kissing cousin

kissing cousin

1. Any cousin who is not a first cousin. Brad and Tom look a lot alike, but they are not that closely related—they're kissing cousins.
2. A friend or relative who is close enough to be greeted with a kiss. Lisa and Kelly have been such close friends for so long that they're kissing cousins.
See also: cousin, kiss
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

kissing cousins

relatives who know one another well enough to kiss when they meet. Joe and I are kissing cousins, though we ain't seen one another since we was kids. Technically, we're second cousins once removed, but I just say we're kissing cousins.
See also: cousin, kiss
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

kissing cousins

Two or more things that are closely akin or very similar. For example, They may be made by different manufacturers, but these two cars are kissing cousins. This metaphoric term alludes to a distant relative who is well known enough to be greeted with a kiss. [c. 1930]
See also: cousin, kiss
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • kissing cousins
  • aint
  • ain't
  • by no means
  • (I) hope not
  • be not much cop
  • be like ships in the night
  • aren
  • definitely
  • Definitely not!
References in periodicals archive
"Journalism is a kissing cousin to the arts, and so I don't feel reluctant to suggest that you get some different voices in the arts debate.
Re-enfranchising the First Amendment
EMMERDALE Cain, pictured, has already alienated Debbie and Moira and now he may be about to lose his one-time kissing cousin Charity too when she arrives to talk some sense into him - and he makes a pass at her.
SOAP WATCH
In the latest update from unnamed sources toReuters, it appears that a below-value all-cash bid for Viacom presented to the company by kissing cousin CBS Corp.
Viacom Shares Surge On Talk Of CBS Counter Offer
Its kissing cousin would be Johnny-as in another popular awards show host in decades past, Johnny Carson.
You gotta be a Jimmy
Bulgur Wheat Bulgur wheat is cous cous's kissing cousin and is made from dried cracked wheat.
Ingredient of the Week
BURN AFTER READING ITV 10.45PM Vanity and paranoia mocked: Brad Pitt and George Clooney (above) star in the Coen brothers' icily brilliant response to the War On Terror, a kissing cousin to Kubrick's Cold War classic Dr Strangelove.
SATURDAY
Is he siding with his kissing cousin over his wife, or is he preoccupied with problems of his own?
Grave misgivings; EMMERDALE (ITV)
When it comes to kinship, the X3, which BMW calls a sports activity vehicle, is a kissing cousin of the old-style station wagon.
A diesel BMW for the long haul
Vanity and paranoia mocked: Brad Pitt (right) and George Clooney in the Coen brothers' icily brilliant response to the war on terror, a kissing cousin to the Cold War's Dr Strangelove.
3 TO SEE; We love MOVIES
"Spring Desserts" workshop with pastry chef Kristen Murry will feature Kissing Cousin's Vacherin With Rhubarb Marmalade, Consomme, CeleryLeaf Parfait and Vanilla Meringue Teardrops plus Springy Asparagus Ice Cream.
FOOD NOTES
Then again: Some Israelis saw the potential for longer-term stability offered by a more democratically run Egypt, despite a dictatorship there that, on balance, was friendly with Israel (and that, compared to Assad's regime, was Israel's kissing cousin).
Sanctions, Anxiety, Horror Greet Crackdown
Extremely pleasurable to drink, zinfandel is a kissing cousin to Italy's primitivo.
Red, white and blush... Liquid news
Kissing Cousin: Ibrox new man Andrius Velicka has an embrace for hitman Daniel after his winning goal yesterday; Goal's just Kevin sent: Hitman Smith pounces on a fumble by normally-reliable keeper Allan McGregor to fire the opener for Rovers; Party time: Rovers celebrate Smith's strike; Wild Rover: Novo nets against his old club; Raging: Smith and McCoist watch on
SMITH'S FIFE SENTENCE; Rangers flops must get boss out of Euro jail
b f Kissing Cousin (1991, Danehill-First Kiss) Coronation S
World of breeding: Farewell Kris, a supreme miler and last of the British champion stallions
Behind all the rhetorical malarkey about the free market and its cultural kissing cousin, America's radical individualism, is a blunt refusal to respond to that difficult, dogged question asked by a guy named Cain, lo these many years ago: "Am I my brother's keeper?"
A failing grade on global trade: NAFTA's a disasta': what to do? More free trade, anyone?