flower power

English

Etymology

Coined by American poet and writer Allen Ginsberg.

Noun

flower power (uncountable)

1. (US, historical) A counterculture movement that started in the United States in the 1960s, advocating peace and love over militarism and materialism.
   • 1970 March 29, Nik Cohn, “England's New Teen Style Is Violence”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     The hippies, meanwhile, seem to be flagging. Just for a moment, during the Flower Power summer of 1967, it looked as though they might matter but ever since they've been gradually losing momentum and last summer's Isle of Wight/Bob Dylan Festival, which should have signaled a revival, fell distinctly flat.

   • 1980, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus (lyrics and music), “Our Last Summer”, in Super Trouper, performed by ABBA:

     Those crazy years, that was the time / Of the flower power

   • 2012, Ivan Berg, Nik Berg, Top Gear: Motor Mania:

     The Beetle's cheap, frugal and functional nature attracted legions of flower-power fans and the little Vee Dubs became symbols, moving protests and even works of art.

   • 2023, Stephen Forbes, A Cultural History of Plants in the Modern Era, Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 139:

     “Flower Power” by Bernie Boston—one of two iconic images of the 1960s flower power movement taken on the same day during an anti-war protest at the Pentagon in 1967. Here George Harris places carnations into gun barrels.

See also

• flower child
• make love, not war