Chapter Kirke's Lambs to Kit-cat Club of K by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Kirke's Lambs to Kit-cat Club

Kirke's Lambs The Queen's Royal West Surrey. Called “Kirke” from Piercy Kirke, their colonel, 1682- 1691; and “Lambs” from their badge, the Paschal Lamb, the crest of the house of Braganza, in compliment to Queen Catharine, to whom they were a guard of honour in her progress to London.

Kirkrapine (3 syl.). While Una was in the hut of Corcoca, Kirkrapine forced his way in; but the lion, springing on him, tore him to pieces. The meaning is that Romanism was increased by rapine, but the English lion at the Reformation put an end to the rapacity of monks. (Spenser: Faërie Queen, bk. i.)

Kismet The fulfilment of destiny. (Turkish, gismet, a lot.)

“The word kismet, which he scarcely comprehended before, seems now to be fraught with ... [meaning]. This is kismet; this is the fulfilment of destiny; this is to love.”- Nineteenth Century, February, 1892, p. 209.

Kiss as a mode of salutation, comes from its use to express reverence or worship. Thus to adore idols and to kiss idols mean the same thing. Indeed, the word adore signifies simply to carry the hand to the mouth, that is, to kiss it to the idol. We still kiss the hand in salutation. Various parts of the body are kissed to distinguish the character of the adoration paid. Thus, to kiss the lips is to adore the living breath of the person saluted; to kiss the feet or ground is to humble oneself in adoration; to kiss the garments is to express veneration to whatever belongs to or touches the person who wears them. “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry” (Ps. ii. 12), means Worship the Son of God. Pharaoh tells Joseph, “Thou shalt be over my house, and upon thy mouth shall all my people kiss,” meaning they shall reverence the commands of Joseph by kissing the roll on which his commands would be written. “Samuel poured oil on Saul, and kissed him,” to acknowledge subjection to God's anointed (1 Sam. x. 1). In the Hebrew state, this mode of expressing reverence arose from the form of government established, whether under the patriarchal or matrimonial figure.
   A Judas kiss. An act of treachery. The allusion is to the apostle Judas, who betrayed his Master with a kiss.

Kiss Hands (To). To kiss the hand of the sovereign either on accepting or retiring from a high government office. (See Kiss .)

“Kissing the hand to the statute of a god was a Roman form of adoration.”- Spencer: Principles of Sociology, vol. ii. part iv. chap. 6, p. 123.

Kiss the Book After taking a legal oath, we are commanded to kiss the book, which in our English courts is the New Testament, except when Jews “are sworn in.” This is the kiss of confirmation or promise to act in accordance with the words of the oath (Moravians and Quakers are not required to take legal oaths). The kiss, in this case, is a public acknowledgment that you adore the deity whose book you kiss, as a worshipper.
   It is now permitted to affirm, if persons like to do so. Mr. Bradlaugh refused to take an oath, and after some years of contention the law was altered.

Kiss the Dust To die, or to be slain. In Psalm lxxii. 9 it is said, “his enemies shall lick the dust.”

Kiss the Hare's Foot (To). To be late or too late for dinner. The hare has run away, and you are only in time to “kiss” the print of his foot. A common proverb.

“You must kiss the hare's foot; post festum venisti.”- Cole: Dictionary.

Kiss the Mistress (To). To make a good hit, to shoot right into the eye of the target. In bowls, what we now call the Jack used to be called the “mistress,” and when one ball just touches another it is said “to kiss it.” To kiss the Mistress or Jack is to graze another bowl with your own.

“Rub on, and kiss the mistress.”- Shakespeare. Troilus and Cressida, iii. 2.

Kiss the Rod (To). To submit to punishment or misfortune meekly and without murmuring.

Kiss behind the Garden Gate (A). A pansy. A practical way of saying “Pensez de moi, ” the flower- language of the pansy.

Kiss given to a Poet Margaret, daughter of James I. of Scotland and wife of Louis XI. (when only dauphin), kissed the mouth of Alain Chartier “for uttering so many fine things.” Chartier, however, was a decidedly