I Kiss Your Hand

Ask Me No More by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

A male character takes the hand of a woman (often his Love Interest) and kisses it as a mark of respect. Used to portray the man as particularly romantic, chivalrous, foreign, or just a bit old-fashioned.

In modern times this can come across as rather creepy, especially if the guy doesn't know the woman very well. For this reason, it is sometimes done by sleazy villains in order to show up the less 'cultured' hero. In such cases, a lady will occasionally be seen to withdraw her hand before it can be kissed or even making it awkward for the man to try by offering her hand palm sideways, thumb up, fingers straight as if to insist on only a handshake.

The etiquette and protocol for the hand kiss is a laundry list longer than the rules for the game of Fizzbin. For example, one may only kiss the hand of a woman who specifically offers her hand for this purpose. One may only kiss the hand of a married woman and never outdoors (although both rules are frequently broken in fiction). There are also different ways to kiss a lady's hand based on whether or not you're meeting her for the first time. A gloved hand may not be kissed (unless it is an opera-style arm-length glove). Also, the lips are not supposed to actually touch her hand at all. Some mention that the gentleman is allegedly supposed to kiss his own thumb where it is gripping her hand. As confusing and inconsistent the rules are, it's no surprise that they are seldom, if ever followed in fiction (or even real life for that matter), unless absolute historical accuracy (or just the appearance of it) is a priority. Historians debate as to whether these rules were ever consistently followed. It's unlikely since Europe is a fairly big and diverse place. And unless one is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (which itself is known for allegedly being historically accurate except where it's inconvenient), you may not have realized that there were any rules at all.

Does not usually qualify as a First Kiss (or a Last Kiss for that matter), but may if the character is depicted as so reserved this is the deepest expression of emotion he will allow. May therefore be a case of Anywhere but Their Lips.

When a character kisses his own hand, it's a Kissing Warm-Up. When the hand is only the beginning, it's Kiss Up the Arm. Contrast with I Kiss Your Foot.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• A non-romantic example occurs in Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE- when Fay pledges to serve Sakura in Infinity country. Despite initially appearing romantic, the actual intent of this gesture is a lot darker: Fay's actually distancing himself from his True Companions.
• Another non-romantic CLAMP example, Eriol kisses Sakura's hand (in Cardcaptor Sakura) after helping her finish a teddy bear. Because Eriol is an English exchange student, this comes off as very chivalric and gentlemanly — and pisses the hell out of Syaoran, Sakura's would-be love interest.
• Yet another CLAMP example! This time somewhat romantic, in a horrible screwed-up kind of way: In Tokyo Babylon, Seishirou Sakurazuka kisses Subaru's hands when he first meets him, leaving the mark of the Sakurazukamori on the backs of his hands.
• Again in Magic Knight Rayearth with Ferio and Fuu. CLAMP really loves this trope.
• Princess Tutu
  • Mytho kisses the title character's hand before asking her "what do you think of me?"
  • And in the second season, the foppish and delusional Femio does this to Kraehe.
• Done by the ridiculously over the top Tamaki in Ouran High School Host Club. In episode 9 Benio does this to Haruhi as well.
• Kon (in Ichigo's body) pulls the whole "gentleman" act on Orihime in an early episode of Bleach, and kisses her hand, which prompts everybody in the classroom to flip out. He makes things worse by kissing Tatsuki on the cheek, which causes her to start throwing heavy objects at him.
• Played with in the Get Backers manga. Amon goes to kiss Kazuki's hand...but nobody told him Kazuki was a guy until Juubei had already skewered him.
• Each of the Rozen Maiden dolls has a rose ring. Mediums pledge to serve them by kissing the ring, which causes an identical ring to appear on their finger, marking them as a Medium. To release the Medium from their service, the doll must kiss the ring the Medium wears.
• Subverted in The Familiar of Zero: Queen Henrietta offers Saito her hand to kiss, but Saito — being from modern Japan (though this really shouldn't be an excuse) — misunderstands what is meant by "kiss" and instead sweeps the queen off her feet in a deep embrace and kiss that leaves her stunned.
• George De Sand of Mobile Fighter G Gundam does this to his princess Marie-Louise a lot. She returns the favor in the finale by giving him a kiss... on the cheek. He also does that to Rain once, before they leave the Guyana Highlands.
• In Ranma ½, this is Mikado Sanzenin's opening move on any (attractive) woman he meets; since he's charming and handsome, most girls consider it romantic. Akane's reaction when he tried it on her (if Ranma hadn't interrupted) would have been to sock him in the jaw.
• Jack Atlas of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds does this with his adoptive mother, Martha, to put an amusing spin on his obvious king complex.
• In Sailor Moon, before Helios has to return home, he kisses Chibi-Usa's hand while on his knees in a true gentlemanly fashion.
• Raphael in Angel Sanctuary does this. Often. It tends to give him the results he wants, too, until he ends up in a Love Triangle, that is.
• Gankutsuou
  • In the first episode, when being introduced to the Marchioness, Albert kisses her hand.
  • In the eighth episode, the Count does this to Albert's mother as a greeting.
• When he tells Taki he is leaving with him, Klaus kisses Taki's hand for the first time at the beginning of Maiden Rose. Afterwards, it becomes an outward symbol of Klaus' fealty as a knight and a pretty thinly-veiled way of secretly acknowledging their relationship.
• Gender-flipped in DearS, where Ren kneels before Takeya, kisses his hand, then kisses his lips. No, it's not for romantic reasons. Ren is giving herself to Takeya as a slave.
• In Black Butler, Viscount Druitt kisses Ciel's hand when he meets him at the party, mistaking him for a girl. Ciel was cross-dressing and wore a wig at the time, so it was an easy mistake to make.
  • Sebastian kisses Ciel's hand in a flashback from the manga.
• In Revolutionary Girl Utena Touga once does this to the eponymous Utena.

• Saint Beast: Judas does this as obeisance to Zeus.
• In Haou Airen, Hakuron and Fuuron's first meeting has them sealing their alliance via Fuuron going down on one knee and kissing Hakuron's hand. It's not exactly romantic, but there is quite a bit of Ho Yay-tastic vibes.
• In Sweet Guilty Love Bites, Mayu delivers this to Nina, to the latter's embarrassment.
• In Dear Brother, Mariko does this to Fukiko during the Sorority initiation ceremony. Apparently, it's part of the etiquette during said acts; when Nanako doesn't do anything similar due to being distracted after the Fingore incident involving Rei, Fukiko says nothing, but it's clear that she's pretty angry and surprised. At the end of the episode, Nanako has a nightmare in which she does kiss Fukiko's hand... and then is maimed by her with a pointy kenzan.
• Im At End Of Your Sight: Dong-ha kisses Je-Hyang's hand after the latter calls him up after an argument.
• During a bout of teasing in Spice and Wolf Lawrence kisses Holo's hand and says, "Now you're under my spell." A reaction shot revealed she was indeed charmed.
• In an early episode of GoLion, the Earth pilots kiss Princess Fala's hand to pledge allegiance to Altea and join the fight against the Galra Empire.
• In Yuri!!! on Ice, when Yuri asks Viktor to coach him until he retires, Viktor kisses his hand and jokes that it sounds like a marriage proposal. He does it again after they get engaged.
• Used to compare and contrast the relationships of the Alsvieth family line in Crimson Spell. During his time as a Court Mage, Halceles is shown kneeling to give King Fleivangr a traditional kiss on the knuckles, demonstrating his loyalty and Courtly Love. When Prince Valdrigr offers his hand to Halvir, invoking the respectful version, Havi flips it upwards and gives him a more unusual and intimate kiss on the palm.

