`:The lead currently states ``Making out is an euphemism of American origin, dating back to at least 1949, and is used synonymously with the terms kissing, petting and necking, but may also refer to non-penetrative sex acts such as heavy petting. Snogging is a term with roughly the same meaning in British English and related varieties of English.`` What more is needed to explain what petting is? In the romantic/sexual sense, it's an alternative word for making out. And heavy petting redirects to the Non-penetrative sex article, and is explained there.     `