to kiss the gunner's daughter
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
See GUNNER. To kiss the hare's foot See HARE. To kiss the rod. See ROD.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to kiss the gunner's daughter” mean?
See GUNNER. To kiss the hare's foot See HARE. To kiss the rod. See ROD.
Is “to kiss the gunner's daughter” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.