Kissing Tropes

You can kiss me in the moonlight
on the rooftop under the sky
You can kiss me with windows open
while the rain comes pouring inside
Kiss me in sweet slow motion
Let's let everything slide
You got me floating
You got me flying...

— Faith Hill, "This Kiss"

So many types of kisses, so little time. They can make shippers Squee or burst into tears. Every show plays with The Kiss in different ways. When there is an interruption, it becomes a Moment Killer. Here are some of the most common.

Also see Love Tropes.

Not to be confused with the rock band.

• Accidental Kiss: A person kisses someone without intending to.
• Almost Kiss: Two characters get close to kissing before something interrupts them.
• Anticipatory Breath Spray: A person uses breath spray in anticipation of getting a kiss.
• Anticipatory Lipstick: A character applies lipstick in an attempt to kiss a (usually unwilling) target.
• Anywhere but Their Lips: A person is kissed anywhere on their body except their lips.
• Awkward Kiss: A kiss that is not romantic or passionate.
• Beach Kiss: A couple share a passionate kiss on the beach.
• The Big Damn Kiss: A grandiose kiss scene.
• Concert Kiss: Two people kiss on stage in front of an audience.
• Covered in Kisses: A person gets kissed a lot and ends up covered with lipstick markings.
• Dude, She's Like in a Coma: Kissing someone who is unconscious.
• Drugged Lipstick: A character kisses someone while wearing lipstick with some sort of drug or poison in it.
• Fake First Kiss: Two characters share their first kiss for no romantic reasons.
• Fake-Out Make-Out: Two characters kiss each other as a way to distract someone.
• First Kiss: A character has their first kiss, and it's usually treated as Serious Business.
• Foot Popping: A person raises their leg while kissing.
• Forceful Kiss: Making someone kiss you against their will.
• Foreign Farewell: A character kisses another character, claiming that it's part of their foreign custom and not romantic.
• Held Gaze: Two people stare deeply into each other's eyes before or after kissing.
• Hollywood Kiss: A fictional perfect portrayal of two people kissing.
• I Kiss Your Foot: Kissing someone on top of their foot.
• I Kiss Your Hand: Kissing someone on top of their hand.
• Indirect Kiss: Two people kiss without any direct physical contact.
• Intimate Healing: Healing someone in a romantic or sexual way.
• Kiss Diss: Two characters are about to kiss until one of them turns away at the last moment.
• Kiss of the Vampire: Vampires try to romance their bite victims to make the bite better for them.
• Kissed Keepsake: Not wanting to wash a part of your body that was kissed by your crush.
• Kissing Discretion Shot: When two characters are about to kiss, the scene cuts away before we actually see it.
• Kiss-Kiss-Slap: Couples kissing before fighting each other.
• Kissing In A Tree: Childishly mocking people who are in a relationship or seem to be in a relationship.
• Kissing the Ground: A character is so happy to be back on the ground that they start kissing it.
• Kissing Under the Influence: Two characters kiss due to the influence of a mind-altering substance.
• Kiss Up the Arm: Kissing someone up their arm.
• Kissing Warm-Up: A character practices their kissing skills while alone.
• Kiss of Death: A kiss that causes death.
• Kiss of Distraction: A character kisses someone in order to distract them.
• Kiss of Life: Reviving a character with CPR also counts as a kiss.
• Last Kiss: Two lovers have one final kiss before one or both of them dies.
• Lip-Lock Sun-Block: Two characters are framed on either side of a light source until their kiss blocks the light.
• Lipstick Mark: Lipstick on your collarbone or cheek reveals an affair.
• Literal Ass-Kissing: Literally kissing a person's ass.
• A Magic Contract Comes with a Kiss: A character enters a contract with a powerful being and finds out they have to seal the deal with a kiss.
• Magic Kiss: A kiss that has supernatural effects.
• Make-Out Kids: A couple that can't go more than a few seconds without getting physically affectionate.
• Make-Out Point: A place where teenagers go to kiss.
• Motivational Kiss: The Hero's Love Interest kisses them in order to give them the courage they need to get through the danger ahead of them.
• Mouth-to-Mouth Force-Feeding: A character uses a kiss to force another person to swallow a drug/poison that they otherwise would not have.
• New Year's Kiss: Locking lips to celebrate New Year's Eve.
• Non-Standard Kiss: A kiss that does not involve the use of mouths.
• Now or Never Kiss: Characters kiss and confess their love for each other in a moment where they think they're about to die.
• Official Kiss: Two characters kiss to signal their Relationship Upgrade.
• Orbital Kiss: A couple kisses as the camera rotates around them.
• Pink Is Erotic: The color pink is used to indicate arousal, attraction, eroticism, and scenes of a sexual nature.
• Platonic Kissing: Two characters kiss for non-romantic reasons.
• Post-Kiss Catatonia: A character is in shock after being kissed by their love.
• Practice Kiss: Two people who are not in a relationship decide to kiss each other as practice for real relationships.
• Projectile Kiss: A character blows a kiss towards their crush.
• Reunion Kiss: Two characters who have been separated for a long time share a kiss.
• Sacred First Kiss: A character treats their First Kiss as Serious Business.
• Sealed with a Kiss: The Official Couple gets The Big Damn Kiss near or at the end of the story.
• "Shut Up" Kiss: A character kisses another character while they are talking.
• Signed with a Kiss: A character sends another character a letter or gift with a kiss mark.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: Characters in love argue with each other then begin to kiss.
• Sleight of Tongue: Secretly passing an object to someone via a kiss.
• Smooch of Victory: The winner gets a kiss.
• Spaghetti Kiss: Two people eating spaghetti or noodles end up kissing each other because they were slurping up the same strand of pasta.
• Spin the Bottle: A game where a group of people take turns spinning a bottle and have to make out with whoever the bottle ends up pointing at.
• Spit-Trail Kiss: Two people leave a strand of saliva between their mouths after they kiss.
• Sweeps Week Lesbian Kiss: Ads promoting the work show two women kissing, even though they're not lesbians.
• "Take That!" Kiss: Kissing or pretending to kiss a person to mock them.
• Terror at Make-Out Point: A teenage couple witness a horror at Make-Out Point.
• Test Kiss: Two characters kiss in order to see if they would work as a couple.
• Tonight, Someone Kisses: A trailer for a piece of media that advertises two characters will kiss.
• True Love's Kiss: Lovers share a kiss that cures a problem/causes a miracle to happen.
• Under the Mistletoe: The Christmas tradition of having to kiss another person when the two of you are standing under mistletoe.
• Underwater Kiss: Two characters kiss while underwater.
• The V-J Day Kiss: A parody of the famous photograph of a soldier kissing a woman in the street on V-Day, 1945.

---