| 释义 |
▪ I. kick, n.1|kɪk|
[f. kick v.1]
I.
1. a. An act of kicking; a blow or knock with the foot. In Football, the act of striking the ball with the foot. free kick: see quots. 1961. drop-, penalty-, place-kick: see these words.
1530Palsgr. 236/1 Kicke of an horse, ruade. 1599Marston Sco. Villanie iii. xi. 225 Robrus sprauling kicks, Fabius caper, Harries tossing tricks. 1709Steele Tatler No. 11 ⁋3 A Tall Man with a Hat and Feather, who gives his first Minister, who stands just before him, an huge Kick. 1759Johnson Idler No. 55 ⁋10, I lost my patience, and gave him a kick. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. II. v. 65 This imp..has always had a relishing fancy for the kicks and cuffs. 1882in Charles-Edwards & Richardson They saw it Happen (1958) 299 A free kick awarded for a handling of the ball enabled Suter to place it well to the right wing forwards. 1892Outdoor Games & Recr. 538 Laws of Assoc. Football, A Free Kick is a kick at the ball in any way the kicker pleases, when it is lying on the ground, none of the kicker's opponents being allowed within six yards of the ball. 1893Rugby Union Football Handbk. 33 All free-kicks may be place-kicks, drop-kicks, or punts... If taken by drop or punt the catcher must take the kick. 1961F. C. Avis Sportsman's Gloss. 26/1 Free kick, an uninterrupted kick allowed to a team for an infringement against it, the opposing players having to stand ten yards away. Ibid. 268/2 Free kick, in Rugby Union football, an optional drop-kick, place-kick, or punt, taken as the result of a fair catch, the player free-kicking from the mark. 1972Guardian 16 Mar. 23/3 From a free kick on the right, Foggo chipped on and the net bulged with relief.
b. fig. Esp. in phr. a kick in the pants: a grave or humbling set-back; an expression of severe criticism or disapproval; similarly, a kick in the teeth.
1627–77Feltham Resolves i. xi. 16 For we can never throughly try him, but in the kick of malignant Chance. 1833Lytton in Hansard XV. 1234 His [Irish] policy was wittily described..as a ‘quick alternation of kicks and kindness’. [1836D. Crockett Exploits & Adv. Texas i. 14 If a man is only determined to go ahead, the more kicks he receives in his breech the faster he will get on his journey.] 1925D. H. Lawrence Refl. Death Porcupine 105 The novel itself gives Vronsky a kick in the behind. 1933E. O'Neill Ah, Wilderness! (1934) iv. ii. 134 Aw, you deserved a kick in the pants..making such a darned slob of yourself. 1937Partridge Dict. Slang 881/1 It's better than a kick in the pants. 1940R. A. J. Walling Why did Trethewy Die? i. 25 Giving the Methusalahs a kick in the pants. 1963Listener 24 Jan. 152/2 General de Gaulle's statement on the Common Market was described by the East German Deutschlandsender as ‘a kick in the pants’ for Britain. 1970Globe & Mail (Toronto) 25 Sept. 41/4 As some philosopher once noted, the only difference between a pat on the back and a kick in the pants is about eight inches. 1972Guardian 28 Oct. 12/1 The Liberals' proud victory at Rochdale..has given the two major parties the kick in the teeth that each of them deserves.
c. In phr. more kicks than halfpence: more harshness than kindness: cf. monkey n.
1824Scott St. Ronan's xxxiv, ‘Which is like monkey's allowance, I suppose’, said the traveller, ‘more kicks than halfpence’. 1853Darwin in Life II. 39 Though I shall get more kicks than halfpennies, I will, life serving, attempt my work. 1887T. A. Trollope What I remember I. i. 22 A life, in which the kicks might be more superabundant than the half-pence.
d. Ability or disposition to kick.
1885W. J. Fitzpatrick Life T. N. Burke I. 14 If..the horse had any kick in him, a sensation scene took place. 1898F. T. Bullen Cruise ‘Cachalot’ xxv. (1900) 323 He had not a kick in him.
e. fig. Opposition, objection, repugnance.
1839Chemung (N.Y.) Democrat 25 Dec. (Th.), Take the hint without a kick, and shut the open door. 1887F. Francis Saddle & Mocassin xviii. 308, I haven't got any kick against Don Juan. 1893Westm. Gaz. 3 Mar. 9/1 There is a strong kick among the few sportsmen here at this wholesale murder. 1904F. Lynde Grafters xii. 155 To-day he came around and gave me back my opinion, clause for clause as his own. But I have no kick coming. 1910C. E. Mulford Hopalong Cassidy viii. 57 ‘We ain't got no kick, have we?’ retorted Cavalry. 1948Gainesville (Texas) Daily Reg. 3 July 6/2 The admission price will be upped to six-bits, which shouldn't draw any kicks from fans.
f. the kick (in phr. to get or give the kick): Discharge, dismissal, ‘the bag’, ‘the sack’. slang.
1844Jamie Muse 100 (E.D.D.) She was soon to get the kick. 1885Fraser Poems 50 (E.D.D.) Should a brither be sick, They'll no gie him the kick.
2. transf.
a. The recoil of a gun when discharged.
1826J. F. Cooper Mohicans (1829) I. vii. 95 The kick of the rifle disconcerts your aim. 1846Greener Gun 294 It is..only when the ‘Kick’, as it is called, becomes painful, that it is essential to avoid or lessen it.
b. A jerk, jolt; jerking motion. Hence, a pulse or surge of electricity capable of producing a jerk in a detecting or measuring instrument. B kick Telegr. (see quot. 19281).
