Guilty pleasure

Fresh cream cakes were marketed as "naughty but nice" in a 1980s British advertising campaign[1]

A guilty pleasure is something, such as an activity or a piece of media, that one enjoys despite understanding that it is not generally held in high regard or is seen as unusual. For example, a person may secretly enjoy a film while acknowledging that is poorly made or generally regarded unfavorably.

The term can also be used to refer to a taste for foods that are considered to be advisable to avoid, especially for health reasons.[2][3] For example, coffee, alcoholic beverages, smoking and eating a little piece of chocolate after dinner are considered by many to be guilty pleasures.[4]

  1. ^ Retail Business: Market reports. EIU. 1988. p. 48.
  2. ^ Fisher, Maryanne (May 14, 2010). "Why It's Good to Feel Guilty". Psychology Today. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  3. ^ Szalai, Jennifer (December 9, 2013). "Against 'Guilty Pleasure'". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  4. ^ Santos, Roseane M.; Santos, Roseane M.; Lima, Darcy R. (October 8, 2009). An Unashamed Defense of Coffee. Xlibris. ISBN 978-1-4535-3424-3.