Tussie-mussie
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A nosegay given by one person to another to convey a message in the language of flowers. historical
"Seruia, Plinio, Sertum è floribus, pastillus è floribus fartus. […] Vn bouquet. A garland of flowers: a nosegay: a tuzziemuzzie: a sweete posie."
- 2 The pudendum muliebre. euphemistic, historical, humorous, vulgar
"We got as thick as we could be, And every night drank strong bohea; Says he, ‘You shall be my son-in-law, And marry the Princess Washy Taw–’ Says I, ‘Your majesty, hold your jaw! I will accept the Princess Paw— With her tuzzy muzzy, hoki poki, hunky nunky, roki boki, pulka wulka, joki koki, All in the Tongo Islands."
Example
More examples"Seruia, Plinio, Sertum è floribus, pastillus è floribus fartus. […] Vn bouquet. A garland of flowers: a nosegay: a tuzziemuzzie: a sweete posie."
Etymology
From Scottish Gaelic tùs f (“nice smell, incense”) and debatable second part, a mere reduplication, or mùsg (“musk”) for a moschate flower, or mùisear (“primrose”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.