  Halvir: I am not your underling. This is a kiss of promise. I promise you that I will surely break your curse.

• The Case Files of Jeweler Richard: After watching Richard and Jeffrey kiss Henry's signet ring as a show of loyalty to the new Earl, Seigi decides to get on one knee and kiss Richard's hand to signify his devotion to Richard, which Richard returns without kneeling once Seigi stands up.

Comic Books

• Ollie Queen (Green Arrow) does it from time to time — but as he's basically Errol Flynn crossed with Abbie Hoffman, he pulls it off.
• Supergirl:
  • In Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl, Lex Luthor kissed Barbara Gordon's hand during a ceremony. As soon as he turned around, Barbara wiped her hand, disgusted.
  • Supergirl (2005): In an early issue, Power Boy kisses Supergirl's hand, who seems pretty puzzled about the gesture.
• Lucky Luke: Played with in the album Calamity Jane, where Jane must learn to behave like a lady, so she gets provided with a good-manners teacher. As soon she meets with him, she whacks him (as if hits him and not kills him off-panel), and then explains: "This one wanted to lick my hand!"
• Subverted in the second Grendel comic book series, with Christine Spar as the title character. She meets Tujiro IVX, who takes her hand as if to kiss it, then extends a tongue to lick her palm. He's a Chinese Vampire and tracks his prey using a variation of clairvoyance based on taste.
• Rogue of the X-Men, occasionally finds herself the recipient of a kiss on her hand. Gambit, Nightcrawler, and a few other good friends have been known to do this for her. Unfortunately, because of her dangerous mutant ability, Rogue still has to leave her gloves on. But to her, it's the thought that counts.
  • It should be mentioned that this used to be a signature move for Nightcrawler with most women he met. It disappeared during his priesthood days for obvious reasons.
• In The Sandman (1989), Dream kisses the gloved hand of his beloved older sister Death in one scene. Because she is Death, this is the only gesture of physical affection he can make toward her without unfortunate results.
• The Penguin does this when meeting with Mercy Graves to arrange business with Lex Luthor in the midst of Batman: No Man's Land. Mercy doesn't show any disgust, but given it's the Penguin and the fact that she seemed to take great pleasure in killing off his cohort when he showed up to threaten Luthor later on, it can be surmised she wasn't terribly fond of it.

Comic Strips

• In a Peanuts strip, Frieda tells Linus that she thinks that his security blanket is a good idea. He's so grateful that he kisses her hand. Frieda attributes this to her naturally curly hair.
• In a series of Calvin and Hobbes strips, Calvin loses Hobbes. When Susie finds him, Calvin kisses her hand out of gratitude, despite his firm belief that Girls Have Cooties. And also to hide the fact that he's stealing her cookies.
• In Garfield, Garfield refuses to do it for Arlene:
  Arlene: It is customary, in human circles, to kiss a lady's hand.
  Garfield: You're not a human. And that's not a hand. That's a hairy paw.

Fan Works

• In Your Servant, Mistress, an all-human Maleficent fanfic, Maleficent gracefully allows Diaval to kiss her hand. He is a submissive in the fic, and she doesn't like to be touched, so it's something of a mixture of reasons.
• Children of an Elder God: In chapter Kaji 4 kissed Ritsuko's hand when he met her. In reaction, she laughed and withdrew her hand.
  "Ah, Ritsuko, as beautiful as ever," said Kaji smoothly. He took her hand in his and kissed it.
• Evangelion 303: At the end of a date in chapter 9, Kaworu kissed Rei's hand.
• In Kyon: Big Damn Hero Kyon, wearing a Victorian-style suit, plays along with Yuki's, wearing an Elegant Gothic Lolita outfit, offer of tea making this gesture. His lips don't actually touch Yuki's hand, though.
• Last Child of Krypton: In the redux Kaworu kissed Asuka's hand as soon as he met her, believing he was being chivalrous. However he came across as decidedly creepy, and Asuka felt very freaked out and repulsed. She withdrew her hand, warning him to not touch her again.
• Midnight Green: Zebra Mask kisses the hoof of, of all ponies, Pinkie Pie.
• Ace Combat: The Equestrian War: In the epilogue, Mobius kisses Rainbow Dash's hoof. Sky Eye explains that it means Mobius considers Rainbow his equal.
• In Time Heals All Wounds Bill Weasley kisses Fleur Delacour's hand when he sees her in the hospital wing after the third Triwizard task.
• In an untitled RWBY drabble, Jaune does this to Pyrrha as a symbol of his respect for her. The kiss is chaste and gentle, unlike the next one.
• In Opening Dangerous Gates:
  • Lyon kisses Juvia's hand while hitting on her, pissing Gray off.
  • After the redwood tree demon is defeated, an old man from the village they saved enthusiastically thanks them and kisses Erza and Laxus' hands, to Laxus' disgust.
  • When his work is done, Urahara gives some comforting words to Levy and kisses her hand before departing. Gajeel doesn't take it well.
• Used in a non-romantic way in Shadow and Rose, when the companions are saying farewell before the final battle. Alistair is tongue-tied about what to say to Wynne, his mother figure, so he does this instead.
• Meeting Someone New has a romantic female-on-male example.
• In Olivia Goes West, when Fievel and Olivia have confessed their feelings for each other, she allows him to kiss her hand, considering that to be appropriate for the time being, because she figures that first they have to gain her father's acceptance before they can be a couple and kiss each other.
• Very common between Suzaku and Lelouch in fanart, since Suzaku is a knight and Lelouch is a (somewhat feminine) prince.
• Roanapur Connection: Well ring instead of hand as Balaprada has Nathan do as a sign of respect and hinted to be teasing between the two who have known each other for a long time and Balaprada noted earlier of having taught Nathan. Which Ganabati notes as odd due to Indian culture often not involving the touching of hands at all. Which he puts down to Balaprada picking it up due to living in the west and taking to it more than her husband.
• Dorian does it to Victoria in All This Sh*t is Twice as Weird, promising to take a rain check on her invitation to have a drink with her and Mahanon. It's mostly a gesture of affection (they are developing a Like Brother and Sister friendship), but it's also a subtle bit of trolling because they have a particular observer.
  • Grand Duke Gaspard also does it to the Lady Inquisitor at the Winter Palace ball, upon meeting her for the first time.
• Ask Her Lustrousness, Yellow Diamond: Dewey does this to Bella/Yellow Diamond when bidding her farewell after their time at the pizza place. Cue a frozen Bella.
• Sunsplit Saga: In "Sunsplit", after Twilight promises something very important to Sunburst, he does this, or I Kiss Your Foot, as hooves serve as both, and it's not mentioned which one he's kissing, and then Starlight walks in:
  "...why is Sunburst kissing your hoof?"
  "...Princess," the stallion said with utmost sincerity, "please just kill me now."
• In Fermeture, Adrien kisses Marinette's hand after the reveal, the way he did as Chat Noir.
• Adventures of a Super Family: As handing a business card to Superwoman and reiterating that his job offer remains open, Lex Luthor kisses her gloved hand. Superwoman manages to stop herself from wiping her hand on her cape, but she resolves to burn her glove along with his card when she is out of sight.
• Bleach Zero: Strawberry and the Red Knight: When the British Mordred is rude to Orihime Inoue, she apologizes and kisses Orihime's hand. Orihime and Ichigo Kurosaki freak out and are very confused because that is not normal in Japan.
• Children of Remnant: When Jaune meets his birth family for the first time in fifteen years, his sister's wife is very impressed that he's a prince now. He politely kisses her hand, and she blushes.
• LadyBugOut: Chat Noir introduces himself to the new Bee heroine by kissing Fukiya's hand, much to her disgust. Heavy Matal reluctantly asks if he plans to do the same to his other new cohorts, sheepishly adding that he's not comfortable with that since he has a girlfriend.
• Naru-Hina Chronicles: Rock Lee does this to Arekusu when he meets her for the first time.
• Fate Revelation Online: When Klein is formally introduced to Ilya, she "graciously allows" him to kiss her hand. Klein double-checks with Shirou that yes, this is really happening, then does so.
  Ilya: And my foot—
  Shirou: Ilya.
  Ilya: I was just joking, Shirou!