1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 187 The back of the trough being curved, permits the cloth to turn upwards before each successive kick. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 337 Our noble craft..had a cataclysmic kick in her. 1898R. Kipling Fleet in Being, The twin-screws gave us more kick than was pleasant. 1910Hawkins's Electr. Dict. 233/1 Kick. 1. In general, a recoil. 2. Any impulsive movement imparted in telegraphy to delicate instrument parts by a discharge from the line. Ibid., Kick of coil, a discharge taking place from an electromagnet coil. 1928A. E. Stone Text Bk. Telegr. xiii. 191 With the non-polarised relays a different method has had to be adopted, in order to eliminate the effects of what is known as the B kick. This term is applied to the break in the continuity of signals received on the non-polarised relays, due to the momentary demagnetisation of their cores when the current in the line is reversed. Ibid. 194 The ‘kick’ observed on the galvanometer. 1930Proc. R. Soc. A. CXXIX. 214 An ambiguity arises in determining the residual range of an α-particle from the magnitude of the ‘kick’ recorded by the counter. Ibid. 216 The third record..shows the kicks smaller and more uniform in size. 1957[see kicksorter]. 1959J. W. Freebody Telegr. vii. 200/2 Another difficulty found in the operation of diplex and quadruplex circuits was known as the B-kick which occurred when the B-side relay was operated by a marking current and the current was then reversed by the operation of the A-side key.
c. A strong or sharp stimulant effect, esp. that of liquor or drugs; spec. something that makes a drink potent; a thrill, excitement, pleasure; a feeling of marked enjoyment or the cause of such enjoyment; esp. in phr. to get a kick out of (something), to be excited or pleased by, to enjoy; for kicks, purely for pleasure or excitement, freq. recklessly or irresponsibly.
1844Bentley's Misc. XVI. 597, I then demanded a common cocktail. ‘With the kick in it?’ said he. ‘Oh, by all means,’ I replied... It was..somewhat strong; but then that was my fault, for having ordered it ‘with the kick in it’. 1899R. Whiteing No. 5 John St. xxi. 216 ‘My Gawd! won't them chaps from the Collynies 'ave the kick!’ he observes, in allusion to their entertainment at the public expense. 1903Daily Chron. 16 Jan. 5/1 With cayenne and mustard (to give their food the missing ‘kick’ [of alcohol]). 1924P. Marks Plastic Age xi. 101 ‘Who wrote ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’?’..‘I think Jawn Keats wrote it. It's one of those bedtime stories with a kick.’ 1927W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 81 Home-brew with a kick in it. 1928Daily Express 4 Dec. 10/3, I was told I should get a kick out of that journey—and I certainly did. 1929Evening News 18 Nov. 15/6 A cocktail basis with a real kick (42 deg. proof spirit). 1933D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise ix. 159 There's a kick in being afraid. 1935S. Spender Destructive Element 82 Strether accepts even the fact that he is living with Madame de Vionnet; in fact, he gets a kick out of it. 1941Jazz Information Nov. 22/2 A man who..worked hard and got his kicks and saved a little money. 1942R.A.F. Jrnl. 2 May 35 We get a great kick out of wearing it. 1946Mezzrow & Wolfe Really Blues (1957) 373 For kicks, for pleasure's sake. 1951Manch. Guardian Weekly 28 June 2 To seek a heftier ‘kick’ from real narcotics. 1956[see cramp v. 5 c]. 1961Wodehouse Service with Smile (1962) x. 155 He added that the beverage had a kick, and Lord Ickenham agreed that its kick was considerable. 1963Listener 17 Jan. 133/1 Antisocial, sexually ruthless, stealing cars for kicks. 1967M. M. Glatt et al. Drug Scene iii. 39 He no longer got a ‘kick’ or ‘flash’ from taking drugs. 1974Advocate News (Barbados) 5 Mar. 3/2 The pusher can more easily persuade him to try something with a bit more kick to it.
d. An interest or enthusiasm, esp. one that is temporary; a fashion, fad (cf. sense 4); a subject, line of thought, or manner of behaving; = bag n. 1 d; esp. in phr. on the ― kick = doing, or enthusiastic about, the thing specified by the prefixed word or words. orig. U.S. slang.
[1942Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §233/2 The fashion; rage,..the kick.] 1946Jazz Record July 8 The whole jazz world was on a Hawkins kick. 1955M. McCarthy Charmed Life ii. 34 He had been..a magazine editor. He was on that kick, as he called it, when he met Martha. 1955B. Bailey in Shapiro & Hentoff Hear Me Talkin' to Ya xviii. 298 When I was starting up, they used to say the two races couldn't get along playing. They used to say stuff like they were afraid we'd go after their women. All that's been proved false, and everything else on that prejudice kick has been proved false. 1957M. Millar Soft Talkers ii. 20 ‘He's rather sensitive about being caught by the cops in bed with another man's wife.’ ‘For Pete's sake, Esther, get off that kick, will you?’ 1959C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 88 Mannie wasn't in on the Angries kick. Ibid. 93 They didn't like it when little Emmanuel got on the writing kick? 1963B. S. Johnson Travelling People iv. 66 The star of the production is Maurice Bunde,..fifty-ish but on a tremendous Back-to-Youth kick. 1970Globe Mag. (Toronto) 26 Sept. 8/3 We must get off this kick that every job is a career—it isn't. 1971Times Lit. Suppl. 12 Nov. 1409/1 Somewhere behind the cumulative high, the peace-kick, the good vibes, efficient entrepreneurs..were smiling their mean smiles all the way to the bank.
e. Athletics. A sharp burst of speed, esp. towards the end of a middle-distance race.
1955F. Stampfl On Running vii. 108 By making his final burst of 300 yards from home Bannister could hope to draw the sting of Nielsen's powerful kick and late finish. 1966R. Clarke Unforgiving Minute xvi. 143, I was obviously holding his finishing ‘kick’ with no effort whatever and I certainly ran faster when I did sprint. 1972N.Y. Times 4 June 4/5 Instead, Wottle overtook Bob Wheeler of Duke starting the stretch run and turned back a belated kick by Jerome Howe of Kansas State, who finished second in 3:39.8.
3. One who kicks. Usually with adj.: A (good or bad) kicker, esp. in football.
1857Hughes Tom Brown i. v, He's cock of the school..and the best kick and charger in Rugby. 1893Assoc. Football Handbk. 57 Very safe with his hands and a fine kick.
