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I am looking for an expression used in the US or the UK for that situation, for example, where you are in a park where there are people of all ages, and a couple starts to be intense with the kissing and the touching.

In my country we say informally and graciously "let's throw them water!" with the hope they stop or go to a more private place :)

I've researched before through google, and I was not able to find the answer, I think the question is not too open. it is a specific situation and the answer was unique. It is very helpful for foreigners.

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    I might mutter as I walked past them "Get a hotel room!" - but probably not (if they're not breaking the law): parks are for lovers too.
    – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
    Oct 1, 2018 at 23:42
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    Could always just look away and quit trying to police other people's behaviour - you can do all of that non-verbally!
    – Meelah
    Oct 2, 2018 at 11:10
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    Just reading the title made me think 'if it was a couple of dogs, they'd get water thrown over them'.
    – Tim
    Oct 2, 2018 at 12:20
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    @Meelah I imagine even the countries most liberal on the matter have their limits, too. Surely, you can imagine certain intense kissing and touching that would not be acceptable in certain public places in any country.
    – JoL
    Oct 2, 2018 at 15:50
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    Anything that breaks their concentration and makes them aware they are being observed will do the trick. I once got a laugh with "can I have a go too?"
    – Michael Kay
    Oct 5, 2018 at 8:33

8 Answers 8

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The expression typically used is "get a room!"

A sarcastic or humorous imperative used to tell a couple to cease displaying physical affection publicly (implying that they should rent a room in a hotel to continue in private).
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms via TFD

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    Also used in the UK. I don't know if it's been picked up from the US or was always here, but it's definitely known and used here.
    – Graham
    Oct 2, 2018 at 6:17
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    I think it must be recent. I was last in the UK about 20 years ago and the only time you would come across that kind of objection was at public swimming pools as signs saying "No Petting!" Otherwise it was a snogging free for all, and if you could get it you were the winner. Saying get a room would have come across as envy.
    – Sentinel
    Oct 2, 2018 at 6:26
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    @Sentinel Agreed - no-one really used to bother. Being shy about it is a relatively new idea. Which is ironic for us Brits, who are famously bad at doing emotions in public. :)
    – Graham
    Oct 2, 2018 at 6:46
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    The comment thread is reserved for friendly clarifying questions, suggestions for improving the question, relevant but transient information, and explanations of your actions. Please avoid discussion or debate in comments.
    – MetaEd
    Oct 2, 2018 at 19:40
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    In the UK, I hear this phrase quite often - though not often directed at me :-(
    – Strawberry
    Oct 3, 2018 at 12:55
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"Get a room!" meaning, go to a hotel that rents by the hour.

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    Yeah, go find one these days.
    – Ricky
    Oct 2, 2018 at 0:50
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    They have been appearing in airports recently, though not intended for that purpose.
    – WGroleau
    Oct 2, 2018 at 21:12
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    @Mari-LouA The other answer includes a source, which it quotes, and has better formatting. Seems fair enough to me.
    – Fiksdal
    Oct 3, 2018 at 6:48
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    It's ok @Mari-LouA. I only wanted to provide a useful answer, not win a contest. we posted at the same time but the other answer was more polished, and once an answer is higher in the queue it is seen first and gets more votes. The "voting" can feel emotional and competitive, sometimes we have to pause and remember we are here to help, not to "win". ;*
    – wetcircuit
    Oct 3, 2018 at 13:52
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    No doubt at least one person has flown to an airport just to "get it on" for an hour, but I'm convinced the intent was for a rest after a long trip. Especially the ones in Japan where you climb into a drawer and they slide it closed.
    – WGroleau
    Oct 4, 2018 at 9:31
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Public display of affection PDA wikipedia

Public displays of affection (PDA) are acts of physical intimacy in the view of others. What is an acceptable display of affection varies with respect to culture and context. Displays of affection in a public place, such as the street, are more likely to be objected to, than similar practices in a private place with only people from a similar cultural background present. Some organizations have rules limiting or prohibiting public displays of affection.

As in:

Kindly take your public displays of affection ( or just PDA) elsewhere.

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    I've certainly had a new girlfriend tell me "I don't do PDA", but I can't see myself using the phrase "Kindly take your public displays of affection elsewhere".
    – AndyT
    Oct 2, 2018 at 8:55
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    I definitely wouldn't put it the way you did. But I would say "Can you not do PDA here please?"
    – jambrothers
    Oct 2, 2018 at 12:03
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    @jambrothers Would you really? Expect rude replies.
    – Konrad Rudolph
    Oct 2, 2018 at 13:54
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    I wouldn't say this to a stranger, but I might say it jokingly to close friends or family (with their respective significant others). But just the initialism, not the whole phrase—something like "Whoa! PDA!" Very similar to the usage of TMI, actually.
    – 1006a
    Oct 2, 2018 at 15:34
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    @Michael It may be a generational difference. I'm a 60-yo BrE speaker. The only thing that comes to mind when I hear PDA is "Personal Digital Assistant"
    – Martin Bonner supports Monica
    Oct 3, 2018 at 15:11
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I think the most common phrase for this is already covered, but if you want a near-translation for throw them water you could use turn the hose on them. In the context of an overly-amorous couple1 the expression references the practice of squirting mating dogs with a hose to try to break them apart. Some examples of use from around the web:

"You guys done making out? Should I turn the hose on you?"

—Bryan Radzin, Search for Truth: A rude awakening..., 2017

“Amazing,” Barney echoes. The look stretches out between them and they slowly lean closer together. Robin is the first to move the rest of the way in and start kissing him, and in the very next second they’re enthusiastically making out in the booth at MacLaren’s.

“Okay,” Tracy says, mildly startled. “I guess so….I feel like we shouldn’t be watching this,” she says to Ted.

“Oh you’ll have to get used to them. They’re like this all the time. You should have been around a few years back. We’d have to all but turn the hose on them.”

Robin pauses in their kissing, muttering against Barney’s mouth, “We can hear you, you know.”

Barney kisses her once more. “Turn the hose on us all you like. It still won’t stop R-Train and B-Nasty from gettin’ busy.”

—Manda 600, How I Met Your Mother Fanfic: "Catching the Clock, 2013", 2014

Jesse Cox: In my apt complex lobby there is a very cute couple.... at least they were until they started making out. We're talking wet sloppy kisses
. . .
Jesse Replying to @JesseCox: It's okay just turn the hose on them... I mean you'd hate for that cute couple ti get stuck.

—Twitter exchange, 2016

1 Note that in different contexts the phrase can evoke different motivations and types of hoses, e.g. the mean neighbor trying to keep kids off his lawn or abusive Alabama police forces spraying Civil Rights protesters with water cannons in the 1960s.

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    "Alright, whichever of you is driving, pull over!"
    – WGroleau
    Oct 4, 2018 at 9:26
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A one not so common one that I have heard was:

Stop that saliva transfusion

Usually it gets the job done as they will at least stop to laugh.

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"There are children present." "Please keep it PG13"

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A pretty tongue-in-cheek (ba dum tss) thing to say might be

sorry, but you've got something on your face

They may or may not get the joke. If they don't then when they stop kissing to ask where or what it is, you can say

yeah, you got it

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  • Reminds me of the line from Shawn of the Dead - Haven't you had your tea, love?
    – NibblyPig
    Oct 5, 2018 at 15:31
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There is a pretty close equivalent to throwing water on them: a “cold shower.” That’s either something you can tell them to take, or anything that kills their amorous mood.

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