love boatn.
/ˈlʌv bəʊt/, U.S. /ˈləv ˌboʊt/ΚΠ
1870 I. Raymond Southland Writers II. 854 Many of..[her poems] show the fire of genius; and, like the love-boats of the Hindoo girls on the Ganges, cast a light on the waters as they float down the stream of Time.
2.
a. figurative. A romantic relationship imagined as a boat or ship, esp. one on a (difficult or dangerous) journey.
ΚΠ
1890 Chillicothe (Missouri) Constit. 4 Feb. A cloud was gathering on the deep, the waves looked dark and angry, and fancy saw my love-boat reel from side to side and then go down.
1921 Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) 19 Jan. 13/2 He married her last May. The love boat struck a stormy sea and they were divorced late yesterday afternoon.
1998 Hull Daily Mail (Nexis) 1 Aug. (Media section) 2 What rocks this idyllic little love boat is a three month transfer to New York for Linda.
2004 M. Faulkner Easy does it Dating Guide x. 178 It would be great if you could know whether your love boat is sinking or just needs to be bailed.
b. A boat or ship which is (intended or designed to be) the scene of a romantic encounter.In later use influenced by the title of the U.S. television programme The Love Boat (1977–86).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessels with other specific uses > [noun] > others spec.
weir-boat1436
monkey boat1813
night boat1839
commodore1847
sneak-boat1850
pitch-boat1867
press boat1870
love boat1913
patrol craft1919
refueller1929
gin palace1949
bumboat1972
1913 G. C. Hazelton & J. H. Benrimo Yellow Jacket ii. 86 A love-boat passes us in the moonlight... It holds a woman and a man in sweet embrace.
1925 Amer. Mercury Dec. 398/2 The ‘love-boats’ which plied Saturday and Sunday afternoons and every evening up and down the river.
1981 J. Raban Old Glory viii. 296 The ‘love boats’ had come down from St. Louis: stern-wheeled brothels with a girl in every cabin.
1991 Population & Devel. Rev. 17 677 The coordination of ‘love boat’ cruises and other measures to encourage matrimony.
2007 News of World (Nexis) 28 Jan. How about a four-poster bed and whirlpool bath—on board the Norfolk Broads cruiser Bel Air. It's one of 20 sumptuous love boats.
3. U.S. slang. The drug phencyclidine (commonly known as PCP), esp. as mixed with marijuana and smoked. Cf. angel dust n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > hallucinogenic drug > other hallucinogenic drugs
datura1820
teonanacatl1875
mescal1895
mescaline1896
Serax1957
MDA1959
ebene1967
muscimol1967
STP1967
angel dust1969
rocket fuel1976
love boat1982
1982 Washington Post 23 Aug. (Metro section) b6/6 ‘Loveboat’, or ‘Lovely’, is a popular drug amongst D.C. teens. Police say it is usually marijuana or parsley that has been treated with powerful PCP or embalming fluid, and is smoked.
1990 Stanford Law Rev. 42 1191 The drug of choice is the highly addictive love boat. ‘Boat’ produces hallucinations and flash-backs.
2006 Capital (Annapolis, Maryland) (Nexis) 22 Aug. c3 He told police that he had smoked some ‘love boat,’ which is marijuana laced with PCP.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1870