II. Slang senses of which the relationship is obscure.
4. the kick: the fashion, the newest style.
a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v., A high Kick, the top of the Fashion. 1731Gentl. Mag. I. 56 About the latter end of Queen Anne's reign, a rev. gentleman wrote a Treatise call'd A farewell to French Kicks... The author of it dissuades his countrymen from the use of French fashions. 1787G. Colman Inkle & Yarico iii. i, I march'd the lobby, twirled my stick..The girls all cry'd ‘He's quite the kick’. 1804Europ. Mag. June 413 This [head-dress] obtained the name of Nancy Dawson's new kick. 1894Mrs. E. Lynn Linton One too Many I. viii. 190 Mrs. West naturally wanted ‘the last new kick’.
5. A sixpence.
c1700Street Robberies Consider'd, Kick, Sixpence. 1725in New Cant. Dict. 1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Kick, a sixpence, when speaking of compound sums only, as three and a kick, is three and sixpence. 1834H. Ainsworth Rookwood iii. xiii. (1878) 260 Half a bull, three hogs, and a kick. 1871Echo 15 May (Farmer), ‘What do you mean by telling me that you will take it away for a kick?’.. ‘I'll do the job for sixpence’.
6. a. pl. Breeches, trousers. ? Obs. Cf. kickseys.
a1700in B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew. 1725New Cant. Dict. s.v., Tip us your Kicks, we'll have them as well as your Lour. 1819Moore Tom Crib 13 Old Georgy's bang-up togs and kicks.
b. pl. Shoes. orig. U.S.
1904‘No. 1500’ Life in Sing Sing 250/1 Kicks, shoes. 1936K. Mackenzie Living Rough xi. 160 My new kicks, every time I took a step, made a sound like the back of a bird store. 1937Partridge Dict. Slang 601/1 Pair o(f) kicks, boots, shoes: tramps' c[ant]. 1964L. Hairston in J. H. Clarke Harlem 285 After I brushed my kicks, I looked my wig over in the mirror. 1973Black World Apr. 63 My terrible blue-and-white kicks.
7. A pocket.
1851Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 52, I having some ready in my kick, grabbed the chance, and stepped home with my swag. 1869Greenwood Night in Workhouse (Farmer) I rifled his kick of his shiners so fine. 1938Wodehouse Summer Moonshine i. 18 ‘She slung your brother Joe out.’ ‘And with only ten dollars in his kick, mind you.’ 1962R. Cook Crust on its Uppers (1964) iii. 27 I'm about to stuff my pony in my kick. 1968Sunday Truth (Brisbane) 22 Sept. 22/8 One of Luke's jobs was to see that the money was banked every week. Luke put it in his own kick.
8. Comb., as kick-boxer, one who participates in kick-boxing; kick-boxing, a form of boxing incorporating elements of karate, in which kicking with bare feet is permitted as well as punching with gloved fists; kick-pleat (or plait), a pleat in a narrow skirt to allow freedom of movement; kick-stand, ‘a device for holding up a bicycle or motorcycle when not in use consisting of a metal bar or rod that is attached by a swivel device to the frame and may be kicked to a vertical position as a prop’ (Webster, 1961); kick-start, -starter, a device for starting an internal combustion engine, esp. on a motor-cycle, by a downward thrust on a pedal; hence kick-start v. trans. and intr., to start (an engine) thus; kick-turn Skiing, a form of standing turn; kick-wheel, a potter's wheel worked by a foot pedal.
1978Times 4 Mar. 17 In the featherweight contest..Griffin..came out somewhat perplexed against Oxford's former Thai *kickboxer. 1984Toronto Star 28 Mar. a7/3 Spadafora,..a one-time professional kick-boxer.
1971Sports Illustr. 26 Apr. 38/1 He's the heavyweight *kickboxing champion of the United States. 1972Observer (Eastchester, N.Y.) 20 July 4 From karate, Mr. Rothman and his friends have graduated to the more dangerous kickboxing, an Americanized karate. 1979Choi Hong Hi Taekwon-Do (ed. 4) 11 There are numerous styles of ‘hand and foot fighting’. In China it is given the names Koon-Tao, Kung Fu, or Daeji-Chen;..in Thailand, Kick boxing. 1984Toronto Star 28 Mar. a7/4 Spadafora said he fought a couple of professional kick-boxing matches in the early 70s.
1934Webster s.v. plait, A *kick plait is a variation of the latter [sc. box plait] used to give breadth to a narrow skirt.
1960Sunday Express 20 Nov. 14/2 Pencil skirt with back ‘*kick’ pleat.
1947Cycling Handbk. (League of Amer. Wheelmen, Inc.) 23 Heavyweights are generally equipped with coaster brakes,..*kickstands, and other accoutrements dear to the hearts of juvenile Americans. 1963D. Broun Subject of Harry Egypt i. 8 There was a metered space..and he eased the cycle into it and over onto the kickstand.
1914Motor Cycle 2 Apr. 138/1, 1912 P. and M., free engine, 2-speed, *kick start. 1928Manch. Guardian Weekly 15 June 474/2 The biggest boy is demonstrating..how to kick-start an engine. 1959I. Jefferies Thirteen Days i. 17, I..turned my bike down the slope to save kick-starting. Ibid. xi. 188, I kick-started and zoomed up the rock-slope. 1962‘D. Wilson’ Search for Geoffrey Goring viii. 170 He kickstarted the motor and rode on.
1916Motor Cyclists' A.B.C. 107 A *kick starter is fitted to a machine for the purpose of allowing the engine to be started whilst the rider is in the saddle by a downward kick of a pedal. 1919C. P. Thompson Cocktails 235 She mounted on the kickstarter and stamped on it with resolute vigour. 1961Engineering 13 Oct. 486 The clutch, gearbox, kickstarter, transmission and rear stub axle are combined with the engine into a single unit.
1910W. R. Rickmers Ski-ing 27 People with stiff or short legs should take short ski, as otherwise certain necessary movements (i.e., the *kick-turn) become difficult or impossible. 1960Sunday Express 18 Dec. 15/4 Kick-turns, in which you stand on one ski on a slope, lift the other and turn it right round, and then bring the second ski round too so that you are facing in the opposite direction.
