Date:  Tue, 22 Jul 1997 10:10:21 -0400
From:  Leslie Dunkling <106407.3560[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]COMPUSERVE.COM>
Subject: Dutch kiss

I thought I was something of an expert in the matter of osculatory
onomastics. Sinclair Lewis has a husband and wife who jokingly give names=

to kisses in _Cass Timberlane_. They mention the Solid Brother-in-Law, th=
e
Allergic-to-Lipstick, the Short Interrogative, the Long Interrogative, th=
e
Vampire-Minatory. They also talk of the Butterfly kiss, but not the
Paternal or Avuncular Peck which is what I tend to go in for these days.

There's the Kiss of Death bestowed by sporting commentators, the Judas
kiss, the Jonsonian Deputy kiss (Or leave a kiss but in the cup, And I'll=

not ask for wine.) Dickens also described the Keyhole kiss in _David
Copperfield_, when Peggotty kisses the keyhole of the room in which young=

David has been locked by his dastardly step-father. =


But what is this Dutch kiss that has been mentioned in a couple of recent=

postings?
It defeats my dictionaries, both American and British. It certainly defea=
ts
me. Though I note that Barton Holyday, whose _Marriage of the Arts_ was
first performed in 1630, refers to "the different manners of a French,
Spanish and Dutch kiss." Has Spanish kiss also survived?

My question about Dutch kiss is asked in all innocence. If it takes us in=
to
the realms of unpleasant obscenity, forget I asked.