Cuffing season is a seasonal motive for pairing up — warmth and company through winter. A situationship is an undefined relationship status that can exist any time of year, with or without a season driving it.
Side by side
Aspect
Cuffing season
Situationship
Driven by
The calendar
Ambiguity
Timeframe
Cold months
Any time
Intent
Short-term warmth
Undefined
Ends
Around spring
When defined or dropped
What each one means
Cuffing Season
Cuffing season is the cold-weather stretch — roughly Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day — when single people feel the pull to pair off into a short-term relationship to get through the winter, then often drift apart when it warms up.
A situationship is a romantic or sexual relationship that's been left undefined — you're involved, but without any agreed commitment, exclusivity, or label. The absence of definition is the whole point.