Ayds was an appetite-suppressant candy which enjoyed strong sales in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was available in chocolate, chocolate mint, butterscotch or caramel flavors, and later a peanut butter flavor was introduced. The original packaging used the phrase “Ayds Reducing Plan vitamin and mineral Candy”; a later version used the phrase “appetite suppressant candy”. The active ingredient in the candy was 5.5 mg benzocaine, presumably to reduce the sense of taste to reduce eating.
Benzocaine, sold under the brand name Orajel amongst others, is an ester local anesthetic commonly used as a topical pain reliever or in cough drops.
A homonym is one of a group of words that share the same spelling or pronunciation (or both) but have different meanings. Examples are stalk (which can mean either part of a plant or to follow (someone) around), and the trio of words to, too and two.