1893E. A. Barber Pott. & Porc. U.S. xii. 250 Such wares..were produced in large quantities by negro men and boys, who employed the old-fashioned ‘*kick-wheel’ in their manufacture. 1949K. S. Woods Rural Crafts Eng. v. xvi. 233 A kick-wheel is driven by a horizontal movement of one foot on a treadle. 1968J. Arnold Shell Bk. Country Crafts 15 With the employment of an improved kick-wheel for ‘throwing’, they were able to make tremendous advances. 1972Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 30 July 5/1 The pottery produced is hand built. However, the group does work with a kick-wheel, as well as an electric-wheel.
▸ kick flip n. Skateboarding an aerial manoeuvre based on the ollie, in which the board is manipulated by the feet during a jump so that it spins sideways through 360 degrees before landing; cf. ollie n.
1977Washington Post 11 Aug. d9 By 1975, youthful riders throughout the country were doing popouts, powerslides and *kick flips. 2004Dazed & Confused Feb. 73 [The] 24-year-old pro-skater..is more than just a pretty boy with a passion for kickflips.
▪ II. kick, n.2|kɪk|
[Origin obscure: sense 1 may be humorously from kick n.1]
1. An indentation in the bottom of a glass bottle, diminishing the internal capacity. Cf. kick-up 5.
1861Mayhew Lond. Labour II. 451 You must know, sir, that some bottles has great ‘kicks’ at their bottoms. 1876Blackmore Cripps x. (1877) 59 He kept them in bottles without any ‘kicks’. 1899Blackw. Mag. Feb. 396/1 These were the ‘kicks’ of bottles whose long snouts were thrust into wooden racks.
2. The projection on the tang of a pocket knife blade, which prevents the edge of the blade from striking the spring.
1864in Webster.
3. In brickmaking: The piece of wood fastened to the upper side of a ‘stock-board’ to make a depression in the lower face of a brick as moulded. (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875.)
▪ III. † kick, n.3 Obs. rare.
In 6 kik, 7 kicke.
[ad. Gr. κίκι.]
The castor-oil plant.
1597Gerarde Herbal ii. cxxxi. §1. 400 Ricinus, Palma Christi, or Kik, hath a great round hollow stalke. 1611Cotgr., Paulme de Christ, Kicke, Ricinus, Palma Christi.
▪ IV. kick, v.1|kɪk|
Forms: 4 kike, 4–6 kyke, 6 keke, kicke, 5– kick.
[ME. kike, kyke, of unknown origin. The W. cicio, often cited as the source, is from English (Prof. Rhŷs).]
I.
1. a. intr. To strike out with the foot.
c1386Chaucer Wife's T. 85 Ther is noon of vs alle If any wight wol clawe vs on the galle That we nel kike [v.r. kyke]. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 355 Þere þou myȝte assaye how strongliche þese mares konneþ kyke [v.r. kike]. 1398― Barth. De P.R. vi. v. (MS. Bodl.) lf. 36 b/1 Whanne the modre wasscheþ and kemeþ ham [children] þei kikeþ and praunseþ. a1529Skelton Elynour Rummyng 450 Of the tewsday in the weke Whan the mare doth keke. 1548Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 23 If they be prycked, they wyll kycke. 1599B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. Induct., They.., like galled camels, kick at every touch. 1733Pope Hor. Sat. ii. i. 87 'Tis a Bear's talent not to kick, but hug. 1862Carlyle Fredk. Gt. ix. vi. (1872) III. 125 A dead horse, or a dying, in the next stall,..he at least will not kick upon us, think the neighbouring Kings.
b. slang. To die. Also to kick it. Cf. kick up (13 b), one's heels (5), the bucket (4), k. out (12 c).
1725New Cant. Dict., Kick'd, gone, fled, departed. 1858Trollope Dr. Thorne III. vii. 123 There are fellows have done ten times worse than I; and they are not going to kick..you are trying to frighten me. 1892H. Nisbet Bail Up 105 (Farmer) Four on them sickened all at once..and after they had kicked it, my two mates went with me. 1899E. Phillpotts Human Boy 10 Then they get microbes on the chest, and kick.
c. Phrases. to kick against the pricks (spur, goad): to strike the foot against such sharp-pointed or piercing weapons; also fig. to be recalcitrant to one's own hurt. to kick over the traces: (of a horse) to get a leg over the traces so as to kick more freely and vigorously; fig. to throw off the usual restraints.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 436 It is hard to kyke aȝen þe spore. 1382― Acts ix. 5 It is hard to thee, for to kyke aȝens the pricke. 1755Smollett Quix. (1803) IV. 214 Advising that honest man is kicking against the pricks. 1861H. Kingsley Ravenshoe xlii, I'll go about with the rogue. He is inclined to kick over the traces, but I'll whip him in a little. 1871E. F. Burr Ad Fidem i. 4 Kicking against the pricks of the constitution, and course of nature. 1876L. Stephen Hours in Library II. 354 The effervescence of genius which drives men to kick over the traces of respectability. 1882Besant Revolt Man i. 32 Always..some kicking over the limits of convention.
2. intr. fig. To show temper, annoyance, defiance, dislike, etc.; to rebel, be recalcitrant. to kick against or at, to object strongly to, rebel against, reject with anger or scorn; to spurn.
1388Wyclif Deut. xxxii. 15 The louede puple was maad fat, and kikide aȝen. 1549Latimer 4th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 126 He is none of these wynkers, he kyckes not when he heares hys fault. 1596Bell Serv. Popery i. i. x. 33 The wicked do euer kicke against the preachers. 1611Bible 1 Sam. ii. 29 Wherefore kicke ye at my sacrifice, and at mine offering? 1631Sanderson Serm. (1681) II. 8 Our proposals are suspected; our counsels..scorned and kickt at. 1847Tennyson Princ. iv. 393 A rampant heresy, such as..Would make all women kick against their Lords. 1871Freeman Hist. Ess. Ser. ii. iii. 116 Human nature craves for something like religion, and it does not always kick at a little superstition. 1887Besant The World went i, He was compelled to taste the medicines, and his stomach kicked thereat.
3. transf.
a. Of firearms: To recoil when fired.
