kickn.1
/kɪk/, U.S. /kɪk/ I. An act of kicking, and related uses.
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 as main entry. drop-, penalty-, place-kick: see these words.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [noun] > kicking > kick
kick1530
yark1581
lunge1817
fling1852
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > [noun] > with the foot > kicking > a kick
spurna1300
kick1530
yark1581
wince1612
pote1781
funk1808
spang1863
leather1883
root1907
boot1942
hoof1985
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 236/1 Kicke of an horse, ruade.
1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. x. sig. H3v Robrus sprauling kicks, Fabius caper, Harries tossing tricks.
1709 R. Steele 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.
1759 S. Johnson Idler 5 May 137 I lost my patience, and gave him a kick.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. v. 65 This imp..has always had a relishing fancy for the kicks and cuffs.
1882 in T. Charles-Edwards & B. 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.
1892 Outdoor 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.
1893 Rugby 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.
1961 F. 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.
1961 F. C. Avis Sportsman's Gloss. 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.
1972 Guardian 16 Mar. 23/3 From a free kick on the right, Foggo chipped on and the net bulged with relief.
b. figurative. Esp. in a kick in the pants: a grave or humbling setback; an expression of severe criticism or disapproval; similarly, a kick in the teeth.
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the mind > emotion > humility > humiliation > [noun] > instance of
humiliation1526
snub1748
set-down1780
squabash1818
a slap in (or on) the face, in the eye, on the wrist1861
throwdown1887
put-down1932
a kick in the pants1933
ass-kicking1943
a kick in the teeth1972
bitch slap1987
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > [noun] > severe > instance of
choking pear1546
choke-pear1573
a flea in one's ear1577
rattle1652
juniper letter1655
juniper lecture1706
siserary1771
wig1789
a word of a sort1796
rowing1812
wigging1813
sloan1823
scorcher1842
rubdowna1846
tickler1846
slating1881
bawl-out1926
earful1929
caning1933
a kick in the pants1933
rollicking1938
rocket1941
bollocking1946
butt-kicking1970
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrespect > insult > [noun] > an insult
bismer971
unworshipc1200
hard wordc1225
despite1297
dishonourc1320
conteckc1380
reproofa1382
filthc1400
rebukec1425
contumelyc1450
probrec1460
reproacha1513
abusion1570
disgrace1586
affront1588
mockery1603
disobligement1635
disobligation1655
contumelacy1657
insult1671
humps and grumps1727
foul-mouthing1821
mudball1846
slam1884
burn1942
a kick in the teeth1972
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xi. sig. I6 For wee can neuer throughly try him, but in the kicke of malignant Chance.
1833 Lytton in Hansard XV. 1234 His [Irish] policy was wittily described..as a ‘quick alternation of kicks and kindness’.
1836 D. Crockett Exploits & Adventures in 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.]
1925 D. H. Lawrence Refl. Death Porcupine 105 The novel itself gives Vronsky a kick in the behind.
1933 E. O'Neill Ah, Wilderness! iv. ii. 132 Aw, you deserved a kick in the pants..making such a darned slob of yourself.
1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 881/1 It's better than a kick in the pants.
1940 R. A. J. Walling Why did Trethewy Die? i. 25 Giving the Methusalahs a kick in the pants.
1963 Listener 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.
1970 Globe & 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.
1972 Guardian 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. more kicks than halfpence: more harshness than kindness: cf. monkey n.
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the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > more unkindness than kindness [phrase]
more kicks than halfpence1823
1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well III. viii. 211 ‘Which is like monkey's allowance, I suppose,’ said the traveller, ‘more kicks than halfpence.’
1853 Darwin in Life II. 39 Though I shall get more kicks than halfpennies, I will, life serving, attempt my work.
1887 T. 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.
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1885 W. J. Fitzpatrick Life T. N. Burke I. 14 If..the horse had any kick in him, a sensation scene took place.
1898 F. T. Bullen Cruise ‘Cachalot’ xxv. 323 He had not a kick in him.
e. figurative. Opposition, objection, repugnance.
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the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > [noun]
contrariositya1340
adversitya1382
champertyc1386
contrariousness1398
thwartingc1430
contrariancec1450
contrariness?1530
withsitting1532
oppugning1535
opposition1548
oppugnation1563
thwartness1577
adverseness1580
crossing1580
breasting1594
antipathy1601
oppugnancy1609
affrontment1611
opposure1611
thortera1614
contrariancya1617
obstancy1616
oppositeness1619
contropposition1621
obstrigillation1623
opposing1624
hostility1632
opposal1638
crossness1641
affront1642
aversion1651
oppugnance1657
shock1664
opponency1727
counteraction1750
antagonism1797
throwing1816
oppositiveness1824
kick1839
variance1842
opposedness1853
againstness1909
hornet1921
adversariness1970
oppositionality1989
the mind > emotion > hatred > loathing or detestation > [noun]
wlatingc725
wlatc960
ugginga1325
uglinessc1325
loathingc1340
abominationc1350
wlatsomenessc1380
wlatingness1382
fastidie?a1425
loathsomenessc1425
ugsomenessc1450
horribility1496
detestation1526
abhorring1528
dislikingc1540
fastidiousness1541
abhorfulness1556
fulsomeness1563
execration1570
abhorment1576
detesting1591
loath?1591
abhorrence1592
abhorrency1596
dislike1597
distaste1598
disgust1611
nausea1619
oppositeness1619
nauseousness1622
detest1638
wearisomeness1642
repugnance1643
odium1645
abhorrition1649
abominate1651
nausity1654
disdain1655
repugnancy1681
degoust1716
repulsion1751
self-repugnance1852
kick1893
1839 Chemung (New York) Democrat 25 Dec. Take the hint without a kick, and shut the open door.
1887 F. Francis Saddle & Mocassin xviii. 308 I haven't got any kick against Don Juan.
1893 Westm. Gaz. 3 Mar. 9/1 There is a strong kick among the few sportsmen here at this wholesale murder.
1904 F. 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.
1910 C. E. Mulford Hopalong Cassidy viii. 57 ‘We ain't got no kick, have we?’ retorted Cavalry.
1948 Gainesville (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 to get or give the kick): Discharge, dismissal, ‘the bag’, ‘the sack’. slang.
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1844 W. Jamie Muse of Mearns 100 She was soon to get the kick.
1885 G. Fraser Poems 50 (E.D.D.) Should a brither be sick, They'll no gie him the kick.
2. transferred.
a. The recoil of a gun when discharged.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [noun] > recoil
recoil1575
kick1826
1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans I. vii. 96 The kick of the rifle disconcerts your aim!
1846 W. Greener Gun (new ed.) 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 Telegraphy (see quot. 19281).
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the world > movement > motion in specific manner > sudden movement > [noun] > jerking > a jerk
spang1513
lipe1545
job1560
jert1568
abraid1570
jerk1575
flirta1592
yark1610
slip1615
flerka1653
hitch1674
toss1676
hotch1721
saccade1728
surge1748
flip1821
snatch1822
fling1826
kick1835
chuckc1843
jolt1849
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > flow of electricity > [noun] > pulse, surge
impulse1883
surging1904
surge1908
kick1910
pulse1932
glitch1962
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 187 The back of the trough being curved, permits the cloth to turn upwards before each successive kick.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 337 Our noble craft..had a cataclysmic kick in her.
1898 R. Kipling Fleet in Being The twin-screws gave us more kick than was pleasant.
1910 Hawkins' 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.
1910 Hawkins' Electr. Dict. 233/1 Kick of coil, a discharge taking place from an electromagnet coil.
1928 A. 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.
1928 A. E. Stone Text Bk. Telegr. xiii. 194 The ‘kick’ observed on the galvanometer.
1930 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 129 214 An ambiguity arises in determining the residual range of an α-particle from the magnitude of the ‘kick’ recorded by the counter.
1930 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 129 216 The third record..shows the kicks smaller and more uniform in size.
1957 Economist 7 Sept. 767/2 (advt.) But why ‘kick sorter’? Because it sorts out electrical ‘kicks’ or impulses according to their amplitude—more than 16,000 of them in each of 100 channels and at speeds up to 1,250 pulses per second.
1959 J. 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 to get a kick out of (something), to be excited or pleased by, to enjoy; for kicks, purely for pleasure or excitement, frequently recklessly or irresponsibly.
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the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > [noun] > intoxicating element in drink > alcohol added to drink
kick1844
spike1906
the mind > emotion > excitement > pleasurable excitement > [noun] > thrill of
thrilla1680
dirl1787
stound1827
kick1899
jolly1905
drive1921
bang1931
belt1932
the mind > emotion > pleasure > be pleased with [verb (transitive)] > take pleasure in or enjoy
likeOE
joyc1330
love1340
fruishc1450
enjoy1462
to enjoy of?1521
to have the honour1525
relish1580
jouise1598
taste1605
palate1609
to get a kick out of1928
the mind > emotion > excitement > pleasurable excitement > [adverb] > purely for pleasurable excitement
for kicks1946
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > [noun] > stimulant effect
drive1921
kick1951
1844 Bentley's Misc. 16 597 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’.
1899 R. 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.
1903 Daily Chron. 16 Jan. 5/1 With cayenne and mustard (to give their food the missing ‘kick’ [of alcohol]).
1924 P. 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.’
1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 81 Home-brew with a kick in it.
