poodle-fakev.
/ˈpuːdlfeɪk/, U.S. /ˈpud(ə)lˌfeɪk/ slang (originally Services' slang).
intransitive. Of a man: to cultivate female society, esp. for the purpose of professional advancement; to behave as a poodle-faker.
ΚΠ
1905 D. W. A. Hankey Let. 8 Oct. in Lett. (1920) 50 I cannot be expected to be eternally ‘poodle-faking’... One can't ‘poodle-fake’, and sketch, and play tennis, and go walks, [etc.].
1924 E. Candler Youth & East viii. 282 The young subaltern..arrives in a motor with a gramophone and a box of records, plays golf or ‘poodlefakes’ all day, and dances in the evenings.
1934 D. Robins Slave-woman ix. 71 There's no excuse for these fellows who poodle-fake round other fellows' wives.
1949 H. Pakington Young W. Washbourne 38 William had retorted that he'd be damned if he'd go round poodle-faking all the time, and what was a flag-lieutenant for except to amuse the Admiral's guests.
1956 J. Masters Bugles & Tiger xi. 152 When a subaltern applied for leave some colonels would ask him how he intended to spend it, and if it appeared that he was merely going to poodlefake they refused the leave. The young man must pursue animals, not girls.
1988 A. Hollinghurst Swimming Pool Libr. vi. 128 Poodlefaking with Chancey Brough, eh? You wicked little slut.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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