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I 'Get a Kick' Out of YouNow, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning¹ English.

From birth to death, the word “kick” has an important part in the human experience. In the very beginning, a happy mother-to-be feels the first signs of life “kicking” inside her.

And near the end of life, some people may use the idiom “to kick the bucket” when someone dies. Although I would be careful using it. “Kicked the bucket” is a very informal slang² expression. And it is a bit, well, cold or unfeeling.

That’s right. But, in addition to those two sayings, American English has many other “kick” expressions.

For example, we kick with our feet. So it should come as no surprise that kicks is a term for shoes. We always this slang expression in its plural³ form. Younger people, under the age of 30, use the term kicks more than older people. And they usually use it when talking about a pair of sports shoes … as we will hear in this dialogue.

Hey, I like your kicks! Are those the new Air Jordans?

They are. And I paid a pretty penny for them.

Well, you had better not waste all that money. Let’s go shoot some hoops⁴!

Are you crazy? I don’t want to damage my brand new kicks!

But they are basketball shoes – made for playing basketball.

But that’s not why I bought them. These kicks are for styling.

Now, people of any age kick up their heels when they want to have fun. If you kick up their heels you have forgotten about all of your cares and are having a good time.

Kicking up your heels is fun. But getting kicked around is not. That is when people treat you badly. They do not hurt you physically⁵ . But they do not treat you with respect or kindness.

But pay attention when you hear this expression. “Kicking around” has other meanings.

It can describe someone who has moved around a lot. People who have kicked around for most of their lives have spent their lives moving from one place to another. If a man spent his 20s and early 30s kicking around from place to place, that means he moved a lot.

Besides kicking around from place to place, you can also kick around an idea. This means to have an idea and then think about it in many different ways. You want to know if the idea will work. At an office meeting, workers kicked around ideas on how to improve their delivery⁶ process.

So, you can kick around an idea. But you can also kick other things … like yourself! To kick yourself means you feel badly about something you did. Usually this mistake or bad choice made you miss an opportunity. And that is why you are angry and willing to kick yourself.

As you can see, “kick” is one of those English words that has many different meanings depending on the words used with it. For example, if you combine “kick” with the word “off,” it means to start something.

Yes, sometimes singers kick off a world tour with one special concert. Or a new store may kick off a grand opening with a great sale event.

You can also kick-start something, like your career. It means to get it going. This term comes from motorcycles. On a motorcycle you must kick down on a metal bar to start the engine.

That is where the fundraiser organization Kickstarter took its name. With Kickstarter, people give money to kick-start a cause or project.

But without the words “off” and “start,” the verb, “kick” means to stop doing something. When you kick something, you stop doing something harmful, like smoking. You can also kick the sugar habit or kick a gossiping habit. We usually say “kick the habit” together.

And now, let’s change the preposition⁷ from “off” to “out.” When you kick someone out of a place or group, you ask them to leave. For example, some students are kicked out of school for behaving badly over and over again.

That might be true. But, getting a kick out of something is a good thing. This means you really enjoyed it. For example, some people get a kick out of seeing their old friends from high school.

And I can say, I always get a kick out of watching fireworks. I really enjoy them! Some people get their kicks in other ways. Maybe they get their kicks playing a sport or driving fast cars.

Okay, that is a lot of kick expressions! It is such a useful word in the English language.

But now, let’s hear how to use them in this short dialogue between two friends.

Hey, why didn’t you go to Jason’s party last night?

Oh, I thought his party was next weekend.

No. It was last night. And it was a perfect way to kick off the weekend. I had such a long week. So, I really kicked up my heels!

I went to a campaign kick off for a political candidate⁸.

You usually get a kick out of political events.

Not this one. No one showed up. I could just kick myself for missing⁹ Jason’s party.

Well, actually, you didn’t miss much.

What do you mean? He throws great parties.

Well, this year, he threw his party at a friend’s house … without telling them. I think it was around 8 pm when the homeowners returned and they kicked everyone out.

Oh. I guess Jason is the one kicking himself for that one.

Do you want to know what we get a kick out of? Reading your comments. So write to us!

Let us know what you get a kick out of. Or maybe you kicked a bad habit.

Use any of the “kick” expressions you heard hear in the Comments Section.

Until next time … I’m Anna Matteo.

And I’m Bryan Lynn.

I get no kick from champagne¹⁰,

Mere¹¹ alcohol¹²,

It doesn't move me at all,

So tell me, why should it be true,

That I get a kick out of you.

(Frank Sinatra singing “I Get a Kick Out of You.”)

Words in This Story

idiom – n. an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own

informal – adj. of language : relaxed in tone¹³ : not suited for serious or official speech and writing

slang – n. words that are not considered part of the standard vocabulary of a language and that are used very informally in speech especially by a particular group of people

plural – adj. grammar : relating to a form of a word that refers to more than one person or thing

dialogue – n. a conversation between two or more persons

pretty penny – idiomatic¹⁴ expression

hoops – n. basketball —usually used in plural

styling – n. the way in which something is designed

opportunity – n. chance for greater success

concert – n. a public performance (as of music or dancing)

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

3 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

4 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

5 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

6 delivery   

n.交付；投递；分娩；解救者；演讲的风格

参考例句：

• The strike caused a great delay in the delivery of the mail.这次罢工严重地延误了邮件的投递。
• He was employed at the local grocery store as a delivery boy.他受雇于当地杂货店当送货员。

7 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。

8 candidate   

n.候选人；候补者；投考者，申请求职者

参考例句：

• Voters like a candidate who has the common touch. 投票者喜欢那些平易近人的候选人。
• The local newspapers dressed up the candidate as a boxer.当地报纸把那个候选人描绘成一个拳击手。

9 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

10 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

11 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

12 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

13 tone   

n.语气，音调，气度，色调；vt.（up）增强

参考例句：

• There was a tone of mockery in his voice.他说话的语气含有嘲笑的意味。
• Holmes used an informal,chatty tone in his essays.霍姆斯在文章中语气轻松随便。

14 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。