Judge Questions Dog Anxiety And Bite Responsibility

What does “kiss something goodbye” mean in English?

In this courtroom cross-examination, the judge warns a witness: “If I hear you again... I’m gonna kiss you goodbye.” She means she will dismiss the witness from the stand. Kiss something goodbye normally means to accept that you have lost something, or that you will never get it. If you lend a friend money and they never pay you back, you can kiss that money goodbye.

The judge’s version is a small twist: instead of kissing an object goodbye, she threatens to “kiss” the person goodbye, meaning “you’ll be gone from here.” The standard use stays with things you lose: “Kiss your deposit goodbye if you cancel now,” or “If France lose this game, they can kiss the cup goodbye.” It’s informal, a little dramatic, and always about something that’s now out of reach.