Films — Animation

• Robin Hood and Little John make do with this trope and a little flattering to take the jewels off Prince John's rings. Prince John learns from his mistake and pulls his hand away the next time Little John tries kissing it.
• It's easy to miss but at the end of Brave, when the clans are returning to their homes, one of the clan leaders' sons can be seen kissing Merida's hand as they prepare to leave. Given that Merida and all three of the sons agreed that they weren't ready to be married, it likely was meant as a sign of friendship or respect (she's still, after all, the king's daughter).
• Played for Laughs in The Swan Princess when Derek and Odette, who are betrothed, meet as children. Derek's mom forces him to kiss Odette's hand. She looks like she might punch him for trying, and afterwards he immediately wipes his mouth in disgust.
  "If you make me kiss her hand again I swear I'm gonna be sick."
• In The Boxtrolls, Eggs tries to blend in at a fancy party by kissing a lady's hand. Then he starts licking her hand, and she backs away in disgust.
• Batman: Gotham by Gaslight. Bruce Wayne does this on meeting Selina Kyle, in this continuity an ex-circus performer-turned-cabaret dancer. She mentions later that she should have realised his Secret Identity then and there because he had the calluses of a trapeze artist.

Films — Live-Action

• Annie Laurie: The rather effete Donald Campbell makes a big show of kissing Annie's hand. She is not impressed, saying "I do not like your soft London manners!" (The film is set in 17th-century Scotland.) This is to show Donald as the Romantic False Lead and contrast him with buff, manly Ian, Annie's true love.
• In The Gay Divorcee, the lyrics of "The Continental" call for the dancers to kiss, as demonstrated by dozens of chorus members. When Guy and Mimi reach this point in their dance, he kisses her hand instead.
• Highlander. Mr. Basset's foppish manservant kisses his hand every time Basset (supposedly) kills Duncan during their duel. Though the first time Basset is actually blocking the manservant from kissing him on the mouth.
• George kisses Mary's hand while walking her home from the high-school dance in It's a Wonderful Life.
• Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation: Outside the opera, someone greets the Austrian chancellor's wife by tapping her hand with the tip of his nose. Unusually for this trope, this is actually Truth in Television in Real Life Austria.
• Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show does this to Janet.
• Titanic (1997)
  • Jack kisses Rose's hand when he meets them in the first-class dining room for dinner, followed by the impish grin and the confession: "I saw that in a nickelodeon once and always wanted to do it."
  • A Gender Flipped example happens at the end of the movie. But then, the guy had just died.
• In the movie Gladiator, after the suspicious death of the previous emperor, Marcus Aurelius, Lucilla kisses the hands of the next emperor, Commodus (right after slapping him) in a pledge of loyalty. The gesture of kissing the hand derives from ancient pledges of fealty, so it is appropriate in that context.
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: Lando Calrissian's greeting to Princess Leia, establishing just how smooth and charming he can be, especially compared to his old friend Han Solo.
• Gangs of New York: Bill the Butcher kisses the hand of an uptown girl visiting the sleazy Five Points, complimenting her perfume. He's a corrupt murderous gang leader with class.
• Preston Preston, the villain of Young Einstein, does this to Marie Curie. It's played for creepiness here.
• In Sherlock Holmes (2009), Holmes does this to Watson's wife-to-be Mary upon meeting her. It's probably intended on his part to be a bit unsettling, given that he spends the entirety of their meeting trying to drive her and Watson apart.
• In The Queen, Tony Blair is depicted as actually kissing Her Maj's hand. This is a faux pas since the custom is supposed to be done symbolically, by holding her hand and bowing over it. None of this has anything to do with real life.
• In The Godfather, the Don's men kiss his hand. At the end of the movie, watching Michael Corleone's men kiss his hand causes his wife Kay to realise she's married to the new Godfather.
• Gender-flipped in the film Tuesdays with Morrie, when he was struggling to breathe and the EMS were tending to him, his wife kissed his hand to assure him that things will be all right.
• In Le Gendarme se marie, when Cruchot (Louis de Funès) kisses the hand of his future wife Josépha, electric sparks fly off — twice. Puzzled, Adjudant Gerber wonders whether Cruchot is full of static electricity, and commands him to kiss his own hands to test it out, to no result. That's when the other gendarmes walk in...
• In Daens, Priest Ponnet is more than eager to kiss Bishop Stillemans' ring. Leads to Stillemans taking the ring off and giving it to Ponnet for a week, so he can kiss it as much as he wants.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • Thor:
    • Anytime Thor kisses Jane's hand. Particularly the first time, since it was after Thor was causing nothing but trouble for Jane, and Jane decides she can't be involved anymore and apologizes for being unable to take him where he wants to go, he thanks her for everything she's done for him and just kisses her hand — to which she responds by giggling like a schoolgirl.
    • And also in The Big Damn Kiss where Thor and Jane lean forward to kiss, only for Thor to hesitate and kiss her hand instead. Jane pulls him into a kiss anyway.
  • Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). The Collector does this to Gamora on first meeting her. It's only a light peck, but it adds to the creepy vibe.
  • Avengers: Infinity War: Vision is fond of kissing Wanda's hands. Since they're already together, it falls straight into the "sweet" category.
• A non-romantic version in X-Men: First Class, with adoptive siblings Charles Xavier and Raven/Mystique when Mystique has decided to leave with Magneto and the injured Charles kisses her hand in farewell.
• Congo. When Dr. Karen Ross holds out her hand for a handshake Captain Wanta raises it to his lips, only for her to yank back her hand.
• In Troy, as a peace offering, King Priam kisses both of Achilles' hands, then remarks, "I have endured what no man has endured before. I kissed the hands of the man who killed my son."
• In City Lights, a slightly punch-drunk Tramp does this to his trainer in a boxing match thinking he's the blind flower girl.
• Mädchen in Uniform: Done by Manuela towards Fräulein von Bernburg and done when she performs in the school play (the film is set in an all-female Prussian boarding school).
• Bullshot. The Comedic Hero and the Damsel in Distress fall in Love at First Sight the moment they lay eyes on each other in a restaurant. Orchestra music swells as Bullshot bends down to kiss her hand...only to have a waiter shove a menu in front of his face.
• Manages to pull at least quadruple duty at the end of Dawn of the Dead (2004). Newly-widowed nurse Anna and now-childless TV salesman Michael obviously don't meet under the most romantic of circumstances, but they begin to connect over the course of the film, making the fact that he's bitten saving her life a last-second gut punch. When their group makes it to a boat to sail for possible safety, he reveals the bite and opts to stay behind despite her protests, knowing the certain danger he'd pose if he stayed. As he helps make ready to shove off, he grabs her hand for a final kiss, before taking in the sunrise and putting one through his chin.
• Gender-inverted once again in Moonrise Kingdom, when Suzy kisses Sam's hand during their "wedding".
• In Maleficent Diaval is seen doing this to Aurora, when she comes to visit the moors. This is quite likely a moment that caused people to ship these two, and also one that established that Diaval is cultured even though he's actually a bird.
• Mr. Krueger's Christmas: As some carolers are coming down Mr. Krueger imagines himself as a wealthy gentleman in a Big Fancy House greeting his guests by kissing the lead singer's hand, leading to an awkward moment when it snaps back to reality and he's actually doing it!
• Excalibur: When Sir Uryens swears allegiance to King Arthur, he kisses both of Arthur's gauntlets, overwhelmed by the bravery of this young king and his Cool Sword.
• In Galaxy Quest, Mathazar greets Gwen this way while doing his best to follow human customs.
• In Nanny McPhee, Mr. Brown is marrying Mrs. Quickly despite really, really not wanting to. When she extends her hand for him to kiss, he merely shakes it; it's not clear if he's purposely avoiding the gesture or is just too distracted to realize what she was going for.
• The Muppet Christmas Carol: Young Ebenezer Scrooge does this when meeting his true love Belle for the first time.
• Slipstream (1989): When Loveable Rogue Owens snogs his partner on the dance floor, Byron (an android programmed as a Man of Wealth and Taste) gives him a Disapproving Look, then kisses his own partner's hand. And then bends her over for The Big Damn Kiss.
• Suicide Squad (2016): When The Joker turns up to blackmail and intimidate Warden Griggs, he holds out a hand expectantly, and with some hesitation, Griggs kisses the ring on it. The Joker just smirks and says, "I can tell you meant that."