1832Babbage Econ. Manuf. ii. (ed. 3) 23 If a gun is loaded with ball it will not kick so much as when loaded with small shot. 1837Dickens Pickw. xix, I had no idea these small fire-arms kicked so. 1858Greener Gunnery 322 Dirty guns..kick violently, simply from the greater friction.
b. Cricket. Of the ground: To cause a ball to rebound in a more nearly vertical direction than usual. (Cf. 13 c.) Said also of the ball, and of the bowler. Also with up.
1866‘Captain Crawley’ Cricket 25 You will most likely get a run whether the ball shoots or kicks. 1877C. Box Eng. Game Cricket 453 The ground is said to kick when the ball, after being pitched, rises almost perpendicularly. 1882Standard 29 Aug. 3/2 The rain had made the wicket ‘kick’ a good deal. 1888Steel & Lyttelton Cricket 152 Spofforth was bowling rather more than medium pace, bringing the ball back a foot or more very quickly from the pitch, sometimes kicking to the height of the batsman's head and at others shooting. 1899Westm. Gaz. 21 July 5 The turf..played..without the slightest trace of a desire to ‘kick’. 1904P. F. Warner How we recovered Ashes xiii. 246 The ball was always turning, and one or two deliveries kicked up rather awkwardly. 1963A. Ross Australia 63 i. 33 McKenzie got one to kick in the next over.
c. Telegr. Of a relay: to break contact momentarily.
1928A. E. Stone Text Bk. Telegr. xiii. 192 If during this period the tongue of the relay ‘kicks’, the local circuit is momentarily broken. 1959J. W. Freebody Telegr. vii. 195/2 In a duplex circuit this surge flows through the line coil of the relay and would cause the relay to ‘kick’ if a similar balancing surge were not also allowed to pass through the relay balance coil.
4. a. trans. To strike (anything) with the foot. to kick the wind or clouds, to be hanged (slang). to kick the bucket, to die (slang): see bucket n.2 to kick one's heels: see heel n.1 18.
1590Shakes. Com. Err. iii. i. 17, I should kicke being kickt, and being at that passe, You would keepe from my heeles. 1598Florio 96/1 Dar de' calci a Rouaio, to be hang'd, to kicke the winde. 1711Steele Spect. No. 2 ⁋1 Sir Roger..had..kick'd Bully Dawson in a Coffee-house. 1711Addison Spect. No. 112 ⁋4 An idle Fellow, and at that Time was kicking his Heels for his Diversion. 1787‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 39 By mounting thus, you avoid all danger of being kicked, or bit. 1811Lex. Bal. s.v., To kick the clouds before the hotel door, i.e. to be hanged. 1842Macaulay Ess., Fredk. Gt. (1858) I. 528 He reviled his Chancellor. He kicked the shins of his Judges. 1890G. Allen Tents of Shem x, Sir Arthur..will do the right thing in the end before he kicks the bucket.
b. To work (a printing-press) with the foot (Cent. Dict.).
c. U.S. slang. To dismiss, discharge (cf. kick n.1 1 f); to reject (a suitor).
1860Bartlett Dict. Amer. s.v., ‘Miss A has kicked the Hon. Mr. B, and sent him off with a flea in his ear.’ (Confined to the South.) 1895Outing (U.S.) XXVII. 74/2 Some years ago, when a Suffolk gal kicked me.
d. transf. Of things: To strike (anything) with a violent impact. Of a gun: To strike in the recoil. to kick the beam: see beam n.1 6 b.
1667Milton P.L. iv. 1004 The latter [weight] quick up flew, and kickt the beam. 1748Smollett Rod. Rand. ix, A straw thrown into either scale would make the Balance kick the Beam. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 101 Riches are thrown into the scale, and virtue kicks the beam. Mod. The gun kicked my shoulder, and has made it all black.
e. refl. To reproach or be angry with (oneself); to be annoyed at something one has done or omitted to do.
1891Voice (N.Y.) 29 Jan., In the absence of any of the committee to kick I went home kicking myself. 1892W. S. Walsh Handy-bk. Lit. Curiosities 584 To kick one's self, often used with an infinite variety of adjuncts,—i.e., to kick one's self ‘all over the house’, ‘all over the place’, etc.,—means to feel or express violent dissatisfaction with one's self. 1903Independent (N.Y.) 15 Jan. 148/2 He goes away kicking himself. 1907A. Bennett Let. 5 May (1966) I. 90 Those who persuade themselves to act on this assumption from the start will have least cause to kick themselves in the distant future. 1955L. P. Hartley Perfect Woman xxi. 188 All the way to Tilecotes he could have kicked himself for not having made the engagement for next week. 1966B. Kimenye Kalasanda Revisited 48 Mrs. Mulindwa could have kicked herself for making the suggestion in the first place. 1973Times 27 Dec. 13/4 Rangers were rightly kicking themselves afterwards.
f. trans. To give up or overcome (a habit, esp. drug-taking). Also intr. colloq. (orig. U.S. slang).
1936Amer. Speech XI. 123/2 To kick the habit, to stop using drugs. 1951Nat. Educ. Assoc. U.S. Jrnl. May 342/2 Later on they find themselves hooked and can't kick the habit unless they receive medical and psychiatric help. 1956B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) xiv. 121 Along about the end of the war I went to Joe Glaser's office and told him I wanted to kick and I'd need help. 1958Oxford Mail 29 July 6/5 Harmony would again be restored if Johnny could ‘kick’ his craving. 1964S. Bellow Herzog (1965) 334 Between his false teeth (to help him kick the smoking habit, as he had once explained to Herzog) he kept a plastic toothpick. 1971Black World Mar. 56/1 I'll help you, man, cuz I know you want to kick. Ibid. Apr. 22/1 Let's kick that habit, let's use soul music. 1972Times 3 Jan. 8/3 In a moment of weakness, I watched an episode of this [television serial] after having kicked the habit for more than 12 months.
5. a. With adv. or prep. (see also II.): To impel, drive, or move, by or as by kicking. to kick down the ladder: see ladder. to kick up one's heels: see heel n.1 24.
