Green’s Dictionary of Slang

rave n.

1. in senses of praise or enthusiasm.

(a) a sudden display of enthusiasm, a ‘craze’.

[US]‘Hugh McHugh’ Get Next 18: The horse that Yates was doing a rave over had been dead for four years.
E. Thompson ‘All the Jive Is Gone’ 🎵 The latest crave, the country’s rave is jive, jive, jive / This modern treat makes life complete: jive, jive, jive .
[UK]L. Davidson Rose of Tibet 8: T.L. had been having at the time one of his not uncommon raves; on this occasion for the mental-disciplinary benefits of a classical language.
[US]C. White Life and Times of Little Richard 125: He would sometimes play with his teeth and then put the guitar behind his neck and play with his fingers. This brought raves from the audience.

(b) (US) talk, conversation.

[US]Phila. Inquirer 22 May part II 3/5–6: A ‘rave’ is any form of conversational endeavor. The office boy listens to a ‘rave’ by the boss, the humble manager harks to a star’s ‘rave,’ and less mortals are also permitted to indulge in the ‘rave’.
[Aus]B. Ellem Doing Time 124: I’m walking down the street talking to a friend, we’re having a rave.

(c) an obsession with someone or something.

[UK]Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.
G.B. Stern Tents of Israel 240: Even if Jeanne-Marie had a rave on me, I’m not responsible.
[US]Andy Kirk ‘All the Jive is Gone’ 🎵 The latest crave, the country’s rave is jive, jive, jive.
[UK]‘Josephine Tey’ Miss Pym Disposes (1957) 24: [The girls] have ‘raves.’ You know what a ‘rave’ is?’ Miss Pym nodded. ‘They swoon if Madame Lefevre [i.e. a teacher] says a kind word to them’.
[UK]L. Davidson Rose of Tibet 101: ‘Well, I nearly went tonight [to the theatre] myself,’ Wragg said, ‘just to see Edward Adrian again. I had a terrific rave on him when I was a student’.
[UK] (ref. to 1920s–40s) S. Humphries Secret World of Sex 200: Love for an older girl [...] referred to as a ‘crush’, a ‘pash’ or a ‘rave’.

(d) (orig. US) an extremely favourable review of a show, film, book etc.

[US]Amer. Mercury Dec. 464/2: One of the paper’s [i.e. Variety’s] coinages should be officially embraced by the dictionary and bred into the language. It refers to a flattering, enthusiastic review by a sycophantic critic as a rave.
[US]W. Winchell On Broadway 3 Oct. [synd. col.] Scallions to Warner’s press bureau for misleading the public with a quote credit to this column on its latest spy film – directly under its own ‘rave.’.
[US]L. Pound ‘Guide to Variety’ AS XV:2 205/1: raves. Excellent notices from the critics.
[US]J. Blake letter 19 June in Joint (1972) 117: Doug read a rave about it in Sat Rev of Lit.
[UK]Guardian Guide 15–21 May 25: Last month’s support slot [...] at the Astoria won raves.

(e) (orig. US) any strong, negative or positive, opinion.

[US]‘Hugh McHugh’ You Can Search Me 54: Suppose our friend [...] made a rave because the jokes in the funny column were all to the ancient.

2. in senses of enjoyment, pleasure.

(a) an admirable individual.

[US]Pittsburgh Courier (PA) 18 Mar. 20/1: Hortense Allen has brought ‘the’ body back to the boards and is the current kick rave at the Savannah.
[UK]C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 51: Hoplite has been in business with some of the city’s top poof raves.
[US]B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 169: rave (dated, fr Brit teen sl, late ’60s) subject of crucial admiration, such as a singing idol; a strong personality.

(b) (also rave-up) in the late 1950s/early 1960s, a party; the term was revived in the 1980s, with much the same meaning, although the parties concerned were often held in clubs or, in the case of the much-vilified acid house party under acid n.1 , in disused warehouses, hangars etc.

News Chronicle 16 Feb. 6: I wandered around to a rave I knew was going on in Covent Garden.
[UK] (ref. to 1952) G. Melly Owning Up (1974) 98: Mick and I were the first people to organize all-night raves.
[UK]R. Rendell Best Man To Die (1981) 8: I’ll get along to your rave-up on Friday.
[UK]Times 23 Feb. 6: Off the field the atmosphere was that of a transatlantic rave-up.
[UK]D. Jarman letter 29 June Smiling in Slow Motion (2000) 26: Like a mid-seventies rave in Railton Road.
[UK]N. Barlay Curvy Lovebox 95: Like a bit of a rave up does she Marion?
[UK]Indep. Rev. 4 Mar. 14: You never know what might happen if you go to a rave-up in a decommissioned nuclear power station.
[UK]G. Iles Turning Angel 107: Word is, these raves have been going on for a couple of months now. Different location every time.
[US]M. Lacher On the Bro’d 137: ‘One time I went to this rave — I was like eleven years old [...] I met these hot rave chicks, they gave me some E’.

(c) in ext. use, anything pleasurable, amusing, exciting.

[UK]C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 11: I swore [...] that this last teenage year of mine was going to be a real rave.
[UK]Oz 4 11: Marriage as kicks, as a happening, as a rave.
[US]G. Tate ‘Knee Deep in Blood Ulmer’ Flyboy in the Buttermilk (1992) 19: His idea of a rave-up is smacking spiky chrome-metal crash chords upside the groove.
[UK](con. 1960s) A. Frewin London Blues 240: ‘I want to have a look round a wood.’ ‘Sounds a rave.’.

In derivatives

ravey (adj.)

party-going, pleasure-seeking.

[UK]F. Norman in Vogue Oct. in Norman’s London (1969) 29: The élite [...] are a ravey mob who come from Mayfair and places like that.