salivate

salivate (all) over (someone or something)

1. Literally, to release saliva from one's mouth onto someone or something. Can you please come in here and get your dog before he salivates all over me?
2. To be very excited about or interested in something. My girlfriend has been salivating over these fancy speakers that just went on sale. The last time I went to that place, this creepy old guy started salivating over me at the bar.
See also: over, salivate
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

salivate over

v.
To be very eager about, excited about, or desirous for something: The fans of the rock group salivated over the newest CD.
See also: over, salivate
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • salivate (all) over (someone or something)
  • salivate over
  • drool
  • drool (all) over (someone or something)
  • drool all over someone/something
  • drool over
  • drool over someone/something
  • slobber
  • slobber (all) over (someone or something)
  • slobber over
References in periodicals archive
The amount of VEEV collected from mosquitoes that salivated in vitro for <3 minutes was significantly less than the amount collected from mosquitoes allowed to salivate for 45 minutes (p<0.0001).
Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus transmission and effect on pathogenesis
But she was left red-faced when on this occasion her ear FAILED to salivate.
Why choc bar can be an ear watering treat for Esther..
Thus, a hungry dog that is shown food will salivate. If a bell is made to ring every time the dog is shown food, the dog will eventually salivate when the bell rings even when food is not shown.
Conditioned response
Pavlov discovered that dogs can be trained to salivate to the sound of a bell.
Placebos
In the case of Pavlov's dogs, if they could have been trained to associate a light being switched on with the sound of the bell and consequently began to salivate to the light only this would be second order conditioning.
Smokers 'salivate' to images of lighting up
The series celebrates the season's best and freshest, whether from the wild, the garden or the shop shelf, as Hugh offers numerous recipes to inspire and to salivate over.
Hugh keeps it fresh; RIVER COTTAGE AUTUMN THURS, C4, 8pm
In short, while the inane press continues to salivate over it, the survey has been largely ignored and dismissed by the intelligent community.
Letter: you say - Wrong chord struck
Miners were being paced higher by BHP Billiton, up 14.5p at 719p, as investors continued to salivate at record metals prices.
City news
Although she has put her agent's role to one side in recent years, Pagones added: "I do miss it and, like one of those Pavlovian dogs, I salivate when I get to a yearling sale."
No limit to the talents of our star breeding reporter
In 2002, I was lucky enough to salivate over two versions, firstly a 135 and most recently the 111S.
Motor Max: IT'S A STUNNER FAST
So when one of the art world's most sophisticated curators circulates an announcement that begins "Attention Artists!" and goes on to solicit work in the figurative genre of "romanticism," irony hounds are likely to salivate at the prospect of another juicy morsel of conceptualism coming their way.
Golden moment: Andrew Ross on "Black Romantic". (Slant)