Where "Lollies" Comes From
Comes from "lolly," itself a shortening of "lollipop" that broadened out to cover sweets and candy generally, not just the stick kind. Green's Dictionary of Slang traces the broadened Australian sense back to an 1851 Adelaide Times report of a girl being lured away "under pretence of buying 'lollies'" — one of the earliest print appearances of the word anywhere.
It's a genuine, everyday difference from American English, where "candy" is the default word — an Australian asking for "lollies" and an American asking for "candy" mean exactly the same shelf at the shop.
Source:
"Grab a bag of mixed lollies for the movie."
How Aussies Actually Use It
It covers any confectionery - jelly snakes, musk sticks, chocolate bullets, and more.
A "lolly shop" or "mixed lolly bag" is a classic feature of Australian childhoods.
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