cruisingn.
a. The action of sailing to and fro; also transferred.
ΚΠ
1690 London Gaz. No. 2532/2 The Plimouth is come in from Cruising.
1840 W. Irving Chron. Wolfert's Roost (1855) 289 The chimerical cruisings of Old Ponce de Leon in search of the Fountain of Youth.
b. spec. The action of walking or driving about the streets in search of a casual sexual partner (cf. cruise v. 1d.) slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual relationship > [noun] > casual > walking or driving about in search of
cruising1927
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > frequenting prostitutes > kerb-crawling
cruising1927
gutter-crawling1945
kerb crawling1949
1927 A. J. Rosanoff et al. Man. Psychiatry (ed. 6) 203 In the most respectable class [of homosexuals] are those who do no ‘cruising’.
1942 Z. N. Hurston in Amer. Mercury July 86 He had plenty to get across and maybe do a little more cruising besides.
1981 H. Carpenter W. H. Auden i. v. 97 The length of the list might suggest that Auden was in the habit of ‘cruising’—picking up boys for casual sex.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a. cruise v. 1a.
cruising-ground n.
ΚΠ
1780 Capt. Hope in Lett. S. Hood (1895) 11 But could not learn what latitude their cruizing ground was in.
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick li. 258 The..Pequod had slowly swept across four several cruising-grounds.
1968 Globe Mag. (Toronto) 13 Jan. 7/3 Certain parks..become known as favorite cruising grounds.
cruising-shirt n.
ΚΠ
1959 J. Braine Vodi vi. 94 One of those woollen shirts with a fastener at the throat—cruising shirts they called them.
cruising-trade n.
ΚΠ
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 221 We pretended to carry on our cruising trade.
cruising-vessel n.
ΚΠ
1878 N. Amer. Rev. 127 382 A cruising-vessel.
b. cruise v. 1b.
cruising-altitude n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > navigation of course of aircraft > [noun] > height
angel1943
cruising-altitude1951
cruising-height1951
1951 Gloss. Aeronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) iii. 19 Cruising height (cruising altitude), a constant altimeter indication, in relation to a fixed and defined datum, maintained during a flight or portion thereof.
1958 Listener 16 Oct. 593/1 The pressurised cabin was subject to cyclic reversals of load as the aircraft climbed to cruising altitude.
cruising-height n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > navigation of course of aircraft > [noun] > height
angel1943
cruising-altitude1951
cruising-height1951
1951Cruising height [see cruising-altitude n.].
1956 ‘N. Shute’ Beyond Black Stump 237 They were off the ground and climbing up to cruising height.
C2.
cruising radius n. the maximum distance that the fuel capacity of a ship or aircraft will allow her to travel and return at cruising speed.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel with reference to qualities or attributes > [noun] > attributes of vessel > cruising range or radius
cruising range1922
cruising radius1927
1927 G. Bradford Gloss. Sea Terms 45/2 Cruising radius is calculated with two points of view—one, the vessel's capacity in miles without refueling; the other, her capacity to remain at sea expressed in days running at normal speed.
cruising range n. = cruising radius n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel with reference to qualities or attributes > [noun] > attributes of vessel > cruising range or radius
cruising range1922
cruising radius1927
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > qualities and parameters of aircraft > [noun] > range
radius of action1887
cruising range1922
range1922
turning radius1967
1922 M. Luckiesh Bk. of Sky xxi. 230 These huge flying-machines with a cruising range of a thousand miles.
cruising speed n. the best economic travelling speed for a ship or vehicle, esp. an aircraft.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > movement of vehicles > [noun] > most economical speed
cruising speed1919
1919 Sphere 26 Apr. 67/2 The single-engine machine is the faster at full and cruising speeds.
1928 Daily Chron. 9 Aug. 3/6 It will have a ‘cruising speed’ of 15 miles an hour.
1935 P. W. F. Mills Elem. Pract. Flying iii It is usual to describe performances in terms of both maximum and cruising speeds—the latter being the speed at which the aeroplane flies level with the engine running at the cruising revolutions recommended by the makers.
1958 Listener 30 Oct. 683/1 You want a car that has..a high cruising speed.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.1690