Welcome to the first installment of Wicked Word Wednesday. Today, I'd like to hit you right in the kisser with the wonderful, and wicked word, kiss. Mwah!
If smooching with a number wiz is high on your list of things to do, you might know that osculation is a term for kissing. Osculation happens in mathematics when there is contact between two curves or surfaces at three or more common points. They call this a kiss.
Though the origin is unknown, and at least one respected wordsmith reference has called it archaic, the word buss is interchangeable with the word kiss. Buss equals kiss, as bussed, bussing, and busses align with kissed, kissing, and kisses. I didn't find anything that said a busser would be a kisser – but if you're going to use such an obscure word, I guess the rules are yours to make and break at will.
Does anyone else notice how many food terms creep into the sexy stuff, and vice versa? Food can be sexy-sexy-sexy. Honey licked from a lover's body, whipped cream covered naughty bits, shots from a navel, trading mints during a kiss, all very erotic. It's no small wonder we have cookie kisses, chocolate kisses, meringue kisses, and scotch kisses.
Before all of this kissing, bussing, and osculating gets you all worked up, let's look at the seedier side of the kiss. Kiss ups, or kiss asses are everywhere. Don't you just want to tell them to kiss off? Just be careful if you do, so you don't kiss away something important, like your job. We cautious types like to avoid those kisses of death. Although, you might find that the new job you land in its place is the kiss of life that resuscitates you.
There are kiss similes to consider, like the kiss of perfume on your skin. In contrast to that, might be that little kiss you gave your co-worker's bumper in the overcrowded parking lot last week. Combination kisses are good too. Kisses and hugs at the end of a note, abbreviated with those darling X's and O's always encourage fuzzy warmth. A snog is a kiss that includes cuddles.
Don't forget the band, KISS. Who could? Still, they merit a mention. Also worth mentioning, are all the acronyms that are made from KISS. There are dozens, but since space and attention spans are limited, I'll only share my faves. Keep It Simple Sweetie would be number one on my list. Keep It Super Simple is a great reminder when you're introducing a new concept to someone. Keep It Safe & Sound is hard to argue with, no matter what 'it' may be.
A smack is enthusiastic, like a smooch. Smacks can also be light, like pecks. It depends on the context, and more than likely, on the recipient. These are usually reserved for those people we love, not the people we
desire. That doesn't mean we can't plant a peck on the object of our desire - we can, and should. But, that's not the lip-lock we've been holding our collective breath for.
What we want, what our characters want, what our readers want our characters to want … is that deep, slow motion, set the world afire, soul kiss. Otherwise known as the French kiss or deep kiss, it's the Queen of Kisses. This kiss, it steals your breath, vanishes the outside world, erases common sense, makes your knees weak, your pulse race, your body quiver, and it
has got to be shared. So, go hit your favorite hottie right in the kisser with one now. Kiss and tell; disguise it as fiction, but do kiss and tell.
