cupboard love
- noun
- /ˈkʌbərd lʌv/
- Archaic
:
amor interesado
- The toddler’s cupboard love vanished as soon as the cookies were gone.
Examples
-
Their friendship sometimes felt like cupboard love, based more on favors than affection.
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He suspected her sudden cupboard love was only a trick to get more dessert.
-
He only shows cupboard love when he wants something.
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Many children exhibit cupboard love towards their parents.
-
He suspected her sudden cupboard love was only a trick to get more dessert.
-
The toddler’s cupboard love vanished as soon as the cookies were gone.
-
Many children exhibit cupboard love towards their parents to receive treats.
Synonyms
Showing too much praise and attention to please someone
Antonyms
How Sincere
- Literature
317
1.4
16
1.0
- Archaic
37
4.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
cupboard + love
The constituents 'cupboard' (evoking food/rewards) and 'love' (affection) give a partial hint that the affection is connected to something material, so a learner might suspect a motivated or self-interested affection. However, the pragmatic sense — insincere affection shown to obtain a reward — is metaphorical and culture-specific rather than fully compositional, so a B1 learner who only knows the words would not reliably derive the exact meaning without exposure.
Etymology
Cupboard love may come from the image of a child or pet acting very loving when they see the family cupboard full of food. That show of love is meant 'to get a reward', so today cupboard love means affection shown for gain rather than true feeling.