Literature

• Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest: The second-place winner of the 1984 contest is about the feelings of a woman whose hand is being kissed, from Joseph Parko, who penned:
  Lady's Olivia's heart fluttered within her breast like a tethered bird in a cage as the mysterious stranger bent to kiss her hand, his smoldering dark eyes reflecting the baleful fire of the Ranchipur ruby that tossed like some ill-fated crystalline craft upon the passion-swept crest of her heaving white bosom.
• J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fall of Númenor: Aldarion, Crown Prince of Númenor, kisses the hand of his daughter Ancalimë after reassuring her that she is the (future) King's Heiress and one day she will rule over the island kindgom.
• Yuichi does this to Wataru in Only the Ring Finger Knows, in the midst of their Slap-Slap-Kiss banter. Since Yuichi's acted like a jerkass to Wataru (and Wataru only, because apparently the best way to deal with loving someone of the same gender is to be nasty to them), it only reinforces Wataru's belief that Yuichi is just playing around with him, and leaves him even more steamed (and depressed).
• Hercule Poirot often does this, ever the charming Frenchman (oops, Belgian!)
• The Fool in Robin Hobb's The Tawny Man Trilogy does this to the heir of a family — with tongue — in order to get himself thrown out of their house. Combined with a suggestion that the young man and his fiancée might join him for a little... fun... later.
• World of the Five Gods: Not quite the same thing, but hand-kissing between people of any sex is a common greeting custom. In The Curse of Chalion, one character ecstatically greets an old friend he thought was dead by saying "I kiss your hands! I kiss your feet!" and doing the former, but not the latter; while another does the full ritual to one who has literally given his life to save her from defilement among other things.
• Vorkosigan Saga: This seems to be a Vorkosigan family trait. Aral does it to Cordelia a few times, Miles kisses a lot of hands and even Mark gets in on the action with Kareen. And it apparently passes to foster family members, as Emperor Gregor Vorbarra kisses the hand of Laisa, his future wife.
• Used both straight and subverted in the Outlander books, which are set in the 18th century. On a good day, you get Lord John Grey. On a bad day, you get the creepy fop guy who was following Claire around trying to get into her pants.
• Played with in Elminster in Myth Drannor. On the one hand, it helps to weaken Medieval Stasis and show it was an "old" setting. On the other hand, El experimentally discovers that elves don't know such a gesture...
• Yuri does this to a (male) black-ops agent in Cagebird. He means to kiss the guy's hand to get a rise out of him. When that doesn't work, he proceeds to lick it.
• In one of the Doctor Who Eighth Doctor Adventures novels, the Doctor does this to Fitz as an oddly casual greeting:
  The Doctor took Fitz's hand, kissed it delicately, then shoved him aside. "Now, out of my way!"
• In Louise May Alcott's Little Women, Laurie goes to kiss Amy's hand. She, feeling homesick, would rather stick to a handshake, since kissing her hand is European.
• In Anne McCaffrey's first Acorna book, Baron Manjari makes a point of actually kissing Acorna's hand at her social debut instead of miming it as expected. He's just dosed her with a contact poison applied to his lips (he wipes them clean immediately afterward and takes the antidote, claiming it's his daily medication.) Too bad he didn't know about Acorna's ability to neutralize toxins.
• In a short story by Sherwood Smith, the Fish out of Temporal Water villain does this to be polite to a young woman he conned into helping him. When the girl he's kidnapped accuses him of emotional manipulation, he is surprised to learn that people do not do that anymore.
• In Sense and Sensibility, the heroine, Elinor, has this done to her by one Colonel Brandon. He then proceeds to marry her younger sister. It was really a gesture of gratitude and respect because she heard him compassionately when he related to her his Dark and Troubled Past.
• Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth inverts the genders, with Hook's love interest kissing his hand.
• In David Eddings' The Elenium and The Tamuli, kissing a woman's palms is a standard greeting among the Styric ethnicity.
• Peeta does this to Katniss in The Hunger Games.
• In Robert A. Heinlein's Double Star the Great Lorenzo's opinion of a fellow actor was "But that popinjay was so conceited that — well, if the role called for him to kiss a lady's hand, Trowbridge would fake it by kissing his own thumb instead."
• Played seriously as a sign of respect in Robert A. Heinlein's Time Enough for Love. When Weatheral asks permission to treat the legendary Lazarus as a grandparent, Lazarus (who is lying down) agrees and extends his hand. Weatheral kneels and kisses it, only for Lazarus to insist on a hug and a kiss on the mouth — Lazarus is fine with intimacy but not with hero-worship.
• In Alethea Kontis's Enchanted, Rumbold, just changed back from a frog, can't speak yet. A woman helps him, giving him clothes, and he kisses her hand.
• Harry to Molly in The Dresden Files, after she agrees to help him die. This foreshadows their later relationship as Lady and Knight.
• In an affectionate male to male example, The Wounded Name by D. K. Broster has a scene where Aymar kisses Laurent's hand as an apology for his ill temper and a thank you for Laurent's care.
• In Heart of Steel, Alistair frequently kisses Julia's hand to show his affection, in line with his steampunk set of values. Considering that they are barely acquainted, Julia is distinctly weirded out by the gesture.
• In one of the Otto Stahl books by Leo Kessler, Otto is about to do this to an aging brothel madam, only to hesitate when he sees her hand is covered in liver spots. Amused by his reaction, she yanks back her hand in feigned indignity. "I don't know where those lips have been!"
• Avengers of the Moon, by Allen Steele. Curt Newton does this on meeting police officer Joan Randall, who's taken aback but also embarrassed by the gallant but inappropriate gesture, and yanks her hand away. It's a sign that Curt has No Social Skills as he's been raised in isolation from other people.

Live-Action TV

• Many works set prior to the 20th century, such as TV/film adaptations of Jane Austen's novels.

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• In Adam Adamant Lives!, the eponymous hero, being an Edwardian gentleman, is accustomed to kissing ladies' hands. The ladies themselves, mostly being 1960s Femmes Fatale, tend to be slightly thrown by this.
• The Addams Family. "Tish! You spoke French!" (Of course, after kissing her hand, Gomez would work his way up Morticia's arm.)
  • Other characters also occasionally kiss Morticia's hand (without kissing up the arm) if they're being formal or old-fashioned. In one episode, someone who's very grateful to the Addamses and enthusiastically thanking them first kisses Morticia's hand, then grabs Gomez's hand and is about to kiss it before he realises what he's doing, stops himself and apologises awkwardly. (Gomez is grinning throughout this scene, including as the man leans in for the kiss, until the guy stops himself, at which point Gomez's smile drops. It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but he comes across as almost disappointed at not getting a kiss.)
• 'Allo 'Allo!: "Beautiful lady, I kiss-a your hand!" is one of Captain Alberto Bertorelli's catchphrases whenever he greets a woman.
• On Babylon 5, Sheridan kisses Delenn's hand at the end of "Severed Dreams", partly in thanks for saving the station and partly as a romantic gesture. In another episode, Londo does it with his mostly estranged wife after she asks why he chose her as the one of three not to divorce. "With you, I always know where I stand."
• In a sketch from The Benny Hill Show with Benny Hill as Robin Hood, he's about to kiss the hand of a wealthy lady when he notices the many jeweled rings and bracelets she's wearing, which he promptly steals.
• Lampshaded on Bridgerton. Daphne and Simon discuss calculated gazes and hand-kissing as hallmarks of high society courtship while observing Cressida and Friedrich.
  Daphne: And now he will kiss her hand.
  Simon: Forever charmed by her submission.
  Daphne: Precisely.

