E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Spoony.
Lovingly soft. A seaphrase. When a ship under sail in a sea-storm cannot bear it, but is obliged to put right before the wind, she is said to “spoon;” so a young man under sail in the sea of courtship “spoons” when he cannot bear it, but is obliged to put right before the gale of his lady’s “eyebrow.”
