shift

What it means

1. 1.

   To kiss someone at length, typically at a disco, a festival or a nightclub. Kissing only — despite the vagueness of the word, it stops there.

2. 2.

   As a noun: the kiss itself, or the person. 'He got the shift.'

In use

• Did you shift anyone?

  Note: Standard Monday-morning question among teenagers and students.

• They shifted at the debs and never spoke again.

Where it comes from

Irish teenage slang from the late twentieth century, probably from 'shifting' as in moving in on someone. The older regional word is 'meeting' — 'were you meeting anyone?' — which survives in parts of the country and confuses everyone else.

First attested: late 20th century

Other forms

Similar terms:

meet, get off with