Gather ye Roſe-buds vvhile ye may, / Old Time is ſtill a flying: / And this ſame flovver, that ſmiles to day; / To morrovv vvill be dying.1648, Robert Herrick, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”, in Hesperides: Or, The Works both Humane & Divine […], London: […] John Williams, and Francis Eglesfield, and are to be sold by Tho[mas] Hunt, […], →OCLC, stanza 1, page 93:
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UK, Sometimes, As a term of endearment A pretty young woman.
Her ass was the ultimate goal for both of us, but I wanted to draw out the anticipation. […] She watched from between her knees as I prepared to push into her rosebud.2017, Penthouse Variations on Anal:
Squeezing a healthy dollop of lube onto her rosebud, he stretched the tight ring and forced more lubrication into her ass.2017, Corinne Davies, The 3xtasy Lake Collection, volume 2, page 128:
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He withdrew his tongue from her ass and traced little patterns across her rosebud with a fingertip […]2018, Rachel Blues, Anal Sex Stories:
His thumbs spread her woman's center so he could fit his mouth more closely and enter her with his tongue. Now she could not contain her cries of excitement. The tip of his tongue licked the hard rosebud hidden within, then circled it slowly over and over until she was swollen with need.1993 October 23, Virginia Henley, chapter 19, in Bold Conquest, Avon Books, page 271:
Her plea was ignored entirely. He stood over her, crowding her with his powerful body, and tugged the tunic from her nerveless grasp. “Do you remember how I plied the wet rosebud between your thighs?” Holding her gaze, he traced a finger between her breasts, downward to her narrow waist, drawing his hand slowly, lingeringly, over her skin. “I could show you such pleasure again, sweeting. ...”1995 March 23, Nicole Jordan, chapter 11, in The Warrior, Avon Books, page 181:
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To obtain an even better effect I managed to pull the seam right up into my cunney so that the shape of my generous outer lips would be revealed and even the swollen rosebud of my clitty could be discerned especially - as I didn’t put any knickers on and was totally nude underneath.2005, anonymous author, chapter 4, in Cremorne Gardens, Blue Moon Books, page 160:
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In plural, Slang A woman's nipples, namely when erect.
I gasped when I felt the powerful spray from the shower against my breasts. First one, then the other. My rosebuds swelled up immediately, red and stiff. She sprayed between my breasts and on the small of my back. Then she quit for a minute.1969, Jens Bjørneboe, chapter 6, in Without a Stitch, Grove Press, page 137:
Caleb lifted her above him, accepting the hard rosebud of her nipple into his mouth as he drank from her. ‘You're beautiful’, Cat, he groaned as he rolled over so that she was the one beneath him. ‘So very beautiful.’1986 August 23, Carole Mortimer, chapter 8, in No Longer A Dream, Harlequin Books, page 152:
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He could see the fullness of her beautiful breasts, tipped with their rosebuds, through the fine cotton. They seemed to be begging for him to caress and kiss them.2005, Hermione Steele, chapter 37, in Love Goes West, AuthorHouse, page 345:
UK, Historical A member of the most junior division of the Girl Guides Association, now called a Brownie.
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Something similar to the ‘Rosebud’ in the movie Citizen Kane in that it is a mysterious clue which provides profound insight into the character of a person.