On A Horrible Sounding British Colloquialism

In the course of finding out how to do Paris on the cheap, I came across a pretty ugly looking and sounding word:

First stop: the Louvre, (33-1) 40.20.50.50, where on Fridays after 6 p.m. admission is 6 euros ($7.80), down from the usual 8.5, and free for anyone 26 and under. So we saw the museum's treasures - the Rembrandt portraits, the two Michelangelo "Slaves," the Botticelli frescos - in the company of young people from around the world. Most were pursuing the art, some the art of sexual pursuit. The shadows gathering in the Marly Court of French sculpture made it a particularly popular snogging spot.

"Snogging"!? That sounds more like some maritime punishment than a British slang for cuddling and kissing.

And why is the New York Times using British slang anyway? Couldn't canoodling have done just as good and descriptive and American a job? As it's written, the word comes across to this American reader as pretty jarring. Of course, for some, it might be just as jarring to be looking at art only to stumble across some strangers snogging. So, maybe the word works after all.