1928 Daily Express 4 Dec. 10/3 I was told I should get a kick out of that journey—and I certainly did.
1929 Evening News 18 Nov. 15/6 A cocktail basis with a real kick (42 deg. proof spirit).
1933 D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise ix. 159 There's a kick in being afraid.
1935 S. Spender Destructive Elem. 82 Strether accepts even the fact that he is living with Madame de Vionnet; in fact, he gets a kick out of it.
1941 Jazz Information Nov. 22/2 A man who..worked hard and got his kicks and saved a little money.
1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 2 May 35 We get a great kick out of wearing it.
1946 M. Mezzrow & B. Wolfe Really Blues Gloss. 373/2 For kicks, for pleasure's sake.
1951 Manch. Guardian Weekly 28 June 2 To seek a heftier ‘kick’ from real narcotics.
1956 B. Goolden Singing & Gold viii. 179 He got a kick out of being with Daphne even if she cramped his style.
1961 P. G. Wodehouse Service with Smile x. 175 He added that the beverage had a kick, and Lord Ickenham agreed that its kick was considerable.
1963 Listener 17 Jan. 133/1 Antisocial, sexually ruthless, stealing cars for kicks.
1967 M. M. Glatt et al. Drug Scene in Great Brit. iii. 39 He no longer got a ‘kick’ or ‘flash’ from taking drugs.
1974 Advocate News (Barbados) 5 Mar. 3/2 The pusher can more easily persuade him to try something with a bit more kick to it.
d. Archery. The unsteady motion of an arrow at the beginning of its flight caused by faulty handling of the bow.
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1894 E. W. Hussey in C. J. Longman et al. Archery (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) xx. 343 The effort made by the string when released to regain its central position will cause the arrow to strike against the bow with a ‘click’, and commence its flight with what is called a ‘kick’ or unsteady wriggle.
e. 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. 1c; esp. in on the —— kick = doing, or enthusiastic about, the thing specified by the prefixed word or words. Originally U.S. slang.
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the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > the or a prevailing fashion > fashionable thing or craze
new fangle1548
furor1704
fever1761
rage1780
go1784
the fashion1790
furore1790
fashionablea1800
craze1813
delirament1856
fad1881
fash1895
new thinga1911
flu1943
kick1946
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §233/2 The fashion; rage,..the kick.]
1946 Jazz Record July 8 The whole jazz world was on a Hawkins kick.
1955 M. McCarthy Charmed Life ii. 34 He had been..a magazine editor. He was on that kick, as he called it, when he met Martha.
1955 B. Bailey in N. Shapiro & N. 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.
1957 M. 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?’
1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 88 Mannie wasn't in on the Angries kick.
1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 93 They didn't like it when little Emmanuel got on the writing kick?
1963 B. S. Johnson Travelling People iv. 66 The star of the production is Maurice Bunde,..fifty-ish but on a tremendous Back-to-Youth kick.
1970 Globe Mag. (Toronto) 26 Sept. 8/3 We must get off this kick that every job is a career—it isn't.
1971 Times 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.
f. Athletics. A sharp burst of speed, esp. towards the end of a middle-distance race.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > sharp burst of speed
kick1955
1955 F. 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.
1966 R. 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.
1972 N.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 adjective: A (good or bad) kicker, esp. in football.
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1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. v. 107 He's cock of the School..and the best kick and charger in Rugby.
1893 Assoc. 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.
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the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > the or a prevailing fashion
gentryc1400
the fashion1569
mainstream1599
the trim1603
mood1646
mode1649
vogue1649
beauty1653
à la mode1654
turn1695
the kick1699
goût1717
thing1734
taste1739
ton1769
nick1788
the tippy1790
twig1811
latest1814
dernier mot1834
ticket1838
kibosh1880
last cry1887
le (or the) dernier cri1896
flavour of the month (or week)1946
vague1962
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew A high Kick, the top of the Fashion.
1731 Gentleman's Mag. 1 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.
1787 G. Colman Inkle & Yarico iii. i. 56 I march'd the lobby, twirl'd my stick..The girls all cry'd, ‘He's quite the kick!’
1804 European Mag. & London Rev. June 413/2 This [head-dress] obtained the name of Nancy Dawson's new kick.
1894 E. Lynn Linton One too Many I. viii. 190 Mrs. West naturally wanted ‘the last new kick’.
5. A sixpence.
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society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > English coins > [noun] > sixpence
tester1560
half-shilling1561
teston1577
mill sixpence1592
crinklepouch1593
sixpencea1616
testrila1616
piga1640
sice1660
Simon1699
sow's-baby1699
kick1725
cripple1785
grunter1785
tilbury1796
tizzy1804
tanner1811
bender1836
lord of the manor1839
snid1839
sprat1839
fiddler1846
sixpenny bit or piece1897
zac1898
sprasey1905
1725 in New Canting Dict.
1728 Street-robberies, Consider'd 32 Kick, Sixpence.
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 183 Kick, a sixpence, when speaking of compound sums only, as three and a kick, is three and sixpence.
1834 W. H. Ainsworth Rookwood III. iii. xiii. 166 Half a bull, three hogs, and a kick.
1871 Echo 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. plural. Breeches, trousers. ? Obsolete. Cf. kickseys n.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers
trouse1678
trousers1681
kicks1699
trousiesa1713
brogues1748
inexpressibles1790
unmentionable1791
et cetera1794
indescribable1794
kickseys1819
ineffables1823
indispensablesa1828
unimaginable1833
pantaloon1834
pants1835
inexplicables1836
never-mention-'ems1836
unwhisperable1837
results1839
sit-down-upons1839
sit-upons1839
unmentionabilities1840
innominablea1843
unutterables1843
trews1847
round-the-houses1857
unprintable1860
stovepipe1863
sit-in-ems1873
reach-me-downs1877
strides1889
rounds1893
long1898
kecks1900
rammies1906
trou1911
pants1970
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew
1725 New Canting Dict. (at cited word) Tip us your Kicks, we'll have them as well as your Lour.
1819 T. Moore Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress 13 Old Georgy's bang-up togs and kicks.
b. plural. Shoes. Originally U.S.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > shoe or boot > shoe > [noun]
shoec950
subpedital1526
suppeditary1596
suppeditor1687
crab-shell1807
kicks1904
1904 ‘No. 1500’ Life in Sing Sing 250/1 Kicks, shoes.
1936 K. Mackenzie Living Rough xi. 160 My new kicks, every time I took a step, made a sound like the back of a bird store.
1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 601/1 Pair o(f) kicks, boots, shoes: tramps' c[ant].
1963 L. Hairston in Freedomways Winter 49 After I brushed my kicks, I looked my wig over in the mirror.
1973 Black World Apr. 63 My terrible blue-and-white kicks.
7. A pocket.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > bag or pouch worn on person > [noun]
pocketc1450
pokea1616
placket1655
sack1699
sock1699
groper1789
kick1851
jewel bag1853
jewellery bag1855
sky rocket1887
sky1890
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 52/1 I having some ready in my kick, grabbed the chance, and stepped home with my swag.
1869 Greenwood Night in Workhouse (Farmer) I rifled his kick of his shiners so fine.
1938 P. G. Wodehouse Summer Moonshine i. 18 ‘She slung your brother Joe out.’ ‘And with only ten dollars in his kick, mind you.’
1962 R. Cook Crust on its Uppers (1964) iii. 27 I'm about to stuff my pony in my kick.
1968 Sunday 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.
Compounds
kick-boxer n. one who participates in kick-boxing.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > boxer > types of
bruiser1744
ruffian1791
in-fighter1812
punisher1812
nobber1821
receiver general1821
slogger1829
slogster1881
ham1888
slaughterer1896
pushover1908
bum1917
mauler1920
palooka1920
round heel1926
set-up1926
powder puff1931
spoiler1948
kick-boxer1978
stiff1989
1978 Times 4 Mar. 17 In the featherweight contest..Griffin..came out somewhat perplexed against Oxford's former Thai kickboxer.
1984 Toronto Star 28 Mar. a7/3 Spadafora,..a one-time professional kick-boxer.
kick-boxing n. a form of boxing incorporating elements of karate, in which kicking with bare feet is permitted as well as punching with gloved fists.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > types of
ruffianing1812
ruffianosity1823
shadow-boxing1919
tomato can1955
kick-boxing1971
1971 Sports Illustr. 26 Apr. 38/1 He's the heavyweight kickboxing champion of the United States.
1972 Observer (Eastchester, N.Y.) 20 July 4 From karate, Mr. Rothman and his friends have graduated to the more dangerous kickboxing, an Americanized karate.
