I had been under the impression that the origin of the word nosegay came from a floral decoration that was placed over a horses nose in ceremonial times in ancient England.

Dear lulu: you have indeed been cheated if the swains in Oz give more affection to horses
than to young ladies.

Dear Lulu: Just for you!
" In Colonial times,
nosegays or tussie mussies as they were
called, were given as gifts. Here too, the
different herbs and flowers symbolized
different things. Imagine receiving a small
bouquet of violets and knowing that the
person giving them to you was pledging
their loyalty without uttering a word. It was
common practise at the beginning of a
courtship in the Victorian era for suitors to
give their intended a tussie mussie. The
types of flowers often changed as the
relationship grew allowing the gentleman to
say volumes without speaking a word!
Today's society is no different than those of
a few hundred years ago. Flowers still hold
significant a meaning. "

http://www.comfycountrycreations.com/flowergiving.htm

A Word A Day


tussie-mussie (TUS-ee-MUS-ee) or tuzzy-muzzy (TUZ-ee-MUZ-ee) noun

1. A small bouquet of flowers; a nosegay.

2. A cone-shaped holder for such a bouquet.

[Middle English tussemose, perhaps reduplication of *tusse.]

"A woman also had to be pretty precise about where she wore flowers. Say,
for instance, a suitor had sent her a tussie-mussie (a k a nosegay). If
she pinned it to the `cleavage of bosom,' that would be bad news for him,
since that signified friendship. Ah, but if she pinned it over her heart,
`That was an unambiguous declaration of love.'"
Meadow, James B., Rocky Mountain News, 26 Jan 1998
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ia~~~

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English tussemose, perhaps reduplication of *tusse.

A tussie-mussie is a cross between a nosegay and a corsage. The Victorians would take a few
flowers and herbs, make a miniature bouquet, tie some ribbons around it and give it to someone.
But this wasn't an ordinary bouquet. A tussie-mussie delivered a message. Depending on what
flowers and herbs you choose, your tussie-mussie could say different things, like "I'm sorry"
or "I love you." It could say "You are beautiful and have lovely eyes." It could ask "Will you
be my friend?" or even "Will you marry me?"

Once you decided what you wanted your tussie-mussie to say, you also had to decide how to
deliver it. Would you deliver it personally; or send someone else? Or maybe just put it on the
doorstep, ring the bell, and hide.

What the recipient did with the tussie-mussie was the response. If she didn't wear it, or wore it
in some inconspicuous place -like the hem of her skirt- that was a negative response. If she
wore it on her head, perhaps in her hairdo or on her hat, she was saying, "Let me think about it."
But if she wore it proudly over her heart, she said "Yes, definitely, yes."

An embarrassing discovery: Please forgive me, Wordsmith.
Date: Mon Sep 14 00:08:22 EDT 1998
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tussie-mussie

Welcome, lulu--neat name. :-) I for one have no knowledge of decorating horses' noses with flowers; but any such would have to be fastened to the bridle, for obvious reasons.

That's pretty cool, Dr. Bill, that flowers can communicate whole messages--and replies--without spoken or written words. I wonder if anything else has ever "developed" that far. I know that ribbons and armbands, for ex., can signify things: certain alliances, support, mourning. And I think, in former days, that feathers in hats could also transmit some form of message, but as far as I know none of these things "gave" replies.