kiss-me-quick
[See kiss-.]
1. A small bonnet standing far back on the head, formerly fashionable. (Also attrib.)
| 1852 G. W. Bungay Crayon Sk. (1854) 372 She wears..a Kossuth hat instead of a ‘kiss-me-quick’. 1855 Haliburton Nat. & Hum. Nat. I. 287 She has a new bonnet on... It has a horrid name, it is called a kiss-me-quick. 1886 Baring-Gould Court Royal ii, This Dolly Varden with panniers..and a kiss-me-quick bonnet. |
2. A ringlet in front of the ear. (Also attrib.)
| 1893 Q. [Couch] Delectable Duchy 16 Her hair..had..been..twisted in front of either ear, into that particular ringlet locally called a kiss-me-quick. |
3. Local name for several plants, also called kiss-me (see kiss-). So kiss-me-quick-and-go, Southernwood (Artemisia Abrotanum).
| 1882 H. Friend Devon. Plant N., Kiss-me, Kiss-me-love, or Kiss-me-quick, (1) Saxifraga umbrosa... (2) Geranium Robertianum... (3)..Centranthus ruber. Ibid., Kiss-me-quick-and-go, Artemisia Abrotanum. Doubtless in reference to the other common names of Boy's Love, Maiden's Ruin. 1886 Elworthy W. Som. Word-bk., Kiss-me-quick the pansy or heart's-ease. The wild variety. |
4. kiss-me-quick hat: a hat bearing the words ‘kiss me quick’ (or some other, usu. jocular, phrase) on the front.
| 1963 Guardian 12 July 9/6 Mature matrons..now..wear kiss-me-quick hats. 1974 J. Wainwright Evidence I shall Give xxiv. 120 Whitby... Genuine Olde Worlde charm, wearing a Kiss-Me-Quick hat. A fishing community, taken over by day-trippers. |