1979 Choi 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.
1984 Toronto Star 28 Mar. a7/4 Spadafora said he fought a couple of professional kick-boxing matches in the early 70s.
kick-pleat n. (also kick-plait) a pleat in a narrow skirt to allow freedom of movement.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > clothing for lower body > skirt > types of > close-fitting > parts of
kick-pleat1934
1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. at Plait A kick plait is a variation of the latter [sc. box plait] used to give breadth to a narrow skirt.
1960 Sunday Express 20 Nov. 14/2 Pencil skirt with back ‘kick’ pleat.
kick-stand n. ‘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).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motorcycle > [noun] > parts of
carrier1911
pillion1911
stand1918
drivetrain1938
kick-stand1947
twist grip1954
sissy bar1959
peg1965
hardtail1971
tank bag1974
top box1976
cockpit1993
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > parts and equipment of cycles > other parts of cycles
saddle1819
saddle pin1836
rest1855
pillion1878
Arab spring1880
carrier1885
coaster1895
bicycle basket1896
pacemaker1896
steering lock1897
headset1898
flapper-seat1916
stand1918
kick-stand1947
sissy bar1959
stabilizers1960
1947 Cycling 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.
1963 D. Broun Subject of Harry Egypt i. 8 There was a metered space..and he eased the cycle into it and over onto the kickstand.
kick-start n.
ΚΠ
1914 Motor Cycle 2 Apr. 138/1, 1912 P. and M., free engine, 2-speed, kick start.
kick-starter n. a device for starting an internal combustion engine, esp. on a motorcycle, by a downward thrust on a pedal.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > parts of > starters
fire syringe1822
starting handle1836
magneto1882
self-starter1884
plug1886
gas starter1898
ignition plug1900
sparking plug1902
spark plug1903
dual ignition1909
impulse coupling1916
impulse starter1916
kick-starter1916
mag1918
cut-in1921
cartridge starter1922
recoil starter1931
glow plug1947
ignition1961
1916 Motor 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.
1919 C. P. Thompson Cocktails 235 She mounted on the kickstarter and stamped on it with resolute vigour.
1961 Engineering 13 Oct. 486 The clutch, gearbox, kickstarter, transmission and rear stub axle are combined with the engine into a single unit.
kick-start v. (transitive and intransitive) to start (an engine) thus.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > motorcycling > [verb (intransitive)] > kick-start a motorcycle
kick-start1928
society > travel > transport > motorcycling > [verb (transitive)] > kick-start
kick-start1928
1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 15 June 474/2 The biggest boy is demonstrating..how to kick-start an engine.
1959 I. Jefferies Thirteen Days i. 17 I..turned my bike down the slope to save kick-starting.
1959 I. Jefferies Thirteen Days 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.
kick-turn n. Skiing a form of standing turn.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > skiing > [noun] > actions of skier > types of turn
telemark1901
snow-ploughing1904
stemming1904
Christiania1905
snow-plough1905
kick-turn1910
christie1920
stem-Christiania1922
stem turn1922
jump turn1924
stem-Christie1936
wedeln1957
wedeling1977
parallel1985
1910 W. 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.
1960 Sunday 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.
kick-wheel n. a potter's wheel worked by a foot pedal.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > pottery manufacturing equipment > [noun] > potter's lathe
potter's lathe1728
throwing wheel1746
throwing engine1747
lathe1773
jigger1825
jolley?1881
kick-wheel1893
1893 E. A. Barber Pottery & Porcelain 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.
1949 K. S. Woods Rural Crafts Eng. v. xvi. 233 A kick-wheel is driven by a horizontal movement of one foot on a treadle.
1968 J. Arnold Shell Bk. Country Crafts 15 With the employment of an improved kick-wheel for ‘throwing’, they were able to make tremendous advances.
1972 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 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.
Draft additions June 2017
kick serve n. Tennis a type of serve characterized by heavy topspin, making the ball rise sharply after bouncing.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > lawn tennis > [noun] > types of stroke
service1611
serving1688
screw1865
cut1874
cutting service1874
boast1878
first serve1878
smash1882
twister1884
cross-shot1889
lob1890
ground stroke1895
lob ball1900
twist service1901
boasting1902
cross-volley1905
get1911
chop1913
forehander1922
kick serve1925
forehand1934
touch shot1936
dink1939
net shot1961
overhead1964
groundie1967
slice1969
moonball1975
moonballing1977
1925 Australasian 29 Aug. 546/1 Fukuda is lacking in confidence..and Hawkes's kick serve would be the very thing to rattle him badly.
1963 M. Davies Lawn Tennis xi. 132 Use a substantial slice or a kick serve which will give you time to move in.
2016 Calgary (Alberta) Sun (Nexis) 29 July s3 The Russian's clay-court background was evident as she gave Vinci trouble with high topspin shots..and an effective kick serve.
Draft additions March 2007
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.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > skateboarding > [noun] > technique or stunt
slalom1976
wheelie1976
kick flip1977
wedeling1977
invert1979
ollie1979
air1984
nose-pick1988
1977 Washington Post 11 Aug. d9 By 1975, youthful riders throughout the country were doing popouts, powerslides and kick flips.
2004 Dazed & Confused Feb. 73 [The] 24-year-old pro-skater..is more than just a pretty boy with a passion for kickflips.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
kickn.2
/kɪk/, U.S. /kɪk/ 1. An indentation in the bottom of a glass bottle, diminishing the internal capacity. Cf. kick-up n. 5.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > flask, flagon, or bottle > [noun] > bottle > indentation in bottom
nick1612
kick1861
kick-up1901
1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) II. 451/2 You must know, sir, that some bottles has great ‘kicks’ at their bottoms.
1876 R. D. Blackmore Cripps (1877) x. 59 He kept them in bottles without any ‘kicks’.
1899 Blackwood's Edinb. 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.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > knife > [noun] > pocket-knife > parts of
nail-hole1839
kick1864
shield1876
1864 in Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang.
Categories »
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. (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 1875.)
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† kickn.3
Obsolete. rare.
The castor-oil plant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > [noun] > castor-oil plant or bean
ricinusOE
oil treea1425
Palma Christic1450
man's motherworta1500
tick-seed1562
tick-weed1563
finger orchis1597
kick1597
steadfast1597
palmchrist1611
oil-nut1694
oilseed1760
castor-oil bean1814
castor-bean1819
castor-oil plant1839
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 400 Ricinus, Palma Christi, or Kik, hath a great round hollow stalke.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Paulme de Christ, Kicke, Ricinus, Palma Christi.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
kickv.1
/kɪk/, U.S. /kɪk/ 1.
a. intransitive. To strike out with the foot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [verb (intransitive)] > kick
startleOE
kickc1386
winch1483
fling1487
yark?1561
smite1600
to lash out1852
to kick over the traces1861
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (intransitive)] > with the foot > kick
spurnc1000
regibbe?c1225
potea1350
kickc1386
rependc1440
spur1590
recalcitrate1611
calcitrate1623
funkc1707
root1890
scissor-kick1921
c1386 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 85 Ther is noon of vs alle If any wight wol clawe vs on the galle That we nel kike [v.r. kyke].
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 355 Þere þou myȝte assaye how strongliche þese mares konneþ kyke [v.r. kike].
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) vi. v. lf. 36 b/1 Whanne the modre wasscheþ and kemeþ ham [children] þei kikeþ and praunseþ.
a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 450 Of the tewsday in the weke Whan the mare doth keke.
1548 H. Latimer Notable Serm. sig. B.v If thei be pricked they wil kick.
1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor Induct. sig. Biii They..like gald Camels kicke at every touch. View more context for this quotation
1733 A. Pope 1st Satire 2nd Bk. Horace Imitated ii. i. 13 'Tis a Bear's Talent not to kick, but hug.
1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. ix. vi. 463 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. to kick up at Phrasal verbs, to kick up one's heels at heel n.1 and int. Phrases 2g, to kick the bucket at sense 4a, to kick out 3 at Phrasal verbs.
ΚΠ
1725 New Canting Dict. Kick'd, gone, fled, departed.
1858 A. Trollope 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.
1892 H. Nisbet Bail Up! 105 (Farmer) Four on them sickened all at once..and after they had kicked it, my two mates went with me.
1899 E. 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 figurative 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; figurative to throw off the usual restraints.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > oppose [verb (intransitive)] > resist > resist something inevitable or irresistible
to kick against the pricks (spur, goad)c1380
spurnc1390
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [verb (intransitive)] > kick
startleOE
kickc1386
winch1483
fling1487
yark?1561
smite1600
to lash out1852
to kick over the traces1861
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > set free [verb (intransitive)] > escape from restraint > throw off restraint
to throw off1551
to break forth1608
to take a loose1703
to let rip1857
to kick over the traces1861
to cut loose1900
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 436 It is hard to kyke aȝen þe spore.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds ix. 5 It is hard to thee, for to kyke aȝens the pricke.
1539 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Prouerbes sig. B.vi It is harde kyckynge against the gode.
1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote II. iv. x. 397 Advising that honest man is kicking against the pricks.