1598Florio, Fare il pane, to dye, to kick vp ones heeles. 1604[See heel n.1 24]. a1626Fletcher Nice Valour i. Wks. (Rtldg.) 456/1 If he were not kick'd to th' church o' th' wedding day, I'll never come at court. 1711Addison Spect. No. 57 ⁋3 [She] threatens to kick him out of the House. 1749Fielding Tom Jones i. xiii, When once you are got up, to kick the stool from under you. 1775J. Trumbull McFingal i. 96 Some muskets..though well aim'd..Bear wide and kick their owners over. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 98 The 'Efreet then kicked the bottle into the sea. 1871L. Stephen Playgr. Europe iii. (1894) 86 Every little bit of snow that we kicked aside started a young avalanche on its own account. 1886Stevenson Treasure Isl. iv. xviii, Ball after ball flew over or fell short, or kicked up the sand in the enclosure.
b. To drive forcibly and contemptuously; to drive or force (out of, into, etc.). to kick downstairs, to turn out, eject unceremoniously or ignominiously; hence, jocularly, to be kicked upstairs, to be removed from the scene of action by promotion to an ostensibly higher post; also, to kick (someone) upstairs.
1678Marvell Growth Popery Wks. 1776 I. 643 In this manner they [the Parliament] were kickt from adjournment to adjournment. 1685Wood Life 27 Feb. (O.H.S.) III. 133 Musae repudiatae, ‘Muses kickt downe staires’. c1697[see upstairs adv. 1 b]. c1728Earl of Ailesbury Mem. (1890) 640 Forgetting, like good Christians..their kicking us out of the pepper trade in the Indies. 1750C'tess of Shaftesbury Let. 28 Nov. in Earl of Malmesbury Lett. (1870) I. 78 The Bedfordian set will be honourably kicked up or down stairs. 1809J. Quincy Life 19 Jan. 175 To use a strong but common expression, it [the majority in Congress] could not be kicked into such a declaration [of war] by either nation. 1821Croker Diary 31 May in C. Papers (1884) I. vii. 186 Lord Melville informs me that he is about to be kicked upstairs (his expression) to be Secretary of State for the Home Department. 1834J. Halley in Life (1842) 21 The Faculty..kicked us out of college. 1952‘W. Cooper’ Struggles of Albert Woods iii. v. 197 The plot was devastatingly simple—Dibdin was to be kicked upstairs and Albert was to take his place. 1962R. B. Fuller Epic Poem on Industrialization 27 Kicking the bosses upstairs—high out of the way. 1967G. F. Fiennes I Tried to run a Railway vii. 78, I got eventually kicked upstairs to Paddington. 1970Guardian 11 Nov. 20/6 Which party has kicked more people upstairs?
6. To accomplish, make, or do, by kicking.
a. Football. To win (a goal) by a kick.
b. To force or make (one's way) by kicking. Also fig.
1857Hughes Tom Brown i. v, It is all Lombard-street to a China orange that the School-house kick a goal. 1891Times 15 Oct. 5/3 From this try Shorland easily kicked a goal. 1893R. Kipling Many Invent. 156 The Rathmines kicked her way northward through the warm water.
II. With adverbs, in special senses (see also 5).
7. kick about or around.
a. intr. To walk or wander about; to go from place to place, esp. aimlessly. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1839C. M. Kirkland New Home xxv. 195 We heard that he was better, and would be able to ‘kick around’ pretty soon. 1846B. Upton Let. 12 Dec. in Amer. Heritage (1966) June 93/2, I have been kicking about with scarcely leisure enough to take my meals. 1946F. Sargeson That Summer 56 We're going to have a good time just kicking around.
b. to be kicking about or around: to lie scattered around, esp. in a casual or untidy fashion; to be available, unused, or unwanted.
1867‘T. Lackland’ Homespun i. 80 The..doctor, whose instruments..lie kicking about like ordinary household trumpery. 1877E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincolnshire 148/2 When I went ower to Rotterdam, bacca was that cheap, it was kickin' aboot i' th' streets. 1906J. F. Kelly Man with Grip 99 Now kindly remove that old radium, It's been kicking around for a week. 1955W. Gaddis Recognitions ii. viii. 658 Too much gold, that was their difficulty, gold kicking around all over the place. 1967‘V. Siller’ Biltmore Call 128 ‘Is there a sandwich kicking around?’ ‘Oh, sure, and I just made a fresh pot of coffee.’
c. trans. To kick in all directions; also fig., to treat (someone) harshly, unfairly, or contemptuously. Chiefly U.S.
1938C. Porter Most Gentlemen don't like Love, Most gentlemen don't like love,—They just like to kick it around. 1939J. Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath ii. 8 A good guy and also he was not one whom any rich bastard could kick around. a1940F. Scott Fitzgerald Last Tycoon (1949) i. 25 You seem to take things so personally... You just ask to be kicked around.
d. To discuss or examine (a subject, idea, etc.); to try out. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1939Esquire May 75 Speaking again of Swing: few tunes deserve its name till they've been ‘kicked around’ by good performers. 1947F. Wakeman Saxon Charm vi. 118 He agreed to write the scene experimentally. ‘Maybe I'll get excited about it when I start kicking it around.’ 1966‘D. Shannon’ With a Vengeance (1968) iii. 42 They..drifted over by the other side of the big room to kick it around a little. 1971‘G. Douglas’ Time to Die xv. 159 They kicked the details around for a few more minutes and then left them to stew.
8. kick back.
a. intr. (See quot. 1909.)
1909Webster, To kick back, Mech., to start backwards;—said of an internal-combustion engine in starting with the crank when the spark is advanced and a too early ignition is effected. 1935T. E. Lawrence Let. 13 Feb. (1938) 855 We launched the Dinghy: the quietest and sweetest tick-over of any Dinghy yet! It kicked back, when cold. So we put the ignition back a trifle.
b. trans. and intr. To return (money, stolen goods, etc.) to the person from whom they were obtained; to pay (money), esp. as a kick-back (see kick-back). colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1926Maines & Grant Wise-Crack Dict. 10/2 Kick⁓back, have to return a sucker's money. 1930Amer. Mercury Dec. 456/2 Kick back with that hooch or we give you the works. 1934Atlantic Monthly Aug. 139 The kick-back operates in the following manner. A wage scale is set either by law, as in government contracts, or by agreement between capital and labor. The worker assumes that he is to get so much per day or per hour for his work. At the end of the week, he is required to return or kick-back part of his wages to a designated person, often a foreman or a bookkeeper. 1970‘B. Mather’ Break in Line v. 59 The luggage coolies..kicked back half of their take to the Pathan hall porter.
