Comments on: Don’t mind a bit of kissing but I don’t like that!

By: kissinfo

kissinfo — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:00:06 +0000

I grew up in the US surrounded by people from the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, and all same-gender greetings involved at least one cheek-kiss. So you might consider that this is a product of cultural diversity far broader than that which you suggest.

By: Watson Aname

Watson Aname — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:17:24 +0000

Note to self: knock Texas out before kissing Texas’s wife.

Seriously though, I’ve even seen a little of this (cheek kissing/whatever) in Texas (even outside of Austin…) , but it’s pretty rare… people are more likely to be a bit reserved.

By: Texas

Texas — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:08:06 +0000

If any of you comes here and tries to lay your lips anywhere on my wife, you’re getting my fist in your throat or worse.

By: 2th&nayle

2th&nayle — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:37:48 +0000

To quote ‘The Great and Powerful Bobby Hill’, I find the comments in this thread to be,”Very, interesting! Sorry Dad!” Having spent several years living in a small bedroom, ‘Fox Box’, community outside Dallas, I agree that “King of the Hill’ nails it on pretty much every level. However, having returned to my roots in Middle Arkanstone, I’d have to say that in my social strata, the hand shake and hug are pretty much the standard greeting of familiars. Even the casual male/female ‘lip peck’ of someone’s significant other, is not in and of itself, considered a serious breech of protocol. The male/male, female/female thing…..ahh, not so much. But that aside, considering this is not exactly a hot bed of liberal tolerance, I’d say, as local greeting customs go, it’s fairly laissez-fair. Which is not to suggest that you can’t get your clock cleaned if you otherwise don’t show the proper respect. Which, in my opinion, is as it should be, no matter where you come from.

By: OmenAugur

OmenAugur — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:11:17 +0000

In my experience, if a guy is looking at your shoes – it’s a pretty safe bet – He’s Gay.

By: Nix

Nix — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:56:17 +0000

Shiver. Nobody ever tries social kissing with me more than once: the intense flinch away and outburst of stammering is a sign that it is, perhaps, not a good idea.

(But then even handshakes have that effect to some degree.)

If this does come in, I hope there’s some giant sign I can hold up to say, y’know, NO THANKS ALL TOO CONFUSING KTHX or something like that.

By: notsneaky

notsneaky — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:39:35 +0000

I’m with you here folks.

By: Righteous Bubba

Righteous Bubba — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:27:25 +0000

King of the Hill is a damn accurate portrait of small town/exurb Texas life, as someone who spent my first 20 years there.

I’m glad to hear it. It’s a terrific show.

By: flubber

flubber — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:23:59 +0000

Re: 49, brief aside – King of the Hill is a damn accurate portrait of small town/exurb Texas life, as someone who spent my first 20 years there. Family and friends included those characters, with eerie resemblance.

By: notsneaky

notsneaky — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:15:52 +0000

Re:48, yeah, I saw that on King of the Hill

By: Xanthippas

Xanthippas — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:00:50 +0000

As a Texan I am quite bemused and educated by this. Down here, nobody kisses anybody on anything!

By: harry b

harry b — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:00:43 +0000

Ok, so here’s my story. About 8 years ago, someone who was a very close friend in secondary school came to meet me at my house (then in England). I hadn’t seen her for 14 years, and that had been a sudden and brief meeting on the stree—we hadn’t really been in much contact for 19 years. But we had developed a close correspondence in the previous few months. She came to my house, and my wife let her in, and therefore witnessed us seeing each other for the first time in all that time. Our eyes met, we both wryly grinned and said “hello” quietly, at a distance of several feet. We were delighted to see each other and neither of us doubted the other was delighted. My wife (American) was a shocked by the lack of affect/physicality/whatever. That’s how I want to greet and be greeted by people I care about. (except my wife and kids).

Kissing of any kind, and touching of most kinds is reserved for wife and kids, except, perhaps, for a bride I care about a lot on her wedding day, and perhaps a hug for someone I really care about to say goodbye.

In other words, the two Minnesotans upthread explained in a few words why I belong in the midwest. I had wondered.

By: Jo Wolff

Jo Wolff — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:21:09 +0000

I don’t think it mentioned kissing but when I went to the US on a scholarship in the 80s I was given a booklet with some advice. The two things I remember are that, first, if you go and stay with someone, you wouldn’t be expected to take your own towels, and, second, that Americans get uncomfortable if you stand close to them while in conversation.

By: Colin Danby

Colin Danby — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:45:39 +0000

Thanks to Chris for passing on the entrancing combien de bises map. Can anyone explain the regional variations?

By: kid bitzer

kid bitzer — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:47:44 +0000

dear miss manners,

my new lass and i seemed to hit it off on our first date. things were going really well, and i thought she was dead keen on me.
then when i was saying goodnight to her, i put on a northern england accent.
she slapped me.

can you tell me—is there some sort of rule about when it’s acceptable, or after how many dates?

also—what do you think about speaking geordie before marriage?

signed, troubled in tyneside.