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Synonyms

calf love

American  

noun

  1. puppy love.


calf love British  

noun

  1. Also called: puppy love.  temporary infatuation or love of an adolescent for a member of the opposite sex

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of calf love

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In the 24 years since young Jack Pickford played Willie Baxter in the silent screen version of Seventeen, cinemaddicts forgot how much charm there is in that classic of calf love on Main Street.

From Time Magazine Archive

But Edward Ellis, who helped make memorable the cheaply made quickie, A Man To Remember, does not turn the trick with this thin-spun tale of village politics, catty gossip, calf love.

From Time Magazine Archive

This is undoubtedly your calf love; but for Beauty’s sake show better taste next time. 

From Martin Eden by London, Jack

Hence, too, the importance of "calf love," which serves as a sort of apprenticeship to the mystery, and enables you to discriminate between the substance and the shadow.

From Pebbles on the shore [by] Alpha of the plough by Gardiner, A. G. (Alfred George)

But I shall pass the child loves by, and instance first my calf love.

From The Kempton-Wace Letters by London, Jack

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