In traditional courtship, the last stage before actual intercourse: that is, masturbation, either mutual or parallel, and/or various kinds of breast play as well.(Oral sex is not included here, although either one or both may "kiss it to make it better".) Roundly decried by various secular and religious authorities far into the 1970's, the danger here is not of actual VD (although a badly-aimed spurt might lead to pregnancy) but of sheer proximity to the act itself, which presents an enormous temptation to those involved. Which is a pity, since, taken on its own terms, the range of kisses, strokes, and other preliminaries can sometimes be better than the main bout.