Below are four different situations describing people's obsessions
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A friend who loves everything and anything to do with cats. She has five cats at home, and there's more cat food in the house than "human" food.
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Another girl friend has a weakness for white-haired men, she finds them irresistible, they don't have to be old-looking, but they must have a mop of white hair or as the Italians say, "salt and pepper hair", but with more salt than pepper.
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A male friend only dates women who are petite, and extremely slim; not anorexic but women whose dress sizes are 38 in Italy. I think in the UK that would be equivalent to a size 8.
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Another male friend who is mad about skiing, will happily drive for two or three hours until he reaches those snow-capped mountains, and ski uninterrupted from 10.00 in the morning until 04.00pm (when dusk falls).
Now, I could say that they are all obsessed, but that term, more often than not, carries a negative connotation and I don't want to express disapproval.
I could say love but that word is overused, and I want something a little more original.
- Is there a positive word and/or unusual expression that fits all four scenarios?
It can be slang, American, British, or Australian English, I don't mind. The more original and good-humoured, the better.
Best Answer
There are may synonyms out there for obsession in various forms - some can be perfectly fine in one scenario but carry a negative connotation in another, particularly when it comes to personal relationships.
For example, it it perfectly acceptable to be infatuated with a new hobby, but describing oneself as infatuated with a new girlfriend can come across quite badly.
One expression that comes to mind that covers all of the above scenarios without carrying a negative or overbearing connotation is 'really into'. I'm not sure if it fits into your idea of 'original and good-humoured', but consider the following substitutes to your original sentences.