luvvy

English

Alternative forms

• lovey, lovie, luvvie

Etymology

From a phonetic spelling of love + -y; in the second sense, because this (as a term for darling or sweetheart) is perceived as a common utterance of thespians.

Noun

luvvy (plural luvvies)

1. (informal) An affectionate term of address.

   Don't cry luvvy, everything will be OK.

2. (chiefly British, humorous, sometimes derogatory) An actor or actress, especially a narcissistic and pretentious one.
   • 2002 January 19, Julie Burchill, “Falling flat on their arts”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     The other reason, of course, is that the council are New Labour; a bunch of up-themselves show-offs who'd rather hang about with luvvies than deal with the problems of real people. That's why Princess Toni has spent and is spending obscene billions of public money on the dome, while the railways grind to a standstill and hospitals leave war heroes to die on trolleys in corridors. There's no business like showbusiness - and how the government/council chooses to spend your money is certainly no business of yours!

   • 2024 February 24, Raphael Abraham, “I'm suspicious of people making Holocaust films”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 3:

     […] a hat-trick that he [Jonathan Glazer] describes as “genuinely bewildering”. It's the kind of thing that garlanded luvvies say all the time, but it's easier to believe in this case.

Derived terms

• luvviness