cuffing season

American  

[kuhf-ing see-zuhn] / ˈkʌf ɪŋ ˌsi zən /

noun

Slang.

1. a period during the fall and winter seasons, including holidays from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day, when people are more inclined to pair up in committed romantic relationships.

   I’m sitting out cuffing season this year—I was miserable tied down like that last winter.

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Etymology

Origin of cuffing season

First recorded in 2010–15

Example Sentences

It’s turtlenecks and quality sweaters, buying decorative gourds for an evening dinner party and coupling up for cuffing season, if not longer term.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2024

October marks the start of myriad unofficial seasons: spooky season, pumpkin spice season, cuffing season, cozy season, hoodie season and, of course, decorative gourd season.

From New York Times • Oct. 11, 2021

With seasons reduced to little more than folklore, life had become something of a year-long cuffing season.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 16, 2019

If you go to a bar in New York during cuffing season, you will overhear long discussions about if “I should say ‘hi’ back?”

From The Guardian • Oct. 2, 2016

As cuffing season meets coughing season and airport crowds are reaching pre-pandemic levels, more travelers are likely getting on a plane when they’re not feeling 100 percent.

From Washington Post