1861 H. 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.
1871 E. F. Burr Ad Fidem i. 4 Kicking against the pricks of the constitution, and course of nature.
1876 L. Stephen Hours in Libr. 2nd Ser. viii. 354 The effervescence of genius which drives men to kick over the traces of respectability.
1882 W. Besant Revolt of Man i. 32 Always..some kicking over the limits of convention.
2. intransitive. figurative. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > hold in contempt [verb (transitive)] > reject contemptuously
spurnc1000
defyc1320
refusec1350
to kick against or ata1425
spurn1526
asperne1548
explodea1552
to cast (also throw) at one's heels1555
mock1558
foot1600
outscout1602
slighta1616
scout1710
stuff1955
society > authority > lack of subjection > be unsubmissive [verb (intransitive)] > be intractable or recalcitrant
to wince against the prickc1290
kicka1425
rejouncea1644
recalcitrate1647
to ride rusty1709
bolsh1921
non-cooperate1921
society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > rebel against [verb (transitive)]
to kick against or ata1425
rebelc1485
revolt1548
to give (a person) the revolta1616
the mind > emotion > anger > manifestation of anger > show anger [verb (intransitive)]
swella1250
bristle1549
kick1549
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Deut. xxxii. 15 The louede puple was maad fat, and kikide aȝen.
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 4th Serm. sig. Nvi He is none of these wynkers, he kyckes not when he heares hys fault.
1596 T. Bell Suruey Popery i. i. x. 34 The wicked do euer kicke against the preachers.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Sam. ii. 29 Wherefore kicke ye at my sacrifice, and at mine offering? View more context for this quotation
1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. 11 Our proposals are suspected; our counsels.., scorned and kickt at.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 85 A rampant heresy, such as..Would make all women kick against their Lords.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Ess. 2nd Ser. iii. 116 Human nature craves for something like religion, and it does not always kick at a little superstition.
1887 W. Besant World went very well Then I. i. 8 He was compelled to taste the medicines, and his stomach kicked thereat.
3. transferred.
a. Of firearms: To recoil when fired.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > rebound > [verb (intransitive)]
to pilt up againa1200
bolt?c1225
rebounda1398
redoundc1500
stot1513
to strike upward1530
band1580
recoil1591
bound1597
result1598
retort1599
resile1641
bandy1658
resiliate1755
ricochet1804
reverberate1817
kick1832
dap1851
bounce1887
bank1962
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > discharge firearms [verb (intransitive)] > recoil
recoil1530
kick1832
1832 C. Babbage Econ. Machinery & Manuf. (ed. 2) ii. 23 If a gun is loaded with ball it will not kick so much as when loaded with small shot.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xix. 191 I had no idea these small fire-arms kicked so.
1858 W. Greener Gunnery in 1858 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. to kick up 3 at Phrasal verbs) Said also of the ball, and of the bowler. Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricket ground > [verb (intransitive)] > effect of pitch on play
kick1866
play1866
seam1960
1866 ‘Capt. R. Crawley’ Cricket 25 You will most likely get a run whether the ball shoots or kicks.
1877 C. Box Eng. Game Cricket 453 The ground is said to kick when the ball, after being pitched, rises almost perpendicularly.
1882 Standard 29 Aug. 3/2 The rain had made the wicket ‘kick’ a good deal.
1888 A. G. Steel in A. G. Steel & R. H. Lyttelton Cricket (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) iii. 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.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 21 July 5 The turf..played..without the slightest trace of a desire to ‘kick’.
1904 P. F. Warner How we recovered Ashes xiii. 246 The ball was always turning, and one or two deliveries kicked up rather awkwardly.
1963 A. Ross Australia 63 i. 33 McKenzie got one to kick in the next over.
c. Telegraphy. Of a relay: to break contact momentarily.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph [verb (intransitive)] > break contact momentarily
kick1928
1928 A. E. Stone Text Bk. Telegr. xiii. 192 If during this period the tongue of the relay ‘kicks’, the local circuit is momentarily broken.
1959 J. 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. transitive. 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 and int. Phrases 2k.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the foot > kick
smitec1330
frontc1400
punch1449
kick1598
calcitrate1623
bunch1647
pause1673
pote1673
purr1847
boot1877
turf1888
root1890
the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)]
forsweltc888
sweltc888
adeadeOE
deadc950
wendeOE
i-wite971
starveOE
witea1000
forfereOE
forthfareOE
forworthc1000
to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE
queleOE
fallOE
to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE
to shed (one's own) blood?a1100
diec1135
endc1175
farec1175
to give up the ghostc1175
letc1200
aswelta1250
leavea1250
to-sweltc1275
to-worthc1275
to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290
finea1300
spilla1300
part?1316
to leese one's life-daysa1325
to nim the way of deathc1325
to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330
flit1340
trance1340
determinec1374
disperisha1382
to go the way of all the eartha1382
to be gathered to one's fathers1382
miscarryc1387
shut1390
goa1393
to die upa1400
expirea1400
fleea1400
to pass awaya1400
to seek out of lifea1400–50
to sye hethena1400
tinea1400
trespass14..
espirec1430
to end one's days?a1439
decease1439
to go away?a1450
ungoc1450
unlivec1450
to change one's lifea1470
vade1495
depart1501
to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513
to decease this world1515
to go over?1520
jet1530
vade1530
to go westa1532
to pick over the perch1532
galpa1535
to die the death1535
to depart to God1548
to go home1561
mort1568
inlaikc1575
shuffle1576
finish1578
to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587
relent1587
unbreathe1589
transpass1592
to lose one's breath1596
to make a die (of it)1611
to go offa1616
fail1623
to go out1635
to peak over the percha1641
exita1652
drop1654
to knock offa1657
to kick upa1658
to pay nature her due1657
ghost1666
to march off1693
to die off1697
pike1697
to drop off1699
tip (over) the perch1699
to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703
sink1718
vent1718
to launch into eternity1719
to join the majority1721
demise1727
to pack off1735
to slip one's cable1751
turf1763
to move off1764
to pop off the hooks1764
to hop off1797
to pass on1805
to go to glory1814
sough1816
to hand in one's accounts1817
to slip one's breatha1819
croak1819
to slip one's wind1819
stiffen1820
weed1824
buy1825
to drop short1826
to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839
to get one's (also the) call1839
to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840
to unreeve one's lifeline1840
to step out1844
to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845
to hand in one's checks1845
to go off the handle1848
to go under1848
succumb1849
to turn one's toes up1851
to peg out1852
walk1858
snuff1864
to go or be up the flume1865
to pass outc1867
to cash in one's chips1870
to go (also pass over) to the majority1883
to cash in1884
to cop it1884
snuff1885
to belly up1886
perch1886
to kick the bucket1889
off1890
to knock over1892
to pass over1897
to stop one1901
to pass in1904
to hand in one's marble1911
the silver cord is loosed1911
pip1913
to cross over1915
conk1917
to check out1921
to kick off1921
to pack up1925
to step off1926
to take the ferry1928
peg1931
to meet one's Maker1933
to kiss off1935
to crease it1959
zonk1968
cark1977
to cark it1979
to take a dirt nap1981
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Dar de' calci a Rouaio, to be hang'd, to kicke the winde.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iii. i. 17 I should kicke being kickt, and being at that passe, You would keepe from my heeles. View more context for this quotation
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 2. ⁋1 Sir Roger..had..kick'd Bully Dawson in a Coffee-house.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 112. ¶4 An idle Fellow, and at that Time was kicking his Heels for his Diversion.
1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 26 By mounting thus, you avoid all danger of being kicked, or bit.
1811 Lexicon Balatronicum (at cited word) To kick the clouds before the hotel door, i.e. to be hanged.
1842 T. B. Macaulay Frederic the Great in Ess. (1858) I. 528 He reviled his Chancellor. He kicked the shins of his Judges.
1889 G. Allen Tents of Shem I. x. 166 Sir Arthur..will do the right thing in the end before he kicks the bucket.
Categories »
b. To work (a printing-press) with the foot ( Cent. Dict.).
c. U.S. slang. To dismiss, discharge (cf. kick n.1 1f); to reject (a suitor).
ΚΠ
1860 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 3) (at cited word) ‘Miss A has kicked the Hon. Mr. B, and sent him off with a flea in his ear.’ (Confined to the South.)
1895 Outing 27 74/2 Some years ago, when a Suffolk gal kicked me.
d. transferred. 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 6b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > impinge upon [verb (transitive)] > forcibly or violently
beatOE
to run against ——a1425
smitec1450
quash1548
dash1611
kick1667
lashc1694
daud?1719
besmite1829
buck1861
tund1885
ram1897
prang1942
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > fire (a gun) [verb (transitive)] > of gun: project (shot or missile) > strike in recoil
kick1901
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 1004 The latter [weight] quick up flew, and kickt the beam. View more context for this quotation
1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. ix. 65 A straw thrown into either scale would make the ballance kick the beam.
