puppy love

American  

noun

1. temporary infatuation of a boy or girl for another person.

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puppy love British  

noun

1. another term for calf love

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puppy love Idioms  

1. Also, calf love. Adolescent love or infatuation, especially one that is not expected to last, as in Beth is besotted with him, but we think it's just puppy love, or He's got a bad case of calf love. [First half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

“Show a little puppy love to your pet and take it out of the carrying case,” Farbstein said.

From Washington Post • Feb. 24, 2023

Boston-based RR Auction says the handwritten draft of a letter to his eldest son, Thomas — then 14 — shows the “Of Mice and Men” author’s empathy: He refused to dismiss it as puppy love.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 5, 2022

The changes make this “13” look and feel more like a conventional Netflix teen movie — all about puppy love and jostling for popularity — rather than the one-of-a-kind theatrical experience it once was.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 12, 2022

Its eight episodes offer a chance to pursue some deeply personal themes, including a gay boy’s puppy love, that he wasn’t able to explore when “Child’s Play” hit theaters 33 years ago.

From New York Times • Oct. 11, 2021

That was the day my puppy love, my silly crush for her, changed into something else.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith