Cuffing Season
- “wanting a relationship just for the cold months”
- “why do I suddenly want a boyfriend every winter”
- “the word for coupling up only in winter”
- “everyone gets into relationships around the holidays”
:: COMPARE ::
Cuffing seasonvsSituationship
The short answer
Cuffing season is a seasonal motive for pairing up — warmth and company through winter. A situationship is an undefined relationship status that can exist any time of year, with or without a season driving it.
Side by side
| Aspect | Cuffing season | Situationship |
|---|---|---|
| Driven by | The calendar | Ambiguity |
| Timeframe | Cold months | Any time |
| Intent | Short-term warmth | Undefined |
| Ends | Around spring | When defined or dropped |
Which one you meant
Readers who land here meaning Cuffing Season rather than Situationship are usually searching for phrases like “wanting a relationship just for the cold months”, “why do I suddenly want a boyfriend every winter”, “the word for coupling up only in winter”.
Situationship
- “more than friends but not officially together”
- “we act like a couple but never talked about what we are”
- “the word for a relationship with no label”
- “what do you call dating someone without commitment”
Which came first
Cuffing season. 2008 — Musa Murchison is credited with popularising it on Brooklyn College's Because We Said So Radio — by their own account the phrase was already circulating in New York.
- 2008Cuffing SeasonMusa Murchison is credited with popularising it on Brooklyn College's Because We Said So Radio — by their own account the phrase was already circulating in New York.
- 2008SituationshipMerriam-Webster's first known use of the word, some years before it spread.
Read either one in full