TUSSIE-MUSSIE noun (tuhs-ee-muhs-ee)

noun
1. a small bunch of flowers or herbs.
2. a cone-shaped holder for a bouquet.


Quotes

The world would be a kinder and gentler place if we all exchanged tussie-mussies instead of badmouthing people behind their backs or unfriending them on Facebook.
--*Claire Cook,*The Wildwater Walking Club: Back on Track, 2017


When those were finished, they turned to the tussie-mussies--handheld herbal nosegays in which each plant has a special significance--for the women guests.
--*Susan Wittig Albert,*Lavender Lies, 1999



Origin

There is no clear etymology for tussie-mussie “bunch of flowers, nosegay.” The Middle English form, tusemose, and the 17th-century form tussimussie, suggest an assumed Middle English tus or tusse “cluster of flowers.” Tussie-mussie entered English in the mid-15th century.