1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 91 Riches are thrown into the scale, and virtue kicks the beam.
1901 N.E.D. at Kick Mod. The gun kicked my shoulder, and has made it all black.
e. reflexive. To reproach or be angry with (oneself); to be annoyed at something one has done or omitted to do.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > be repentant or contrite [verb (intransitive)] > reproach oneself
kick1891
1891 Voice (N.Y.) 29 Jan. In the absence of any of the committee to kick I went home kicking myself.
1892 W. 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.
1903 Independent (N.Y.) 15 Jan. 148/2 He goes away kicking himself.
1907 A. 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.
1955 L. 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.
1966 B. Kimenye Kalasanda Revisited 48 Mrs. Mulindwa could have kicked herself for making the suggestion in the first place.
1973 Times 27 Dec. 13/4 Rangers were rightly kicking themselves afterwards.
f. transitive. To give up or overcome (a habit, esp. drug-taking). Also intransitive. colloquial (originally U.S. slang).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > unaccustomedness or state of disuse > give up a habit or practice [verb (transitive)]
leaveeOE
forsakec1175
waive1340
twinc1386
refuse1389
to set aside1426
relinquish1454
abuse1471
renouncec1480
disaccustom1483
to break from1530
to lay aside1530
disprofess1590
dropa1616
to set bya1674
decline1679
unpractise?1680
slough1845
shake1872
sluff1934
kick1936
1936 Amer. Speech 11 123/2 To kick the habit, to stop using drugs.
1951 Nat. 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.
1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty Lady sings Blues xiv. 138 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.
1958 Oxf. Mail 29 July 6/5 Harmony would again be restored if Johnny could ‘kick’ his craving.
1964 S. 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.
1971 Black World Mar. 56/1 I'll help you, man, cuz I know you want to kick.
1971 Black World Apr. 22/1 Let's kick that habit, let's use soul music.
1972 Times 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. 1861 W. M. Thackeray Adventures of Philip x, in Cornhill Mag. Apr. 403 Phil, for his part, adopted towards his cousin a kick-me-downstairs manner.
a. With adverb or preposition (see also Phrasal verbs): To impel, drive, or move, by or as by kicking. to kick down the ladder: see ladder n. 1c. to kick up one's heels: see heel n.1 and int. Phrases 2c(a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > impel or drive [verb (transitive)] > by impact or force > by or as by a kick
kick1598
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Fare il pane, to dye, to kick vp ones heeles.
1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore i. ii. 20 I woud not for a duckat she had kickt vp hir heeles.
a1627 J. Fletcher & T. Middleton Nice Valour i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ttt3v/2 If he were not kick'd to th' Church oth' wedding day, Ile never come at Court.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 57. ¶3 [She] threatens to kick him out of the House.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. i. xiii. 75 When once you are got up, to kick the Stool from under you. View more context for this quotation
1775 J. Trumbull MʽFingal 4 Some musquets..tho' well aim'd..Bear wide and kick their owners over.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 98 The 'Efreet then kicked the bottle into the sea.
1871 L. Stephen Playground of Europe ii. 85 Every little bit of snow that we kicked aside started a young avalanche on its own account.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island iv. xviii. 146 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > impel or drive [verb (transitive)] > impel or drive animates > forcibly or unceremoniously
jostle1602
huddle1649
kick1678
society > occupation and work > working > career > have career [verb (transitive)] > promote or upgrade
advancec1300
promote1402
to kick (someone) upstairs1678
upgrade1920
to bump up1957
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [verb (transitive)] > raise in prosperity, power, or rank > advance or promote (a person)
advancec1300
vaunce1303
before-seta1382
profera1400
promote1402
prefer1548
engrace1610
to kick (someone) upstairs1678
rocket1931
up1945
fast-track1977
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > expel > specific people from a place, position, or possession > forcibly or ignominiously
eject1555
rumble1570
obtrude1595
to show (a person) the door1638
to kick downstairs1678
to kick out1697
drum1720
firk1823
to chuck out1869
bounce1877
boot1880
out-kick1883
turf1888
hoof1893
hound1922
1678 A. Marvell Acct. Growth Popery in Wks. (1776) I. 643 In this manner they [the Parliament] were kickt from adjournment to adjournment.
1685 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 133 Musae repudiatae, ‘Muses kickt downe staires’.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Suppl. to Hist. Own Time (1902) i. 145 He [sc. Halifax] had said he had known many kicked down stairs, but he never knew any kicked up stairs before.
c1728 Earl of Ailesbury Mem. (1890) 640 Forgetting, like good Christians..their kicking us out of the pepper trade in the Indies.
1750 Countess of Shaftesbury Let. 28 Nov. in Earl of Malmesbury Lett. (1870) I. 78 The Bedfordian set will be honourably kicked up or down stairs.
1809 J. 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.
1821 J. W. Croker Diary 31 May in Croker 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.
1834 J. 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.
1962 R. B. Fuller Epic Poem on Industrialization 27 Kicking the bosses upstairs—high out of the way.
1967 G. F. Fiennes I tried to run Railway vii. 78 I got eventually kicked upstairs to Paddington.
1970 Guardian 11 Nov. 20/6 Which party has kicked more people upstairs?
6. To accomplish, make, or do, by kicking.
a. Rugby. To win (a goal) by a kick.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > play football [verb (transitive)] > win (goal)
kick1857
place1862
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the foot > kick > accomplish, make, or do by kicking
kick1857
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. v. 119 It is all Lombard-street to a China-orange that the School-house kick a goal.
b. To force or make (one's way) by kicking. Also figurative.
ΚΠ
1891 Times 15 Oct. 5/3 From this try Shorland easily kicked a goal.
1893 R. Kipling Many Inventions 156 The Rathmines kicked her way northward through the warm water.
Phrasal verbs
With adverbs, in special senses (see also 5). to kick about or around to kick back to kick down to kick in to kick off to kick out to kick up † 2. intransitive. To die (cf. 1b). Obsolete.
1. intransitive. To walk or wander about; to go from place to place, esp. aimlessly. colloquial (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [verb (intransitive)] > with no fixed aim or wander > idly
roil?c1335
gada1500
stavera1500
vaguea1525
scoterlope1574
idle1599
haika1605
saunter1671
stravaig1801
palmer1805
streel1805
taver1808
traik1818
gander1822
gallivant1823
gilravage1825
project1828
daud1831
meander1831
to knock about1833
to kick about1839
to knock round1848
piroot1858
sashay1865
june1869
tootle1902
slop1907
beetle1919
stooge1941
swan1942
1839 C. M. Kirkland New Home xxv. 195 We heard that he was better, and would be able to ‘kick around’ pretty soon.
1846 B. Upton Let. 12 Dec. in Amer. Heritage (1966) June 93/2 I have been kicking about with scarcely leisure enough to take my meals.
1946 F. Sargeson That Summer 56 We're going to have a good time just kicking around.
2. to be kicking about or around: to lie scattered around, esp. in a casual or untidy fashion; to be available, unused, or unwanted.
ΚΠ
1867 ‘T. Lackland’ Homespun i. 80 The..doctor, whose instruments..lie kicking about like ordinary household trumpery.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. 148/2 When I went ower to Rotterdam, bacca was that cheap, it was kickin' aboot i' th' streets.
1906 J. F. Kelly Man with Grip 99 Now kindly remove that old radium, It's been kicking around for a week.
1955 W. 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.’
3. transitive. To kick in all directions; also figurative, to treat (someone) harshly, unfairly, or contemptuously. Chiefly U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > ill-treat [verb (transitive)]
tuckc888
tawc893
misbedeOE
graithc1330
to fare fair or foul with1340
misusea1382
outrayc1390
beshrewc1430
huspelc1440
misentreat1450
mistreat1453
abuse?1473
to mayne evil1481
demean1483
to put (a person) to villainya1513
harry1530
mishandle1530
touse1531
misorder1550
worrya1556
yark1565
mumble1588
buse1589
crow-tread1593
disabuse1607
maltreat1681
squeeze1691
ill-treat1794
punish1801
tousle1826
ill-use1841
razoo1890
mess1896
to play horse with1896
to bugger about1921
slug1925
to give (a person) the works1927
to kick about or around1938
mess1963
1938 C. Porter Most Gentlemen don't like Love Most gentlemen don't like love,—They just like to kick it around.
1939 J. Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath ii. 8 A good guy and also he was not one whom any rich bastard could kick around.
a1940 F. S. Fitzgerald Last Tycoon (1941) i. 17 You seem to take things so personally... You just ask to be kicked around.
4. To discuss or examine (a subject, idea, etc.); to try out. colloquial (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > converse with [verb (transitive)] > discuss or confer about
bespeakc1175
roundc1275
talka1387
discuss1402
commune1423
common1435
discutec1440
ventilate?1530
discourse1546
confer1552
consult?1553
imparlc1600
parle1631
conjobble1692
to talk over1734
chew1939
punt1945
to kick about1966
1939 Esquire May 75 Speaking again of Swing: few tunes deserve its name till they've been ‘kicked around’ by good performers.