• The Crown (2016)
  • In "Windsor", Prime Minister Churchill kisses the hand of Queen Elizabeth the first time he presents himself to the new queen. Later when Elizabeth starts to assert herself, she presents her hand to show the meeting is over and a visibly thrown Churchill hesitates before accepting it. Likewise, her uncle the Duke of Windsor kisses the hand of the Queen Mother but looks thrown for a moment when his niece presents her hand to be kissed.
  • Averted when Churchill retires from public life and gives the young queen a fatherly kiss on the forehead.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When Angel presents Buffy with her claddagh ring, she responds by kissing the identical ring on Angel's hand.
• Call the Midwife:
  • In episode 2x05, Dr. Turner cleans up Sister Bernadette's hand after she cuts herself, and then closes his eyes and kisses her palm with a look on his face that says he is so in love he honestly just couldn't help himself. Because Sister Bernadette is a nun, this opens up a whole can of worms that resonate through the rest of the series.
    Turner: I'm sorry. That was unforgivable.
    Bernadette: Who is it who decides what is forgivable and unforgivable?
    Turner: I think you know that better than I do.
    Bernadette: At this moment I only know that I'm not turning my back on you because of you. I'm doing it because of Him.
    Turner: And if I didn't accept that, I wouldn't deserve to live.
  • Three episodes later, he does it again — this time after she says 'yes' to marrying him.
• Doctor Who:
  • At the end of "The Daleks", one of the Thals that the heroes have been working with kisses Barbara's hand. She then kisses him on the lips.
  • At the end of "The Masque of Mandragora", an Italian nobleman kisses Sarah Jane Smith on the hand as she makes her departure. Sarah gives a surprised (but charmed) "Oh!" in response.
  • In "Bad Wolf", Jack insists that he's not flirting with Lynda — then kisses her hand when she says she's not complaining.
  • "The Lazarus Experiment": Martha lets Lazarus do this so she can nab a DNA sample for her and the Doctor to examine.
  • "The Angels Take Manhattan": The Doctor kisses River's hand after burning up a bit of his life to heal her broken wrist. She responds by slapping him hard, not for the kiss but for wasting his regeneration energy on her.
  • "The Day of the Doctor": The Tenth Doctor kisses Clara's hand shortly before he leaves, near the end.
  • "Face the Raven" has the Twelfth Doctor kissing Clara's hand as they say goodbye before she walks to her death. This is an invocation of Anywhere but Their Lips due to the Doctor's No Hugging, No Kissing persona.
  • In "A Fix with Sontarans", Jimmy Savile kisses Tegan's hand. This could not have helped Tegan's Time Traveller's Dilemma in any way.
• On Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Jake is bandaging Theresa's hand. The sexual tension that's been simmering all season heats to the boiling point. He leans in to kiss her, but she gently rebuffs him, explaining, "I am still in mourning" (her husband was killed at the beginning of the season). He nods, understanding, then gently kisses her uninjured hand.
• Forever Knight. In a flashback, Nicholas kisses LaCroix's hand in gratitude after he gives him the 'gift' of eternal life as a vampire. In the present day, he kisses Natalie's or Janette's hand, presumably as a sign that he's older than he looks, but for Natalie it's also Anywhere but Their Lips, as they Can't Have Sex, Ever so are Just Friends.
• Game of Thrones
  • In "Baelor", Lord Walder Frey gives a very sloppy and disgusting one to Lady Catelyn Stark.
  • In "The Children", Cersei kisses Jaime's golden hand when seducing him back to her side. Previously she'd shunned being touched by this reminder of his mutilation.
  • In "The Dance of Dragons", a distraught Ellaria Sand kisses Prince Doran's ring in an act of submission after her rebellion fails.
  • In "Eastwatch", Ser Jorah Mormont kisses Queen Daenerys' hands before departing on a dangerous mission.
  • In "The Long Night," when faced with the prospect of death in the Winterfell crypts, Tyrion kisses Sansa's hand as they prepare to go down fighting.
• Interview with the Vampire (2022):
  • "In Throes of Increasing Wonder...": Louis de Pointe du Lac kisses Lily's hand at the Fairplay Saloon, which is an unusual gesture for a john to do to a prostitute. However, he's a Closet Gay who's paying her to be his beard, so their interactions are platonic and he treats her more like an acquaintance.
  • "...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self": Lestat de Lioncourt (an old-fashioned Frenchman) kisses Florence de Pointe du Lac's hand when he greets her on the front porch of her home.
