Tongue-in-cheek phrase appears in 1828 in "The Fair Maid of Perth" by Sir Walter Scott: It's not clear how Scott intended readers to understand the phrase. The more modern ironic sense appears in the 1842 poem "The Ingoldsby Legends" by the English clergyman Richard Barham, in which a Frenchman inspects a watch and cries: The ironic usage originates with the idea of suppressed mirth—biting one's tongue to prevent an outburst of laughter. Tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a mock serious manner. The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern
Cheek kissing in the southern parts of France, even between males, be they relatives or friends, whereas in the north (Langue-d'oïl France), it is less usual for two unrelated males to perform ′"la bise"′. In the Netherlands and Belgium, cheek kissing is a common greeting between relatives and friends (in the Netherlands slightly more so in the south). Generally speaking, women will kiss both women and men, while men will kiss women but refrain from kissing other men, instead preferring to shake hands with strangers. In the Netherlands and the Dutch part of Belgium usually three kisses are exchanged. The same number