cousin Idiome

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Kissing cousin

A kissing cousin is someone you are related to, but not closely.

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first cousin|cousin|first

n. The child of your aunt or uncle. Tom's only first cousin was Ralph, the son of his Uncle John.

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second cousin|cousin|second

n. A child of your father's or mother's first cousin. Mary and Jane are second cousins.

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country cousin

country cousin
One whose lack of sophistication or rural ways may amuse or embarrass city dwellers. For example, The sightseeing guide geared his tour toward country cousins who had never been to a large city before. This term, which literally means “a cousin who lives in the country,” has been used in this figurative way since the second half of the 1700s, although the idea is much older (such persons were stock figures of fun in Restoration comedies of the late 1600s and early 1700s).

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cousin

cousin
see country cousin; first cousin; kissing cousins; second cousin.

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first cousin

first cousin
A close relation or resemblance to someone or something, as in This new machine is a first cousin to the previous model. The figurative use of cousin, which literally means “the child of one's aunt or uncle,” dates from the 1300s.

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kissing cousins

kissing cousins
Two or more things that are closely akin or very similar. For example, They may be made by different manufacturers, but these two cars are kissing cousins. This metaphoric term alludes to a distant relative who is well known enough to be greeted with a kiss. [c. 1930]

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second cousin

second cousin
Something that is related or similar but not quite the same, as in This beef stew is second cousin to boeuf bourguignon. This expression transfers the literal sense of second cousin—that is, the child of the first cousin of one's mother or father—a usage dating from the mid-1600s.