1947 F. 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 Vengeance iii. 42 They..drifted over to 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.
1. intransitive. (See quot. 1909.)
ΚΠ
1909 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. 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.
1935 T. 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.
2. transitive and intransitive. To return (money, stolen goods, etc.) to the person from whom they were obtained; to pay (money), esp. as a kick-back (see kickback n.). colloquial (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > giving back or restitution > give back or make restitution [verb (intransitive)]
restorec1325
to make restitutiona1400
restituec1400
render1513
restitute1657
to kick back1926
the mind > possession > giving > giving back or restitution > give back [verb (transitive)]
yieldc897
agiveOE
again-setOE
restorec1325
acquitc1330
to pay outa1382
refundc1386
to give againa1400
quita1400
restituec1400
reliver1426
surrend1450
redeliver1490
refer1496
render1513
rebail1539
re-present1564
regive1575
to give backa1586
to turn back1587
relate1590
turn1597
returna1632
to hand back1638
redonate1656
reappropriate1659
re-cede1684
revert1688
replace1776
restitute1885
to kick back1926
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [verb (transitive)] > bribe > pay as bribe
to kick back1926
1926 G. H. Maines & B. Grant Wise-crack Dict. 10/2 Kick~back, have to return a sucker's money.
1930 Amer. Mercury Dec. 456/2 Kick back with that hooch or we give you the works.
1934 Atlantic 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.
transitive and intransitive. To operate a kick-down device (see kick-down n.).
ΚΠ
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. (at cited word) 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.
1959 Observer 1 Mar. 21/5 Second can be obtained by kicking down the accelerator.
1963 Which? Car Suppl. Oct. 116/2 More effort was needed to ‘kick~down’ on the Zephyr 6.
1. transitive. To break down (a door, etc.) by kicking against the outer side; spec. (U.S. slang), to break into (a building).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the foot > kick > kick over or in
overspurn1496
to kick in1883
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island i. v. 39 Then there followed a great to-do..furniture thrown over, doors kicked in.
1926 J. 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.
1931 Detective Fiction Weekly 17 Jan. 23/1 Harold G. Slater's big jewelry store safe had been ‘kicked in’ and robbed of twelve thousand dollars.
2. transitive. To propel (an uncoupled railway car, etc.) by repeatedly thrusting a foot against the ground.
ΚΠ
1898 H. E. Hamblen Gen. Manager's Story 25 A conductor..opened the switch, pulled the coupling pin on the crippled car, and gave his engineer a signal to kick it in.
1898 H. E. Hamblen Gen. Manager's Story 35 He wanted to kick the last car in on a spur.
3. transitive and intransitive. To contribute (money, etc.); to pay (one's share). slang (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > contribution > contribute [verb (transitive)]
contribute1530
confera1538
to scat and lot1560
to kick in1908
to put in1915
1908 K. McGaffey Sorrows of Show Girl 45 The lawyer guy kicked in with the balance of the ten thousand.
1908 H. Green Maison de Shine 282 If somebody else will get 'em to kick in I'll play the show.
1928 J. P. McEvoy Show Girl ix. 129 Jack Milton won't kick in another nickel. And we're going to take it on the chin for five thousand down here this week.
1936 P. G. Wodehouse Laughing Gas xxiv. 254 To encourage the Christmas spirit in whoever was supposed to kick in with my ransom.
1948 Lawton (Okla.) Constit. 2 July 8/1 The spectators ‘kicked in’ with a little cash.
1972 Fortune 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.
1. transitive. To throw off (shoes) by kicking or jerking the foot. (So kick on.)
ΚΠ
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. xlix. 69 He..kicked off his shoes, and groped his way up stairs.
1890 G. Gissing Emancipated III. ii. xvii. 289 He kicked off his boots, kicked on his slippers.
2. Football. intransitive. To give the first kick. Also figurative, to start, begin. Frequently const. with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > beginning action or activity > begin action or activity [verb (intransitive)]
beginc1000
onginOE
aginOE
ginc1175
to go tillc1175
to take onc1175
comsea1225
fanga1225
to go toc1275
i-ginc1275
commencec1320
to get (also get down, go, go adown, set, set down) to workc1400
to lay to one's hand(sc1405
to put to one's hand (also hands)c1410
to set toc1425
standa1450
to make to1563
to fall to it1570
to start out1574
to fall to1577
to run upon ——1581
to break off1591
start1607
to set in1608
to set to one's hands1611
to put toa1616
to fall ona1625
in1633
to fall aboard1642
auspicatea1670
to set out1693
to enter (into) the fray1698
open1708
to start in1737
inchoate1767
to set off1774
go1780
start1785
to on with1843
to kick off1857
to start in on1859
to steam up1860
to push off1909
to cut loose1923
to get (also put) the show on the road1941
to get one's arse in gear1948
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > play football [verb (intransitive)] > start game
to kick off1857
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > beginning > begin with [verb (transitive)]
to kick off1942
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. v. 121 The School are going to kick off.
1880 Daily Tel. 20 Dec. 2/3 The Southern captain kicked off with the wind against him.
1911 R. 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.
1942 F. Sargeson in N.Z. New Writing 1 5 To kick off with we'd fool about in the water.
1954 L. Durrell Let. 14 Mar. in Spirit of Place (1969) 124 I will kick off with Freya Stark and Sir Harry Luke.
1968 Blues Unlimited Nov. 17 It kicked off with Bob Hite..ranged through Dave Kelly's bottleneck playing.
1969 G. 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.
3. To die. slang (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)]
forsweltc888
sweltc888
adeadeOE
deadc950
wendeOE
i-wite971
starveOE
witea1000
forfereOE
forthfareOE
forworthc1000
to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE
queleOE
fallOE
to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE
to shed (one's own) blood?a1100
diec1135
endc1175
farec1175
to give up the ghostc1175
letc1200
aswelta1250
leavea1250
to-sweltc1275
to-worthc1275
to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290
finea1300
spilla1300
part?1316
to leese one's life-daysa1325
to nim the way of deathc1325
to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330
flit1340
trance1340
determinec1374
disperisha1382
to go the way of all the eartha1382
to be gathered to one's fathers1382
miscarryc1387
shut1390
goa1393
to die upa1400
expirea1400
fleea1400
to pass awaya1400
to seek out of lifea1400–50
to sye hethena1400
tinea1400
trespass14..
espirec1430
to end one's days?a1439
decease1439
to go away?a1450
ungoc1450
unlivec1450
to change one's lifea1470
vade1495
depart1501
to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513
to decease this world1515
to go over?1520
jet1530
vade1530
to go westa1532
to pick over the perch1532
galpa1535
to die the death1535
to depart to God1548
to go home1561
mort1568
inlaikc1575
shuffle1576
finish1578
to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587
relent1587
unbreathe1589
transpass1592
to lose one's breath1596
to make a die (of it)1611
to go offa1616
fail1623
to go out1635
to peak over the percha1641
exita1652
drop1654
to knock offa1657
to kick upa1658
to pay nature her due1657
ghost1666
to march off1693
to die off1697
pike1697
to drop off1699
tip (over) the perch1699
to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703
sink1718
vent1718
to launch into eternity1719
to join the majority1721
demise1727
to pack off1735
to slip one's cable1751
turf1763
to move off1764
to pop off the hooks1764
to hop off1797
to pass on1805
to go to glory1814
sough1816
to hand in one's accounts1817
to slip one's breatha1819
croak1819
to slip one's wind1819
stiffen1820
weed1824
buy1825
to drop short1826
to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839
to get one's (also the) call1839
to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840
to unreeve one's lifeline1840
to step out1844
to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845
to hand in one's checks1845
to go off the handle1848
to go under1848
succumb1849
to turn one's toes up1851
to peg out1852
walk1858
snuff1864
to go or be up the flume1865
to pass outc1867
to cash in one's chips1870
to go (also pass over) to the majority1883
to cash in1884
to cop it1884
snuff1885
to belly up1886
perch1886
to kick the bucket1889
off1890
to knock over1892
to pass over1897
to stop one1901
to pass in1904
to hand in one's marble1911
the silver cord is loosed1911
pip1913
to cross over1915
conk1917
to check out1921
to kick off1921
to pack up1925
to step off1926
to take the ferry1928
peg1931
to meet one's Maker1933
to kiss off1935
to crease it1959
zonk1968
cark1977
to cark it1979
to take a dirt nap1981
1921 J. Dos Passos Three Soldiers ii. i. 61 Another kid's kicked off with that—what d'they call it?—menegitis.
1948 E. 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.’
1969 C. F. Burke God is Beautiful, Man (1970) 29 If he don't come back his old man will get sick and kick off too.
1970 R. Lowell Notebk. 122 The old bitches Live into their hundreds, while I'll kick off tomorrow.
1. transitive. To expel or turn out with a kick, or in an ignominious fashion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > expel > specific people from a place, position, or possession > forcibly or ignominiously
eject1555
rumble1570
obtrude1595
to show (a person) the door1638
to kick downstairs1678
to kick out1697
drum1720
firk1823
to chuck out1869
bounce1877
boot1880
out-kick1883
turf1888
hoof1893
hound1922
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals ix, in tr. Virgil Wks. 41 Kick'd out, we set the best Face on't we cou'd.
