Meanings
plural Liverpool kisses · alternative Liverpool Kiss
- AustraliaNew ZealandUKslangA headbutt.
1992, Bryce Courtenay, Tandia, Volume 1, 2010, ReadHowYouWant, page 157, There wasn′t room to throw a punch so, grabbing the man by the lapels of his coat, he gave him a Liverpool kiss, his forehead smashing into his assailant′s face connecting with the edge of his brow and the base of his nose.
4 more examples
1957, Gerald Kersh, Fowler′s End, 2006, The Olympia Press, page 42, “This Irisher give ′im a Liverpool Kiss. You know what it is, a Liverpool Kiss? Make a quick grab for the lapels o′ the coat, an′ pull somebody forward. At the same time bunt ′im in the face miv the top o′ your ′ead an′ kick ′im in the balls miv your knee. Naturally ′e falls forward. While ′e′s falling, punch ′im in the jaw miv all your might so he gradually falls dahn senseless. Then, at your leisure, kick ′im in the ′ead. Naturally I don′t want you should do such things.... […] ″
Hamblyn flew into a rage and butted Alec in the face. The old Liverpool kiss!
1998, Jock Barnes, Never a White Flag: The Memoirs of Jock Barnes, page 146He often told people about the woman who had given him a Liverpool kiss. ‘What′s a Liverpool kiss?’ asked one unsuspecting drinking companion. ‘This,’ said Beer, butting him.
2001, Vaughan Tucker, Grubby the Eighth Dwarf, page 24Who would have thought you′d be reading about the classic Liverpool kiss in a game of squash. Poor old Anthony Hill never expected to read about it let alone be the victim of one. Pakistani squash player Mir Zaman Gul knocked Hill unconscious with his cowardly headbutt in a squash tournament.
2006, Stephen Hagan, Australia′s Blackest Sporting Moments: The Top 100, page 354
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From Liverpool (“city in England”) + kiss.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Liverpool kiss. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Liverpool%20kiss
“Liverpool kiss.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Liverpool%20kiss. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Liverpool kiss,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Liverpool%20kiss.
Source: Liverpool kiss on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.