• Sayid, of all people, does this to Kate in the eighth episode of Lost as he departs the beach in shame after torturing Sawyer, saying "I hope we meet again."
• Merlin:
  • Lancelot kisses Gwen's hand during their first meeting.
  • It happens quite often on the show: Valiant kisses Morgana's hand in greeting, Uther kisses Lady Vivian's hand (also in greeting), and Arthur kisses Princess Elena's hand in farewell.
• When Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe) in North and South can't find words to explain to John Thornton (Richard Armitage) that she is, in fact, desperately in love with him, she passionately kisses the back of his hand instead.
• Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: Cyrus to Alice once they're reunited.
• Rome
  • The normally crude and unsentimental Marc Antony kisses Atia's hand the last time he sees her before departing for Egypt, as there's a row of soldiers keeping them from getting any closer.
  • Antony does a nasty version of this trope after he painfully twists Cisero's hands while threatening to cut them off and nail them to the Senate door.
  • Atia's hired thug Timon does this to Atia, a sign (along with wearing perfume) that he's become rather smitten with his mistress. Atia just treats him with her usual dismissive contempt.
• On Selfie, overly warm and affectionate boss Sam Saperstein loves giving his employees physical warmth when he's happy with them. In one episode after Eliza and Henry do a great presentation, he hugs Henry and then kisses Eliza's hand, before pulling her close and giving her a ballroom dance-style dip.
• Sunes Jul: In episode 3, Sune is having trouble deciding what to give his girlfriend Sophie for Christmas, and walks up to a cashier asking her "if I were to give you a gift, what would you like?" She responds that she would have liked a kiss; Sune is visibly uncomfortable with the request because she's about twice his age, but obliges her with a quick awkward peck on the back of her hand before running away.
• Star Trek: Voyager:
  • In "Bride of Chaotica!", Dr. Chaotica does this to Queen Arachnia in his usual Large Ham manner after she strides majestically into his throne room. As Arachnia is being played by Captain Janeway, she's not impressed. When he tries it again later, she walks off just as he's bending down to kiss.
  • Inverted from the usual in "Counterpoint". Kashyk gives Janeway a passionate Now or Never Kiss, then finishes up by kissing the palm and fingers of the hand she's holding him with.
  • In "Heroes and Demons", the Doctor is Holding Hands with wounded shieldmaiden Freya and kisses her hand after she dies.
  • In "The Cloud", Harry Kim is introduced to the owner of holodeck French bistro Chez Sandrine. She offers her hand for a kiss, but Harry awkwardly shakes it instead.
  • At the end of "Concerning Flight", an affectionate version is done by the Leonardo da Vinci hologram to Janeway after their mutual adventure.
  • In "The Killing Game", the Hirogen Alpha (playing a Nazi officer in a holodeck program) kisses Captain Janeway's hand (she's playing the proprietor of the restaurant). It's a sign of how seriously the Alpha is taking the program.
• In True Blood, Eric Northman tells Russell Edgington he forgives him for killing his family and hopes Russell will forgive him for killing his lover Talbot. Eric then kisses Russell's hand.
• The Tudors is filled with hand-kissing. Most of it is non-romantic.
• The Vampire Diaries:
  • Damon kisses Elena's hand just a couple of minutes after they have an Accidental Almost Kiss.
  • Season two shows us Noble Demon Elijah's encounter with the lovely Katerina who is a spirited lady. He kisses her hand and they even have a moment of Held Gaze.
• The X-Files:
  • "Redux II" has lots of hand-touching and tender moments, as Scully is dying of cancer. Hand-kissing is there too.
  • In "The Truth" (the series finale), Mulder and Scully kiss and embrace, and then, when Skinner comes as well, Mulder gets a little closer to Scully, holds her hand, and lifts it to his lips.
  • In the opening of "First Person Shooter" a game player encounters the avatar known as Maitreya, who has the body of Krista Allen in a leather fetish outfit. Unsurprisingly he drops to one knee and kisses her glove. Surprisingly for him, her glove morphs into a flintlock pistol that shoots him in the face.

Music

• The song "I Kiss Your Hand, Madame".
• In the Love Story music video, "Romeo" kisses Taylor Swift's hand.
• In the music video "On Your Mark" (animated by Studio Ghibli), one of the soldiers kisses the angel's palm before she flies away.
• Parodied, like so many other things, by Tom Lehrer in "I Hold Your Hand In Mine", from Songs by Tom Lehrer:
  I hold your hand in mine, dear,
  I press it to my lips.
  I take a healthy bite
  From your dainty fingertips.

