Kiss Shots
Pocketing a ball by first contacting a different ball that redirects it into the pocket.
What a kiss shot is
A kiss shot pockets the intended object ball not by the cue ball striking it directly, but by the cue ball first hitting a different ball, which then "kisses" (contacts) the object ball and redirects it into the pocket. It is closely related to a carom, but the key distinction is that in a kiss shot it is the object ball's own path that gets redirected by contact with another ball, sending it to the pocket.
Reading the geometry
Because the final direction depends on the exact contact angle between the two object balls, kiss shots require reading the same ghost-ball-style geometry twice in a row: once for the cue ball into the first ball, and again for that first ball into the object ball. Small errors compound across the two contacts, which is why kiss shots have a reputation for being low-percentage unless the balls are already closely aligned.
When a kiss shot is worth taking
Kiss shots are most reliable when the two object balls are already nearly touching or very close together and roughly in line with the pocket, since that minimizes the angle the first contact needs to redirect. When the balls are more spread out, the compounding angle error usually makes a safety or a different shot selection the better percentage play.