9. kick down. trans. and intr. To operate a kick-down device (see kick-down).
1909Cent. Dict. Suppl. s.v., To kick down, to bore (a well) by a drill worked as follows: A wooden casing is sunk in the ground or rock for a few feet and the boring-tool works inside of and is guided by this casing... The tool is moved or kicked down by the pressure of the operators' feet. 1959Observer 1 Mar. 21/5 Second can be obtained by kicking down the accelerator. 1963Which? Oct. (Car Suppl.) 116/2 More effort was needed to ‘kick⁓down’ on the Zephyr 6.
10. kick in.
a. trans. To break down (a door, etc.) by kicking against the outer side; spec. (U.S. slang), to break into (a building).
1881R. L. Stevenson Treas. Isl. (1883) v. 39 Then there followed a great to-do.., furniture thrown over, doors kicked in. 1926J. Black You can't Win vii. 78 I'll kick in the first private house that looks good. We'll surely find a coat and maybe a few dollars. 1931Detective Fiction Weekly 17 Jan. 23/1 Harold G. Slater's big jewelry store safe had been ‘kicked in’ and robbed of twelve thousand dollars.
b. trans. and intr. To contribute (money, etc.); to pay (one's share). slang (orig. U.S.).
1908K. McGaffey Sorrows of Show-Girl 45 The lawyer guy kicked in with the balance of the ten thousand. 1908H. Green Maison de Shine 282 If somebody else will get 'em to kick in I'll play the show. 1928[see chin n.1 1 d]. 1936Wodehouse Laughing Gas xxiv. 254 To encourage the Christmas spirit in whoever was supposed to kick in with my ransom. 1948Lawton (Okla.) Constitution 2 July 8/1 The spectators ‘kicked in’ with a little cash. 1972Fortune Jan. 112/2 Hillard Elkins, producer of Oh! Calcutta!, asked him to help back his productions of two Ibsen plays; Lufkin kicked in $10,000.
11. kick off.
a. trans. To throw off (shoes) by kicking or jerking the foot. (So kick on.)
1840Dickens Old C. Shop xlix, He..kicked off his shoes, and groped his way up-stairs. 1890G. Gissing The Emancipated III. ii. xvii. 289 He kicked off his boots, kicked on his slippers.
b. Football. intr. To give the first kick. Also fig., to start, begin. Freq. const. with.
1857Hughes Tom Brown i. v, The School are going to kick off. 1880Daily Tel. 20 Dec., The Southern captain kicked off with the wind against him. 1911R. Brooke Let. 25 Apr. (1968) 300 ‘Are you ready to kick off?’ he said... I gathered it merely meant was she ready to go out to San Lorenzo. 1942F. Sargeson in N.Z. New Writing I. 5 To kick off with we'd fool about in the water. 1954L. Durrell Let. 14 Mar. in Spirit of Place (1969) 124, I will kick off with Freya Stark and Sir Harry Luke. 1968Blues Unlimited Nov. 17 It kicked off with Bob Hite..ranged through Dave Kelly's bottleneck playing. 1969G. E. Evans Farm & Village xii. 131 The old bo's would come in, and my father and I used to go down to the bar to kick off with.
c. To die. slang (orig. U.S.).
1921J. Dos Passos Three Soldiers ii. i. 61 Another kid's kicked off with that—what d'they call it?—menegitis. 1948E. Waugh Loved One 22 ‘It belonged to some old Britisher who's just kicked off.’ ‘I am that Britisher and I have not kicked off.’ 1969C. Burke God is Beautiful, Man (1970) 29 If he don't come back his old man will get sick and kick off too. 1970R. Lowell Notebk. 122 The old bitches Live into their hundreds, while I'll kick off tomorrow.
12. kick out.
a. trans. To expel or turn out with a kick, or in an ignominious fashion.
1697Dryden Virg. Past. ix. 8 Kick'd out, we set the best face on't we cou'd. 1794Ld. Sheffield in Ld. Auckland's Corr. (1862) III. 168 You would be all kicked out before the end of the session. 1807–8W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 254 A few noisy retainers, who have crept into office, and a few noisy patriots,..who have been kicked out.
b. Rugby Football. intr. To re-start the game by kicking the ball towards the opposite goal from the 25-yard line, after the defending side has touched down or the attacking side has failed to make a goal from a try.
In the old Rugby school-game (to which quot. 1857 refers) the term was differently used. If one side touched down the ball behind the goal-line of the other, a player of the attacking side had the right to ‘kick out’ from the goal-line, giving to his own side (under certain conditions) the chance of a kick at goal.
1857Hughes Tom Brown i. v, He will not kick out till they are all in goal.
c. intr. To die. slang.
1898United Service Mag. Mar. 649 ‘Here comes the parson’, I once heard a man say; ‘he thinks I'm going to kick out, but I'm not’.
d. Surfing. (See quots.)
1962T. Masters Surfing Made Easy 64 Kicking out, turning up and over the wave to end a ride. 1965J. Pollard Surfrider ii. 20 First let's ‘kick out’—shift the weight to the rear of the board and pull it over the top of the wave.
13. kick up.
a. trans. To raise (dust, etc.) by or as by kicking; hence, to make (any disturbance or nuisance).
1756Foote Eng. fr. Paris ii. i, You must know he intended to kick up a riot tonight, at the play-house. 1786Burns Ordination iii, This day the Kirk kicks up a stoure. c1800Rhodes Bomb. Fur. i. (1830) 11 Begone, brave army, and don't kick up a row. 1801in Anderson Cumbld. Ball. 20 Robbie he kick'd up a dust in a crack. 1844W. H. Maxwell Sports & Adv. Scot. ix. (1855) 88 The wind..had..kicked up more sea than was..agreeable. 1857Hughes Tom Brown ii. iii, He had been kicking up horrid stinks for some time in his study. 1886J. K. Jerome Idle Thoughts (1889) 1 They kick up such a shindy.
