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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Quotation dates: 1789-1985

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KISS, v.2, n. Sc. usages in phrs. and combs.:

1. kissing kind, adj., “seemingly, but not really, kind” (Sc. 1911 S.D.D. Add.); 2. kissing time, see quots.; 3. kiss-my-luif, -loof, lit., “kiss my hand”, (1) as a sign of obeisance: a person given to excessive compliment, a fawner, toady, effeminate person (Kcd., Per., Fif., m.Lth., Ayr., Kcb., Dmf. 1960); ¶(2) as a gesture of disdain, in phr. not to gie a kiss-my-luif, not to care a jot; 4. kiss the cap, a tippler. Cf. 5., 6.; 5. the kiss of a caup, see Cap, n., 5. (5); 6. to kiss (a, the) cap(s), see Cap, n., 5. (8); 7. to kiss one's ain bairn, see quot.2. Mry. 1836 J. Grant Penny Wedding 31:
When the fiddlers made a pause . . . the young lads cried “kissing time”, it being the general rule that every lad should kiss his partner.
Abd. 1875 W. Alexander My Ain Folk 245:
The gentlemen range themselves by their partners, on tiptoe, to begin; when the leading fiddler pushes his fourth finger far up his first string, and brings down his bow with a long-drawn squeak. This is “kissing time” . . . an attempt . . . on the part of each male dancer to kiss his partner's cheek.
3. (1) Kcb. 1893 Crockett Raiders x.:
Out-sailed, out-fought, out-witted — such a set of kiss-my-loofs, you King's men.
Sc.(E) 1913 H. P. Cameron Imit. Christ i. viii. 12:
Binna a kiss-my-loof o' the walthy, an' schaw yersel unwitten afore their knabbs.
wm.Sc. 1985 Liz Lochhead Tartuffe 6:
Oh, face to face it's kiss-me-luif and palsy-walsy
But ahint your back you should hear whit they all say!
(2) Edb. 1789 A. Steel Shepherd's Wedding 5:
Sae tho' ye now ca me a coof, I dinna gie a kiss-my-loof.
Rxb. 1960:
When he's efter a fish, hei doesna gie a kiss-my-luif for ony keeper or baillie.
4. Edb. 1798 D. Crawford Poems 97:
As soon as kiss-the-cap heard tell, He swore.
7. Ags. 1830 Perthshire Advert. (11 Feb.):
Last week, a few would-be wags . . . carried off a number of hare skins from the shop of a respectable merchant here. They were not long gone, when the skins were sent back to their owner for sale . . . The merchant . . . gave a liberal price for his own property, which his obliging neighbours converted into a noggin of porter, sending for the dupe to “kiss his ain bairn”, as they termed it.

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"Kiss v.2, n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/kiss_v2_n>

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