Cupboard Love
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Love from interested mo- tives. The allusion is to the love of children to some indulgent person who gives them something nice from her cupboard.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Cupboard Love” mean?
Love from interested mo- tives. The allusion is to the love of children to some indulgent person who gives them something nice from her cupboard.
Is “Cupboard Love” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.