Making out is a term of American origin dating back to at least 1949,[1] and is used to refer to kissing, including extended French kissing or necking[2] (heavy kissing of the neck, and above),[3] or to acts of non-penetrative sex such as heavy petting ("intimate contact, just short of sexual intercourse"[2]).[3][4] Equivalent terms in other dialects include the British English getting off and the Hiberno-English shifting.[5] When performed in a stationary vehicle, it has been euphemistically referred to as parking,[6][7] coinciding with American car culture.
- ^ Lief, Harold I. (1975). Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality: 750 Questions Answered by 500 Authorities. Williams & Wilkins. p. 242.
Among the city kids of 13 to 17 who live along the Boston, New York, Philadelphia string, "making out" is heavy petting.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Breed-1956was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Bolin, Anne (1999). Perspectives on Human Sexuality. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 222. ISBN 0-7914-4133-4.
Making out usually refers to kissing or passionate physical contact, but it also may escalate into petting.
- ^ Partridge, Eric (2006). The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. New York: Routledge. p. 1259. ISBN 0-415-25938-X.
- ^ O'Connell, Jennifer (December 15, 2014). "Don't mind us: Jennifer O'Connell on the marvels of Hiberno-English". The Irish Times. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
- ^ Lindeke, Bill (September 17, 2015). "The unwritten rules of making out in parks". MinnPost. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Olsen, Hannah Brooks (September 28, 2015). "How to Hook Up in Public". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2018.