lovey-dovey
colloquial adjective phrase

- If two people in a romantic relationship are lovey-dovey, they too often show their affection for each other in public by touching each other and saying loving things to each other.

(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

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WORD ORIGIN

LOVEY-DOVEY is created by changing love and dove into diminutive forms with the suffix -y. Dove is used together with love because it rhymes and also refers to a gentle person.

The phrase is generally used to make fun of couples who show too much affection in public.

What is too much affection? It depends on where you live and/or what culture you grew up in. In Great Britain and the United States for instance, our Puritan roots still cause some people to be uncomfortable with public displays of affection. Such things are best reserved for the privacy of the home, so goes the thinking. Thus the reaction might be to say something in a mocking tone like, "Oh look at that LOVEY-DOVEY couple in the corner of the bar?"

In some countries, especially where the Muslim faith is prevalent, public displays of affection between men and women are strictly forbidden. Yet it's common for men to exchange kisses, something that most Western cultures find odd.

And then there is southern Europe. It seems the further south one travels the continent, it's more than just the weather that gradually gets warmer. It's no wonder then that Italy is a favourite backdrop for advertising the emotional appeal of some products. After all, far from making fun of a young couple kissing on a street corner, in Italy they may receive a standing ovation plus calls for an encore!

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SYNONYMS

attached, doting, enamoured, fond, impassioned, in love, infatuated, lovesick, lustful, passionate, romantic, sweet for, sweet on, tender

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ANTONYMS

aloof, antagonistic, cold, cool, hateful, repulsed, turned off, undemonstrative, unfriendly

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PRACTICE OWAD TODAY
Say something like:

"Did you see that LOVEY-DOVEY couple at the hotel reception this morning?"