gold fever en · NOUN
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) A feverish obsession with seeking gold ore; an era (figuratively an epidemic) during which this obsession grips a large number of people.
It appears that a compositor had been engaged for the Northern Territory Times, and for a considerable time the editor seems to have led a comparatively unruffled existence; till in an evil hour the compositor was smitten with gold fever, and struck work.
1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 227:Johns worked with the gold-fever in his veins and urged the camels on.
1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 101:That was during the gold fever, when strangers descended on the town and all the shovels were plum sold out at the general store.
He caught a real bad case of the gold fever that was going around at the time.
- (countable, figuratively, uncountable) An excessive craving for profit.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| gold-fever | alternative | lexicographic | |
| gold fevers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
goldminer · gold bug · gold mine
Synonyms
gold rush · gold hunger · gold thirst · yellow fever · gold mania · gold colic
Translations (10)
hu aranyláz (profit craving) · pl gorączka złota (fever for gold ore) · nl goudkoorts (profit craving) · da guldfeber (fever for gold ore) · pl gorączka złota (profit craving) · de Goldfieber (fever for gold ore) · hu aranyláz (fever for gold ore) · uk золота́ лихома́нка (fever for gold ore) · nl goudkoorts (fever for gold ore) · ru золотая лихорадка (fever for gold ore)