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6th July 2017
03:04pm BST
We Irish are obsessed with kissing.
Between getting with the Blarney Stone, smooching the cross at Easter and SWEARING to friends, foes and farmyard animals that we 'kissed someone on holidays in Spain that time...', we just can't seem to get enough.
But with great shifts come great responsibility, and for the day that's in it, we've decided to list all the great words there are in our endless kissing vocabulary.
You're welcome...
The original, and the best.
The revival of the shift happened about 2006, and we've been living for it ever since.
A favourite in the midlands, this one introduces a lot of confusion for when you actually want to meet..I mean, see, I mean get together with.. Oh, forget it.
Another confusing one, that hasn't fully decided whether it means just kissing, or maybe more.
But sure listen - if ambiguity isn't sexy, then we don't know what is.
Used sporadically by the good people of Leinster and Munster as a work simply meaning 'to kiss', this one will bring you way back to the times before mobile phones or notions.
HOWEVER, the dirty divils on Connacht insist that this word means so much more than just 'kissing' - so, be careful who you say it to.
Come on, we had to get beagáinín Gaeilge in here.
Mmm, romantic.
Even better.
We have found ourselves amidst the middle of another ambiguous term. This could mean absolutely anything...
If you're posh.
If you're gross.
Now, this, THIS is the Ireland we all know and love.
Almost porcine in its approach, 'snog' came over on the boat from England around the same time that everyone's parents upgraded from three channels on their telly to 8,000.
And it has been successfully added to our shift-cabulary ever since.
The Geordie force is strong in this one.
Yet, to a beginner, we imagine this term would lead you down a strange, and very confusing path.
Contrary to popular belief, 'peck' may not actually mean the aggressive action that birds use to destroy their victims - it's actually a whole other, hopefully slightly less aggressive, action altogether.
Used by the Yankee idols of our youth such as Kelly Kapowski, Kenan (Kel's pal) and all the Bradys of the bunch.
'Make out' is one you may use jokingly, but never in front of your mum.
A kiss of the surprise variety. Usually only enjoyed by one party, and generally all nose and chin.
This is rarely an excellent experience for either party.
Slightly horrifying that when referring to said mug, this would mean someone would then say 'I mugged yer one last night', but we'll let it slide because it sort of makes us think of tea.
Holy mother of God.
Or the life-affirming 'tongue-wrestling' for the particularly keen WWE fans among you.
Baffling.
Yep, akin to animals in the wild. Picture that.
Suppose there IS a certain amount of 'throwing' involved...
If you're a MURDERER.
Corkonians will remember this one.
'Will you jag my friend?'
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