Spoon & love

Question

why does spoon* mean *to pay court to* sometimes? Is there any relations between *spoon* and *love? Wayne Wong

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]why does spoon* mean *to pay court to* sometimes? Is there any relations between *spoon* and *love?[/nq]
Spooning used to mean very innocent necking, or courting. I couldn't tell you when the word first indicated a position of lovemaking.

Other than that spoons and the position are related, I don't think the courting word is anything other than a nonsense word, not unlike "mooning" which used to mean sitting in a daydream. Can't tell you when it came to mean presenting the naked backside to complete innocents or to the unexpecting for shock purposes.
But others have made studies of the mores of love customs and may provide better info for you.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]why does spoon* mean *to pay court to* sometimes? Is there any relations between *spoon* and *love?[/nq]
The dictionary entry at m-w.com gives a possible theory as to the origin of the verb.
It's also a handy rhyme in songs. A famous old one:

By the light of the silvery moon,
I want to spoon,
To my honey I'll croon
love's tune,
Honey moon
keep a shining in June...

Best wishes Donna Richoux

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]The dictionary entry at m-w.com gives a possible theory as to the origin of the verb.[/nq]
now i got it, thank you very much!

Wayne Wong

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]The dictionary entry at m-w.com gives a possible theory as to the origin of the verb.[/nq]
[nq:1]now i got it, thank you very much![/nq]
And love-spoons are a part of at least one culture: http://www.lovespoons-wales.co.uk/

John Dean
Oxford
De-frag to reply

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]And love-spoons are a part of at least one culture: http://www.lovespoons-wales.co.uk/[/nq]
To my mind, the sexual use of spooning (a form of bundling) is a more likely source:
http://www.sexualpositionsfree.com/spooning.html
Gary

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]And love-spoons are a part of at least one culture: http://www.lovespoons-wales.co.uk/[/nq]
I wish I could believe this, but I have to say it sounds far-fetched. And awfully like an object invented to sell to the tourists. Does anyone have more connecting this "spoon" to the other one?
[nq:1]To my mind, the sexual use of spooning (a form of bundling) is a more likely source: http://www.sexualpositionsfree.com/spooning.html[/nq]
Source of what? You think, at the turn of the century, people gathered round the piano and sang songs about sexual positions?

Shine on, shine on harvest moon up in the sky
I ain't had no lovin' since January, February, June, or July
Snow time ain't no time to sit outdoors and spoon
Shine on, shine on harvest moon for me 'n' my gal
What have we got for early citations for this verb?... DAE (1938) does have the meaning "to lie spoon-fashion" from 1715 to 1887. The citations imply nestling together to save space on a bunk, or for warmth... Hmmm, nothing about courtship or affection. Except one meaning as a noun, that "the spoons" can mean "sentimental affection," 1846.

Tantalizing, but not very conclusive. Is the OED any better?

Maybe Tin Pan Alley needed a rhyme and a new euphemism, so they made it up.

Best - Donna Richoux

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I wish I could believe this, but I have to say it sounds far-fetched. And awfully like an object invented to sell to the tourists. Does anyone have more connecting this "spoon" to the other one?[/nq]
According to this ...
http://www.hardcorecarvers.co.uk/lovespoons/lovespoons3.html ... there are such spoons dating back several hundred years. Which is not to say that, like most folk art, they haven't become tourist-milkers by now. OED has a cite > suggesting they are of sufficient antiquity that someone in 1918 could write a history of them.
[nq:2]To my mind, the sexual use of spooning (a form of bundling) is a more likely source: http://www.sexualpositionsfree.com/spooning.html[/nq]
[nq:1]Source of what? You think, at the turn of the century, people gathered round the piano and sang songs about ... a noun, that "the spoons" can mean "sentimental affection," 1846. Tantalizing, but not very conclusive. Is the OED any better?[/nq]
OED (verb) :
>
>
>

OED (noun):
>
>
OED says of 'bundle':
>

Which suggests that bundling was an activity limited to a small geographic area whereas spooning was widespread. There is also no indication I can find anywhere that 'bundling' implied sleeping spoon-fashion - merely that a couple shared a bed while fully dressed. If I'd been put in a bed with my love I'd have wanted to be face to face throughout.
John Dean
Oxford
De-frag to reply

Usenet · Answer

>
>
I am wondering what that possible theory is;
m-w.com does not respond to its look-it-up button.

Fashions change. Spooning as a position in bed
is probably the most common use now.
And lovers standing up are usually face-to-face.
I have the impression though, that in nights of yore, it was common for the man to stand behind the woman, and thus spoon, perhaps while they looked at the moon, and sweet nothings were whispered in ears.
You can see some of that in old movies,
perhaps it there also for camera convince,
and we have to imagine the side view that would
make the word-image clear.
Richard Maurer To reply, remove half
Sunnyvale, California of a homonym of a synonym for also.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]<< (Wayne Wong) why does spoon* mean *to pay court to* sometimes? Is there any relations between *spoon* and *love? ... it there also for camera convince, and we have to imagine the side view that would make the word-image clear.[/nq]
MWCD10 (responding now):
Main Entry: 2spoon
Function: verb
Date: 1715
transitive senses : to take up and usually transfer in a spoon intransitive senses (perh. from the Welsh custom of an engaged man's presenting his fiancée with an elaborately carved wooden spoon) : to make love by caressing, kissing, and talking amorously : NECK
Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Fashions change. Spooning as a position in bed is probably the most common use now.[/nq]
Speaking of being in bed, I thought up another Hobson's choice - you're lying in bed, under the duvet toasty warm, and then you suddenly have to go to the bathroom ... and the bathroom tiles are ice cold.

Spoon & love

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