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For a less friendly leave taking, there's a "kiss-off." I don't know where this comes from. Judas, perhaps? Grant? Martha?
The earliest quote in the OED with a related meaning is in the kiss v. entry:
p. 1935 Amer. Speech X. 22/1 To throw (someone) down... Modern to kiss (someone) off (usually restricted in use to a person of the opposite sex). 1935 A. J. POLLOCK Underworld Speaks 68/1 Kissed off, defrauded of share of loot or plunder. 1945 L. SHELLY Jive Talk Dict. 28/1 Kiss off, to die. 1946 ‘J. EVANS' Halo in Blood xi. 134 I'm a private eye and I've got a customer who wants to know who kissed off Marlin..and why. 1948 Halo for Satan (1949) vi. 83 The man who..had kissed off all raps except..the one..for income tax evasion. 1967 D. SKIRROW I was following this Girl xxxvi. 219 ‘Kiss off,' he said... ‘I told you, the girl's not here.' 1970 C. MAJOR Dict. Afro-Amer. Slang 73 Kiss-off,..to die. 1973 M. & G. GORDON Informant xviii. 74 The same FBI agents..getting tough. Well, kiss them off. 1973 W. MCCARTHY Detail iii. 216 ‘I thought you had stopped smoking.' ‘Kiss off, I just started again.'
Emmett
I think the word salutation works both ways -- that is, it's a word for a greeting and a farewell.
I have a different, though related, question. Of all the definitions of the verb bid, why does it the "greeting" definition now mostly exist only with the "good-bye" sentiment? For example, "I bid you farewell," or, "I bid you adieu", but not "I bid you hello"?
I've heard it used both ways, including "I bid you greetings" and "I bid you farewell," though the latter seems more common, at least in my experience. And both uses are cited in the thefreedictionary.com. For another take, my wife watches a lot of Food Channel, and there's this guy named Elton Brown (if I recall correctly) who ends his show with "I bid you good eating."
So it seems the meaning in all these cases is "wish" or "offer" or perhaps "extend to" or "convey to."
tunawrites said:
I think the word salutation works both ways -- that is, it's a word for a greeting and a farewell.
I have a different, though related, question. Of all the definitions of the verb bid, why does it the "greeting" definition now mostly exist only with the "good-bye" sentiment? For example, "I bid you farewell," or, "I bid you adieu", but not "I bid you hello"?
Hm. I don't think I've run into salutation as a closing or farewell. I'll watch for it.
"I bid you welcome" is a very familiar construction to me, although it conjures images of guys in steel overalls or green tights.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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