1794 Ld. Sheffield in Ld. Auckland's Corr. (1862) III. 168 You would be all kicked out before the end of the session.
1807 Salmagundi 19 Sept. 291 A few noisy retainers who have crept into office, and a few noisy patriots..who have been kicked out.
2. Rugby. intransitive. 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.
ΚΠ
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. v. 119 He will not kick-out till they are all in goal.
3. intransitive. To die. slang.
ΚΠ
1898 United 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’.
4. Surfing. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > water sports except racing > surfing > surf-ride [verb (intransitive)] > actions of surfer
pearl-dive1923
slide1931
hot-dog1959
to hang five, ten1962
to kick out1962
to cut back1963
to pull out1963
to pull off1964
nose-ride1965
rollercoaster1969
shred1977
rail1986
to pull in1987
1962 T. Masters Surfing made Easy 64 Kicking out, turning up and over the wave to end a ride.
1963 S. Szabados in J. Pollard Austral. Surfrider ii. 20/1 First let's ‘kick out’—shift the weight to the rear of the board and pull it over the top of the wave.
1. transitive. To raise (dust, etc.) by or as by kicking; hence, to make (any disturbance or nuisance).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > throw into commotion or disorder [verb (transitive)] > make (a commotion)
to kick up1756
1756 S. Foote Englishman return'd from Paris ii. 36 You must know we intended to kick up a Riot, to Night, at the Play-house.
1787 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 214 This day the Kirk kicks up a stoure.
1801 in Anderson Cumbld. Ball. 20 Robbie he kick'd up a dust in a crack.
1810 W. B. Rhodes Bombastes Furioso i. 8 Begone, brave army, and don't kick up a row.
1844 W. H. Maxwell Wanderings in Highlands & Islands I. ix. 168 The wind..had..kicked up more sea than was..agreeable.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days ii. iii. 273 He had been kicking up horrid stinks for some time in his study.
1886 J. K. Jerome Idle Thoughts (1889) 1 They kick up such a shindy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)]
forsweltc888
sweltc888
adeadeOE
deadc950
wendeOE
i-wite971
starveOE
witea1000
forfereOE
forthfareOE
forworthc1000
to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE
queleOE
fallOE
to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE
to shed (one's own) blood?a1100
diec1135
endc1175
farec1175
to give up the ghostc1175
letc1200
aswelta1250
leavea1250
to-sweltc1275
to-worthc1275
to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290
finea1300
spilla1300
part?1316
to leese one's life-daysa1325
to nim the way of deathc1325
to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330
flit1340
trance1340
determinec1374
disperisha1382
to go the way of all the eartha1382
to be gathered to one's fathers1382
miscarryc1387
shut1390
goa1393
to die upa1400
expirea1400
fleea1400
to pass awaya1400
to seek out of lifea1400–50
to sye hethena1400
tinea1400
trespass14..
espirec1430
to end one's days?a1439
decease1439
to go away?a1450
ungoc1450
unlivec1450
to change one's lifea1470
vade1495
depart1501
to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513
to decease this world1515
to go over?1520
jet1530
vade1530
to go westa1532
to pick over the perch1532
galpa1535
to die the death1535
to depart to God1548
to go home1561
mort1568
inlaikc1575
shuffle1576
finish1578
to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587
relent1587
unbreathe1589
transpass1592
to lose one's breath1596
to make a die (of it)1611
to go offa1616
fail1623
to go out1635
to peak over the percha1641
exita1652
drop1654
to knock offa1657
to kick upa1658
to pay nature her due1657
ghost1666
to march off1693
to die off1697
pike1697
to drop off1699
tip (over) the perch1699
to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703
sink1718
vent1718
to launch into eternity1719
to join the majority1721
demise1727
to pack off1735
to slip one's cable1751
turf1763
to move off1764
to pop off the hooks1764
to hop off1797
to pass on1805
to go to glory1814
sough1816
to hand in one's accounts1817
to slip one's breatha1819
croak1819
to slip one's wind1819
stiffen1820
weed1824
buy1825
to drop short1826
to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839
to get one's (also the) call1839
to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840
to unreeve one's lifeline1840
to step out1844
to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845
to hand in one's checks1845
to go off the handle1848
to go under1848
succumb1849
to turn one's toes up1851
to peg out1852
walk1858
snuff1864
to go or be up the flume1865
to pass outc1867
to cash in one's chips1870
to go (also pass over) to the majority1883
to cash in1884
to cop it1884
snuff1885
to belly up1886
perch1886
to kick the bucket1889
off1890
to knock over1892
to pass over1897
to stop one1901
to pass in1904
to hand in one's marble1911
the silver cord is loosed1911
pip1913
to cross over1915
conk1917
to check out1921
to kick off1921
to pack up1925
to step off1926
to take the ferry1928
peg1931
to meet one's Maker1933
to kiss off1935
to crease it1959
zonk1968
cark1977
to cark it1979
to take a dirt nap1981
a1658 J. Cleveland Obsequies in Wks. (1687) 235 The rest that kick'd up were the smaller Fry.
1813 E. Picken Misc. Poems I. 46 (E.D.D.) Soud ye kick up an' slip awa, They'll scrimply find anither As guid.
3. Cricket. intransitive. Of a ball: To rebound more or less vertically. (Cf. 3b.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > bowl [verb (intransitive)] > motion of ball
to make haste?a1475
twist?1801
cut1816
shoot1816
curl1833
hang1838
work1838
break1847
spin1851
turn1851
bump1856
bite1867
pop1871
swerve1894
to kick up1895
nip1899
swing1900
google1907
move1938
seam1960
to play (hit, etc.) across the line1961
1895 Daily News 29 May 8/5 A knock on the hand from a ball..which kicked up a little.
Compounds
Phrases used as nouns or adjectives; spec. See also kick-off n., kick-up n.
kick-about n. an irregular form of football.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > other forms of football > [noun] > indoor or irregular football
kick-about1877
speedball1923
fug-footer1940
1877 Day of my Life at Eton 97 There's kick-about going on in the passage.
1899 E. Phillpotts Human Boy 9 The halfhour ‘kick-about’ in the playground.
kick-and-rush n. used attributively to describe football played with more vigour than art.
ΚΠ
1906 Daily Chron. 26 Nov. 9/2 It was a kick-and-rush game, played badly.
1930 Daily Express 9 Sept. 12/5 The football they played was of the kick-and-rush order.
kick-ball n. originally Scottish a football, or the game of football.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > [noun]
football1409
football play?1537
football-playing1583
kick-ball1828
footer1844
footer1863
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > [noun] > ball
footballa1425
kick-ball1828
puntabout1845
leather1868
pigskin1889
1828 D. M. Moir Life Mansie Wauch v. 40 Fleeing down the street, with the kick-ba' at their noses.
1854 E. H. Chapin Humanity in the City vii. 200 They are running about at kick-ball and cricket.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona viii. 94 I will be a kick-ball between you and the Duke no longer.
1971 E. Shorris Death of Great Spirit i. 17 You played kickball in the streets.
1972 J. E. Franklin in W. King Black Short Story Anthol. 354 During recess the children played kick-ball, tag, and other games.
kick-out n. (a) (see to kick out 2 at Phrasal verbs); (b) Surfing (see quots. and cf. sense to kick out 4 at Phrasal verbs).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > water sports except racing > surfing > [noun] > actions of surfer
kick-out1801
ride1883
side-slip1913
surf1917
slide1935
pull-out1957
quasimodo1960
head dip1962
nose-riding1962
rolling1962
spinner1962
stalling1962
toes over1962
cutback1963
Eskimo roll1964
re-entry1968
right1968
rollercoaster1968
barrel roll1971
hold-down1982
railing1983
cross-stepping1990
cross-step1994
turtle roll2001
1801 J. Wolcot Odes to Ins & Outs vi. 26 The tumult on that kick-out day Was mob-like at a house on fire.
1889 Standard 23 Dec. Following the kick-out, Christopherson got possession and narrowly missed dropping a goal.
1967 J. Severson Great Surfing Gloss. s.v. A kick-out is a last-ditch effort to keep from losing your board.
1970 Stud. in Eng. (Univ. Cape Town) 1 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.
1971 Stud. in Eng. (Univ. Cape Town) 2 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.
kick-the-can n. (also kick-the-tin, etc.) a children's game in which a tin can is kicked (fully described in I. Opie & P. Opie Children's Games (1969) 164–6).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > hiding or chasing game > [noun] > kick the can
lerky1902
kick-the-can1909
1909 Notes & Queries 5 June 445/2 Children's games in Orkney... Kick the tinnie.
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren xviii. 377 Orthodox games like ‘Kick the Can’ and ‘Jacky Shine a Light’.
