Etymology and meaning of the word "snog"

Solution 1:

The phonosemantics of sn-initial words includes two body-part foci, of which one is

• Nose, Mouth, and Respiration (snooze sniff sneeze snort snore snuff)

Snog 'kiss', and its attendant courtship metaphors, like flirting, fits right into this frame. It's not a part of my idiolect, however, and I didn't include it in my database. So the numbers in the link are off by one; with the addition of snog, the page should read

• SN- 39 out of 45 coherent assonances

  • A. Nose (20

Thank you.

Solution 2:

Eric Partridge, in his A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, offers these definitions:

snog n. A flirtation; a courting: esp. among beatniks: since ca. 1959 (Anderson.) Ex:
snog v. To flirt, or to court, esp. in be or come or go snogging: beatniks', adopted, ca. 1959, ex general s. (Anderson.)

Richard Spears, in Slang and Euphemism lists

snog to neck; to kiss and caress. For synonyms, see FIRKYTOODLE [British slang, 1900s]

He defines firkytoodle as "sexual play, sexual foreplay" and lists dozens of synonyms, including canoodle, love up, and spoon.