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To spoon

Posted by R. Berg on October 30, 2001

In Reply to: To spoon posted by ESC on October 30, 2001

: : What does "to spoon" mean and what is the origin of this expression? What is it in reference to in the sexual sense?

: My opinion: "To spoon" is a sweet old-fashioned term that means cuddling and a light kiss or two. Here's what I found in a reference:

: TO SPOON "late 1850s, originally this had meant to nestle against one another spoon fashion, as to keep warm, make room for others in a family bed, etc." From I Hear America Talking: An Illustrated History of American Words and Phrases by Stuart Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1976).

The original sense has come back, if it ever left. "Spooning" long meant "necking" in a general sense. Apparently it's now used to mean cuddling by a couple who lie on their sides in very close contact, facing in the same direction, so that they resemble spoons that have settled together in a compartment of a cutlery tray.

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