†b. intr. To die (cf. 1 b). Obs.
a1658Cleveland Poems, Obsequies 82 The rest that kick'd up were the smaller Fry. 1813Picken Poems I. 46 (E.D.D.) Soud ye kick up an' slip awa, They'll scrimply find anither As guid.
c. Cricket. intr. Of a ball: To rebound more or less vertically. (Cf. 3 b.)
1895Daily News 29 May 8/5 A knock on the hand from a ball..which kicked up a little.
III. 14. Phrases used as ns. or adjs.; spec. kick-about, an irregular form of football; kick-and-rush, used attrib. to describe football played with more vigour than art; kick-ball orig. Sc., a football, or the game of football; kick-out, (a) (see 12 b); (b) Surfing (see quots. and cf. sense 8 d above); kick-the-can (or -tin, etc.), a children's game in which a tin can is kicked (fully described in I. & P. Opie Children's Games (1969) 164–6). See also kick-off, kick-up.
1877Day of my Life at Eton 97 There's kick-about going on in the passage. 1899E. Phillpotts Human Boy 9 The halfhour ‘kick-about’ in the playground.
1906Daily Chron. 26 Nov. 9/2 It was a kick-and-rush game, played badly. 1930Daily Express 9 Sept. 12/5 The football they played was of the kick-and-rush order.
1828Moir Mansie Wauch v, Fleeing down the street, with the kickba' at their noses. 1854E. H. Chapin Humanity in the City vii. 200 They are running about at kick-ball and cricket. 1893Stevenson Catriona viii. 94, I will be a kick-ball between you and the Duke no longer. 1971E. Shorris Great Spirit i. 17 You played kickball in the streets. 1972J. E. Franklin in W. King Black Short Story Anthol. 354 During recess the children played kick-ball, tag, and other games.
1862Thackeray Philip I. x. 172 Phil, for his part, adopted towards his cousin a kick-me-down-stairs manner.
1801Wolcott (P. Pindar) Odes to Ins & Outs vi. Wks. 1812 IV. 359 The tumult on that kick-out day Was mob-like at a house on fire. 1889Standard 23 Dec., Following the kick-out, Christopherson got possession and narrowly missed dropping a goal. 1967J. Severson Great Surfing Gloss. s.v., A kick-out is a last-ditch effort to keep from losing your board. 1970Studies in English (Univ. Cape Town) I. 32 The kick-out..involves stepping on the rear of the surfboard with considerable force and, at the same time, raising the lead foot, lifting the nose of the surfboard out of the water, and making it possible to pivot the board on its tail. 1971Ibid. II. 27 The kick-out is an act of desperation. The surfer turns his board violently from the tail and as he leaves the board kicks it—so he hopes—over the top of the wave.
1909N. & Q. 5 June 445/2 Children's games in Orkney... Kick the tinnie. 1959I. & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolch. xviii. 377 Orthodox games like ‘Kick the Can’ and ‘Jacky Shine a Light’. 1959B. Sutton-Smith Games N.Z. Children ii. 58 More popular were those games in which the players helped one another to fight the He, and of these the most widespread was the game known as Kick the Tin. 1966‘L. Lane’ ABZ of Scouse 59 Kick-ther-can, a form of street football, using old tin cans. 1971Stornoway Gaz. 10 July 1/8 Children are inventive folk, They make their own best ploys. Smooring, leevo, kick the can, Sufficed when we were boys. 1973B. Broadfoot Ten Lost Years viii. 86 My father called me in from outside, kick the can or one of those games we used to play.
Add:[I.] [4.] [a.] to kick ass (slang, orig. and chiefly U.S.), to act roughly or aggressively; to be powerful or assertive.
1977Rolling Stone 7 Apr. 83/2 Carter plays an adventurous brand of chamber jazz that even kicks ass on occasions such as ‘One Bass Rag’. 1981T. Morrison Tar Baby vii. 222 Kicking ass at Con Edison offices, barking orders in the record companies. 1989Spin Oct. 10/1 Your August issue kicks ass. Great story on Tom Petty, a tear-jerker on China, all you ever needed to know on rap. 1990N.Y. Woman June–July 40/1, I think it's great fun to kick ass,..but women are taught not to fight. 1993Albuquerque Jrnl. 10 Nov. c3/1, I didn't just exist in government. I prevailed. I kicked ass.
[III.] [14.] kick-ass, a. U.S. slang (see sense *4 a above), rough, aggressive, powerful (also ellipt. as n.).
1977Rolling Stone 16 June 60/3 Jan Hammer's cranked-up Moog and Beck's raving guitar, given even a taste of fusion's structure, turned especially *kickass. 1987New Musical Express 14 Feb. 33/2 Whatever Etta grabs, be it blues, ballad, or R&B kick-ass, she handles in the same emotive way that's kept her bill-topping since her days with the Otis Revue. 1991Times 16 Feb. 10/2 His point is that ‘the old, kick-ass way of managing’ is counter-productive. 1994M.E.A.T. Sept. 9/2 This mind-blowing, mind-stoning release has been worthy of several repeat listens in the to-be-heard Masters' kick ass car stereo.
▪ V. kick, v.2 slang.|kɪk|
[Possibly a transferred use of prec.]
a. intr. To make a demand or request for money, work, etc.
b. trans. To appeal to, dun (a person) for something; to obtain (something) by asking.
1792Galloway Poems 31 (E.D.D.), I kik'd a saxpence frae my master. 1829Sporting Mag. XXIII. 293 They do not like two coachmen kicking in fifty miles. 1858A. Mayhew Paved with Gold 254 (Farmer) Ned Purchase suggested that they might as well try and kick him for some coppers. Mod. Sc. (tailors' slang) He cam into the shop yesterday to kick the cork [= master] for a job. |