1959 B. 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.
1971 Stornoway 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.
1973 B. 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.
Draft additions 1997
to kick ass: (slang originally and chiefly U.S.), to act roughly or aggressively; to be powerful or assertive.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > power > have power or might [verb (intransitive)]
mayeOE
to kick ass1977
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > violent behaviour > behave violently or use force [verb (intransitive)]
to do outragec1325
to make forcea1340
deray1340
outrayc1390
to make strengtha1393
tar and tig?a1500
bull1884
strong-arm1906
to kick ass1977
to get medieval1994
1977 Rolling Stone 7 Apr. 83/2 Carter plays an adventurous brand of chamber jazz that even kicks ass on occasions such as ‘One Bass Rag’.
1981 T. Morrison Tar Baby vii. 222 Kicking ass at Con Edison offices, barking orders in the record companies.
1989 Spin 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.
1990 N.Y. Woman June 40/1 I think it's great fun to kick ass,..but women are taught not to fight.
1993 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. 10 Nov. c3/1 I didn't just exist in government. I prevailed. I kicked ass.
Draft additions 1997
kick-ass adj. U.S. slang (see sense 4a above), rough, aggressive, powerful (also elliptical as n.).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > power > [adjective]
mightyeOE
craftyeOE
richeOE
strongeOE
wieldeOE
mainstrongOE
mightOE
keena1000
mightfullOE
mainfulc1225
reighc1225
starkc1275
boldc1300
fort13..
mightandc1350
strengthya1382
mightifula1400
bigc1400
powerfulc1450
puissant?c1450
mananta1500
mighteousa1500
potenta1500
potential?c1500
vailing1508
forcible1555
potentate1556
swingeing1567
powerable1580
strong-handed1598
strengthful1604
hogen mogen1648
powerlike1657
pollent1660
hogana1672
swayful1767
reverend1826
oomphy1955
kick-ass1977
society > authority > power > [noun] > that which is powerful
bruiser1868
kick-ass1977
1977 Rolling 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.
1987 New 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.
1991 Times 16 Feb. 10/2 His point is that ‘the old, kick-ass way of managing’ is counter-productive.
1994 M.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.
Draft additions September 2016
Originally U.S. to kick the tyres: to test, check, or research the condition or quality of a product, service, etc., before purchase or use.Quot. 1963 illustrates the transition from earlier literal use.
ΚΠ
1963 Pop. Mech. Oct. 122/2 His preflight inspection—which involves walking around the plane ‘kicking the tires’—is an important ritual required of all Air Force pilots to make sure it is ready to fly.]
1964 Winnipeg Free Press 26 Sept. (Modern Living section) 7/2 Astronaut Virgil Grissom says the Gemini will produce a capsule in which the astronauts will ‘hope to kick the tires, get in and go’.
1975 Newsweek (Nexis) 24 Feb. 10 Gulf Oil Corp. and Citicorp sent emissaries to kick Jonathan's tires, but nothing came of it.
1984 Yale Law Jrnl. 93 271 A gambit familiar to business lawyers is the seller's statement that it will open all its facilities to the buyer, that the buyer is welcome to come out and ‘kick the tires’, but that there will be no representations and warranties.
2015 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 10 Oct. 2 Bankers have been kicking the tyres of almost every insurance company in Britain for the chance of a takeover or a stock market float this year.
Draft additions March 2017
U.S. colloquial. to kick the can down the road (also street): to delay dealing with a difficult situation.Quot. 1969 is an apparently isolated use, evoking the prospect of becoming jobless and unoccupied.
ΚΠ
1969 Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier 14 Dec. 18/8 He is alleged to have told workers that if they didn't like the way the water works was run they could ‘kick the can down the road.’]
1983 D. C. Jones in 1st Concurrent Resol. on Budget—Fiscal Year 1984: Hearings before U.S. Senate Budget Comm.: National Security (98th Congr., 1st Sess.) I. 128 The key question is whether we are going to face up to that problem today, or kick the can down the street.
1999 Hutchinson (Kansas) News 21 Jan. a10/5 The senators decided to decide some other day.., this exercise in kicking the can down the road was heralded by the kickers as an act of statesmanship akin to Lend-Lease.
2014 D. Weidemer et al. Aftershock Investor ii. 53 It is a short term fix that comes at an incredibly high long-term price. We're not just kicking the can down the road, we're piling up sticks of dynamite in that can.
Draft additions September 2018
colloquial. to kick (a person's) ass (also butt, arse): to attack or harm (a person) physically, esp. in order to punish or subdue; to beat up. Hence: to defeat or humiliate; to exhaust or tire out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > beat [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person
to-beatc893
threshOE
bustc1225
to lay on or upon?c1225
berrya1250
to-bunea1250
touchc1330
arrayc1380
byfrapc1380
boxc1390
swinga1400
forbeatc1420
peal?a1425
routa1425
noddlea1450
forslinger1481
wipe1523
trima1529
baste1533
waulk1533
slip1535
peppera1550
bethwack1555
kembc1566
to beat (a person) black and blue1568
beswinge1568
paik1568
trounce1568
canvass1573
swaddle?1577
bebaste1582
besoop1589
bumfeage1589
dry-beat1589
feague1589
lamback1589
clapperclaw1590
thrash1593
belam1595
lam1595
beswaddle1598
bumfeagle1598
belabour1600
tew1600
flesh-baste1611
dust1612
feeze1612
mill1612
verberate1614
bethumpa1616
rebuke1619
bemaul1620
tabor1624
maula1627
batterfang1630
dry-baste1630
lambaste1637
thunder-thump1637
cullis1639
dry-banga1640
nuddle1640
sauce1651
feak1652
cotton1654
fustigate1656
brush1665
squab1668
raddle1677
to tan (a person's) hide1679
slam1691
bebump1694
to give (a person) his load1694
fag1699
towel1705
to kick a person's butt1741
fum1790
devel1807
bray1808
to beat (also scare, etc.) someone's daylights out1813
mug1818
to knock (a person) into the middle of next week1821
welt1823
hidea1825
slate1825
targe1825
wallop1825
pounce1827
to lay into1838
flake1841
muzzle1843
paste1846
looder1850
frail1851
snake1859
fettle1863
to do over1866
jacket1875
to knock seven kinds of —— out of (a person)1877
to take apart1880
splatter1881
to beat (knock, etc.) the tar out of1884
to —— the shit out of (a person or thing)1886
to do up1887
to —— (the) hell out of1887
to beat — bells out of a person1890
soak1892
to punch out1893
stoush1893
to work over1903
to beat up1907
to punch up1907
cream1929
shellac1930
to —— the bejesus out of (a person or thing)1931
duff1943
clobber1944
to fill in1948
to bash up1954
to —— seven shades of —— out of (a person or thing)1976
to —— seven shades out of (a person or thing)1983
beast1990
becurry-
fan-
1741 H. Fielding Shamela vi. 13 Yes (says he) you are a d——d, impudent, stinking, cursed, confounded Jade, and I have a great mind to kick your A——.
1855 Allen's Indian Mail 29 Jan. 41/1 I don't care a damn; if the adjutant comes near me I'll kick his arse.
1914 Canad. Criminal Cases Annotated 22 386 He came over to me and shook his fist and said to get out of this, or he would kick my damned ass, or any one that would take my part.
1936 J. Dos Passos Big Money 9 ‘Do you know if they still give officers special rates at the McAlpin?’ he asked the taximan. ‘Sure, they treat you all right if you're an officer... If you're an enlisted man you get your ass kicked,’ answered the taximan.
1970 Sports Illustr. 23 Feb. 49/1 Man, I'm not going to get my butt kicked on national television. Tonight I'm going to run my race.
2009 P. Conroy South of Broad (2010) 318 He has no idea that we're going to kick his team's ass this year.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
kickv.2
/kɪk/, U.S. /kɪk/ slang.
a. intransitive. To make a demand or request for money, work, etc.
ΚΠ
1829 Sporting Mag. 23 293 They do not like two coachmen kicking in fifty miles.
b. transitive. To appeal to, dun (a person) for something; to obtain (something) by asking.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)]
yearnOE
bid971
seek971
askOE
beseechc1175
banc1275
yerec1275
cravec1300
desirec1330
impetrec1374
praya1382
nurnc1400
pleadc1400
require1400
fraynec1430
proke1440
requisitea1475
wishc1515
supply1546
request1549
implore?c1550
to speak for ——1560
entreat1565
impetratec1565
obtest?1577
solicit1595
invoke1617
mendicate1618
petition1621
imprecate1636
conjurea1704
speer1724
canvass1768
kick1792
I will thank you to do so-and-so1813
quest1897
to hit a person up for1917
1792 G. Galloway Poems 31 I kik'd a saxpence frae my master.
1858 A. Mayhew Paved with Gold 254 (Farmer) Ned Purchase suggested that they might as well try and kick him for some coppers.
1901 N.E.D. at Kick Mod. Sc. (tailors' slang) He cam into the shop yesterday to kick the cork = master for a job.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.21861
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