Pro Wrestling

• The Dudley-ahem-Team 3D kissed Booker T's ring and proclaimed him royalty in TNA.
• At Night of Champions 2014, Paige ordered A.J. Lee to kiss her hand. AJ hit her instead.
• Heidi Lovelace faced Eddie Smooth on Night II of the 2014 Young Lions Cup^note A CHIKARA title, though the events were presented by Wrestling Is Fun! Tournament, November 1, 2014. Smooth wanted a kiss on the cheek at the start of the match. Heidi offered a handshake instead and Smooth kissed her hand.

Theatre

• Cyrano de Bergerac: Cyrano kisses the Buffet-Girl's hand after she offered him all her food. Justified because the play is a Period Piece at The Cavalier Years, and Cyrano is romantic and chivalrous, but after some Fridge Logic, it's also justified because given Cyrano's Mommy Issues this is the deepest expression of emotion he will allow.
  The buffet-girl: Take something else!
  Cyrano: I take your hand to kiss. (he kisses her hand as though she were a princess)
  The buffet-girl: Thank you, kind Sir! (she courtesies) Good-night. (she goes out)
• In Henry V, Henry works very, very hard to woo his soon-to-be wife Katherine, whom he "won" by conquering France. After finally getting through to her (she doesn't speak English, he doesn't speak French) he gallantly moves in to kiss her hand (he actually says, "I kiss your hand"), to which she strenuously objects. A little confused, he offers to kiss her on the lips, and she freaks out because "it is not the fashion of the maids in France to kiss before they are married." His artful response, which starts with, "Oh, Kate. Nice customs curtsy to great kings," is charming enough that she eventually lets him kiss her on the lips.
• Much Ado About Nothing: Benedick, with heartbreaking effect, to Beatrice after she begs him to kill Claudio and, after her sobbing, impassioned monologue, he agrees. Possibly the saddest use of this trope ever.
• Done by Oscar to Charity in Sweet Charity, followed by a Title Drop. Charity asks her friends if it counts as a pass; they seem to doubt it.
• Inverted in Anne of the Thousand Days, where Henry asks Anne for a kiss, and she kisses his hand. "It was not such a kiss I meant, my dear," he says.
• In The Rose Tattoo, when Rosa begs Jack to kiss her mother, she demurs and offers her hand for him to kiss instead. He kisses it loudly.
• Hamilton: Alexander Hamilton kisses Eliza's hand in the song Helpless (he does it again in Satisfied).
• In some versions of The Phantom of the Opera, Christine kisses the Phantom's hands when returning his ring in a rare female-on-male example. This, however, is an apology and a goodbye rather than a greeting.

Video Games

• In Code:Realize, due to the nature of the poison in Cardia's body, some love interests such as Lupin and Saint Germain have taken to kissing her gloved hand to convey their affection for her. Since one of Cardia's Affectionate Nicknames is "princess", it invokes a gentlemanly or chivalrous imagery.
• Cute Bite: When at balls, the vampire protagonist does a Sweet Polly Oliver so she can do this to bite ladies and feed herself.
• Fire Emblem:
  • In Fire Emblem: Awakening, if Frederick is the chosen love interest for a female Avatar, his confession scene◊ will have him getting ready to kiss her hand.
  • In this really cute Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon picture, Prince Marth goes on one knee and kisses the hand of his fiancée Princess Caeda.
• Just Dance 4's choreography for Army of Lovers' song "Crucified" includes the gesture among its steps. Twice, even.
• Sherlock Holmes does this when introducing himself to Miss Lavinia Bromsby in Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Of The Silver Earring. It's sort of hilarious for canon purists since he never does such a thing in his original stories.
• Suikoden:
  • In an optional scene in Suikoden III the Zexen Knights have sworn fealty to their (beautiful, female, and eligible) Knight Captain Chris upon their swords, each in turn. Chris's young page expresses a desire to do the same but complains that he lacks a sword, instead he just kneels down and kisses her hand. The other Knights proceed to react with a mixture of rage, amusement, and deep respect for his guts.
  • In Suikoden V, the ridiculously foppish Euram Barows attempts this with Princess Lymsleia. Said Princess' bodyguard reminds him that her father and brother are the only men allowed to touch her until she marries, and threatens to violently enforce this rule, in the first of many, many humiliations for the unfortunate Euram.

Webcomics

• In The Dreamer, Alexander kisses Beatrice's' hand in the fifth panel.
• Arlen in Flaky Pastry does this to Marelle when introduced to her.
• Gunnerkrigg Court: Jolly Elfsberry certainly has the hang of it.
• General Tarquin to Haley in strip #726 of The Order of the Stick. She still stays wary of his Affably Evil manners, though.
• In Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic, Lucas is gentleman enough to do this with Princess Ibkis, even though she's a female orc.
• It takes a turn for the weird in Girl Genius, where it's a giant dragon construct who kisses the hand of a Mini-Mecha manned by the new Heterodyne as a sign of respect.
• As a mark of being courteous, Rolan of Ears for Elves does this when greeting people. After he kisses Tanna's hand, he looks at her and realises she's the person he crashed into; she promptly jerks her hand away.
• Beau does this when meeting Treiss for the first time in early Catena strips while complimenting her on her lovely name.
• When Nevio in Crimson Knights formally presents himself to queen Olda at her ball, he kisses her hand softly as an introduction.
• In Muted, Dendro asks for a kiss to seal her pact with Camille. However, seeing that Camille is uncomfortable with this (and is under the impression that she isn't allowed to negotiate), Dendro instead kisses her hand.
• In chapter 16 of Avania, Squadron Lieutenant Daniel Kruger kisses the hand of Airwoman Charlotte Burns upon their mutual introduction. Judging by her expression, Una is not impressed by this.

Web Video

• Fantasy Heroine is all about a disgruntled fantasy heroine and her romance trope-obsessed writer arguing across the fourth wall. During the heroine's Marriage of Convenience to her Hot Enemy, the writer is eagerly awaiting the ceremony making them kiss. Instead, the groom gently kisses...the back of the heroine's hand. The writer is surprised, but not displeased.
  Writer: Not the trope I was expecting, but [smiles cheekily] I think I can work with it.

