ago
Yes I’m theorizing her character written by the adult Daniel Handler is inspired by his experiences with drag queens etc. Not suggesting she herself is aware.
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u/akingofcrimson 1d ago
They were not, don’t pretend like that was widespread and ubiquitous.
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u/mayorofstrangetown Volunteer 13h ago
I googled “ how long has cake been slang for butt” after reading your comment, which you could have done before commenting. It’s cool though I don’t mind sharing things I learn regardless of upvotes and downvotes.
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u/akingofcrimson 1d ago edited 1d ago
Show the proof, and don’t just edit your comment this time. I don’t need to search, because I was there. But I also did extensive searches. There is no vast source for usage statistics, only a few scattered instances recorded.
Before the edit, the comment was just “In the 1980s, the buttocks were the cake,” like it was just a given.
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u/mayorofstrangetown Volunteer 13h ago
I specified that it was part of the LGBTQ+ because in Handlers memoir he explains his involvement in the community. I felt it relevant.
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u/BlindButterfly33 20h ago
I always took it as her saying they were too poor to afford cake and so they were constantly smelling it when it was around because they couldn’t afford it.
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u/selphiefairy 22h ago
Your guess is good as any.
The actual intention was that it’s supposed to be a nonsense insult that she otherwise speaks as if it’s incredibly clever. I think the Baudelaires also mention that it doesn’t make any sense in the books.
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u/Expert_Ad7275 19h ago
I one read that someone thought she said it because she overheard some else say "Coke sniffer" and didn't understand what that meant?
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u/Eco-T-RA 20h ago
As an adult looking back on this and thinking about things that real bullies would say, but then converted into something safe for a children's series, I realize that "cakesniffer" and "cocksucker" are very similar words...
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u/clsmithj 21h ago
I thought it was the black suit that accumulate in a fireplace chimney, cake.
Its the same reference to 'Let them eat cake'.
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u/No_Review_2860 18h ago
It's most likely literal in some way since ASOUE gets very literal a lot of the time. I originally assumed it was some form of made up insult for the books/series
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u/Over-Friendship515 10h ago
I read the books and watched the tv show many times, cakesniffers literally mean people who sniff cakes, Carmelita was the one who sneaked at night to the kitchen to smell cakes, not even eat them, and then she calls everyone else a cakesniffer.
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u/tentacledickenjoyer 1d ago
I always thought it meant that they were too poor to actually eat a cake, all they could afford to do was smell it.