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The phrase “kiss of death” can mean an event leading to ruin or a literal kiss indicating serious future troubles, often used in organized crime. It can also be used as an idiom, such as a politician receiving support from a group with a bad reputation.
The phrase “kiss of death” can be used in a couple of different ways. It can be used as an idiom, or a figurative expression, meaning an event or action that leads to ruin. It can also be used to describe a kiss that an organized crime boss might give another person, particularly when organized crime bosses are depicted in movies and books. In such a case, a hard kiss is usually applied to the recipient’s cheek or mouth as an indication that the boss is planning to kill the recipient or arrange to have him killed in the near future. In both cases, it is easy to deduce that the meaning of the sentence is negative precisely from the inclusion of the word “death” in the sentence.
The most common use of the phrase “kiss of death” is as an idiom. In this case, a person uses the phrase to indicate that an event has led to a negative outcome. Less often, this phrase is used to mean a literal kiss. If so, the kiss described is applied to a recipient’s cheek or mouth and indicates serious future troubles. When applied by a person in organized crime, especially someone in a position of authority, it usually means that an attempt will be made to kill the recipient of the kiss.
As an example of how the phrase “kiss of death” can be used as an idiom, an individual might consider a politician who has just received public support from an individual or group with a bad reputation. If the individual or group is held in low esteem by the people most likely to vote for the politician, this endorsement could be termed the “kiss of death” for his or her chances of getting elected. Likewise, the same effect could occur if voters learn of a criminal record in a politician’s past. In fact, even revealing a history of questionable behavior or decisions can kill a politician’s chances of getting elected.
An example of a kiss of death related to organized crime might involve a criminal you previously trusted as part of a gang of criminals. If a person in authority discovers that this criminal has betrayed others in the group, he may kiss the person’s cheek or mouth, which indicates that he is likely to suffer an attempt on his life. This type of kiss is often depicted in books and films about organized crime.
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