Western Animation

• The Beatles cartoon "Thank You Girl" has the boys trying to weasel a free lunch out of a cooking school after their manager (an unseen Brian Epstein) locks them in their hotel room and keeps their wallets, putting them on a collective diet. At the school, John kisses the hand of the secretary, Margarite.
  John: Dear, sweet lady... may we sing for our supper? [kisses Margarite's hand]
  Margarite: [demurely] Ooh...M'sieur Lennon!
• Droopy: In One Droopy Knight, Droopy and his rival Butch kiss the hand of the beautiful Princess. While Droopy is kissing, Butch slams down the visor on his helmet, catching the girl's fingers and making her scream in pain.
• The Fairly OddParents!: In "Fairy Fairy Quite Contrary", Wanda's ex-boyfriend Juandissimo Magnifico looks like he's doing this to Wanda's hand when he sees her again after so many years and tries to woo her. It is then revealed that he was actually kissing the hand of her husband Cosmo, who is not happy about this at all.
• The Hair Bear Bunch: Mr. Peevly kisses Hair Bear's hand but only as a bargaining chip to have him help find the missing zoo animals before the superintendent's visit in the episode "Raffle Ruckus."
• Hey Arnold!: When Arnold finds out that his date isn't who she said she was, he kisses her hand to show that no matter what he genuinely liked the date.
• Jade Armor: In episode 11, Kai kisses Lan Jun's hand after dancing with her signaling his romantic interest in her to her making her blush.
• Kaeloo: One episode had Quack Quack, trying to be a "gentleman", try to do this to Kaeloo, only to have his head blasted off by Mr. Cat's bazooka.
• Liberty's Kids has this in just about every episode, although it may not count because it was the 1700s. It is played for laughs at times, though.
• Looney Tunes: In Herr Meets Hare, Bugs Bunny disguises himself as Adolf Hitler to intimidate Hermann Goering, who had just been badmouthing the Fuehrer to himself, leading him to beg forgiveness by kissing on the hand and on the lips.
  Goering: I kiss mein Fuehrer's hand! (kisses Bugs' hand) I kiss right in der Fuehrer's face! (gives him a big smooch)
• Miraculous Ladybug: Chat Noir does this when he first meets Ladybug, setting up his flirty gentleman persona. He later does the same for Marinette (not realizing they're the same person), Rena Rouge (not realizing she's his friend Alya), and Vesperia (not realizing she's Zoe).
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
  • Princess Celestia has received the occasional grateful kiss on the hoof. One was from Rarity, another that happened far earlier was from Granny Smith's father. In this case, the action earned an irritated look from his wife.
  • In "Luna Eclipsed", Princess Luna holds out her hoof, expecting her subjects to kiss it. They're too intimidated by her dramatic entrance and ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE to attempt it, though.
• Popeye: In the 1956 cartoon "Parlez Vous Woo", Popeye kisses Olive's hand. Olive promptly turns red, blows steam out of her ears, then melts into a thin flat Olive-Oyl-shaped puddle conforming to the contours of the staircase.
• Rocko's Modern Life: Near the end of the episode "Leapfrogs", Rocko scolds Ed Bighead for disrespecting his wife and, getting caught up in the moment, spontaneously kisses Bev's hand.
• Rocky and Bullwinkle: Boris sometimes kissed the hand of his Fearless Leader.
  Fearless Leader: Badenov, you're making my cuffs soggy!
• Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM):
  • The French Antoine either does or attempts to kiss Sally's hand many times throughout the series because of his hopeless crush on her.
  • At the end of the series, Sonic kisses Sally's hand while celebrating their victory over Dr. Robotnik. The kiss is also completely genuine, contrasting Antoine's frequent suck-up kisses.
• Static Shock: In the episode "Out of Africa", Static, Gear, and Anansi rescue Sharon after she was kidnapped. Anansi kisses Sharon's hand before departing.
• In Wacky Races and Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines, Muttley will kiss Dick Dastardly's hand only to suck up to him after uttering his patented Angrish at him.

Real Life

• The gesture of kissing the hand derives from ancient pledges of fealty. The more classical example is "kissing the ring" as a sign of submission, still practiced in audiences with The Pope, other Catholic prelates, and some royalty; The Mafia also famously uses it (or not, it's part of the whole air of mystery they've surrounded themselves with). One assumes it made its way into romantic gesture territory through Courtly Love.
• In the Eastern Orthodox Church, a kiss on the hand is part of the usual way for the laity to greet a priest. The layperson puts their right hand over their left hand, palms up, and says "Father, bless", and the priest blesses them and places his right hand in theirs. The layperson then kisses his hand. Likewise, receiving a blessing and kissing the priest's hand is customary after a confession.
• The "pledge of fealty" type of hand-kissing still has an official role in the British Political System in the form of "kissing hands"—the ceremonial private meeting in which the Sovereign formally invites a party leader to form a government and become Prime Minister. Historically, the leader was required to actually kiss the monarch's hand, but today this is not expected (though it reportedly still happens on occasion). It was also historically common for the monarch to give other senior government officials their seals of office at a similar meeting, at which they would generally also be expected to kiss the Sovereign's hand; however, while the delivery of seals remains a tradition, these investitures are rarely described as "kissing hands" (that term being largely reserved for the Prime Minister's meeting).
• Taken to the point of ridiculousness in France in one period, where kissing someone's hand was considered a gesture of respect to them. In an effort to upstage the other person with politeness, there were reports of competitions to kiss someone's hand without your own being kissed, culminating when two people greeted each other, and one of them kept moving her hand so the other man couldn't take it to kiss. Apparently, he gave up and they started talking less formally, only for him to suddenly grab her hand mid-sentence and kiss it.
• Speaking of France, in a political meeting, the then French President Jacques Chirac greeted the German Chancellor Angela Merkel by kissing her hand, showing off his old-fashioned ways. In contrast, his successor Sarkozy greeted her casually with a hug.
• In Turkey, kissing the hands of the elderly (both male and female) is an important gesture and a fairly common custom, especially from children to their grandparents. Doing it to a younger person (middle-aged and below), while acceptable in some cases, is much less common and may even be a serious faux pas. Kissing the hand of a younger woman in such a manner tends to send the message that you think she is old. There is a way to differentiate the romantic version from the one for reverence, however, as the latter is nearly always done with both hands of the kisser, and requires touching the kissee's hand to the kissee's forehead. Doing the former is still unusual, but not necessarily insulting.
• On the other hand, in Indonesia, kids commonly kiss their parents' hand before going to school. Never mind if you're well into college age and "going to school" means "going to another country to school". Neither romantic nor overly exaggerated respect.
• In Austria, the older generation still tends to take this very seriously, and the generation just after them — people between 50 and 70 - sometimes likes to affect it.
• In Romania, a man is still expected to kiss a woman's hand if he is dating her. Not only this, but is an actual common greeting, usually said by the young people to the older generation, depending on the social context. "Sărut mâna" is literally translated as "I kiss your hand".
• During a book signing, a woman asked James Joyce if she could "kiss the hand that wrote Ulysses." Joyce denied her request, saying it has "done other things."

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