kick in the butt
2
7.9
- idiom
- Offensive
:
patada en el culo
- Sometimes a tough conversation acts like a kick in the butt, pushing you to take action.
- a swift kick in the butt
- needed a kick in the butt
- give a kick in the butt
Examples
-
The coach said we all could use a kick in the butt to motivate us before the big game.
-
Any Apple consumer who complains about it needs a kick in the butt.
Blog text (7) -
Guess I needed that kick in the butt of reality check!
Blog text (20) -
Getting a Kick in the Butt From His Shadow.
Academic text (1994) -
I see a few bad habits of my own that you just gave a quick kick in the butt to.
Blog text (21) -
Why's it always the little guy that gets kicked in the butt in hard times?
Fiction book (1997) -
"You need a swift kick in the butt!" She wheeled her chair up behind me and tried to give me a swift one, but her toe only grazed my shin.
Fiction book (1990) -
After procrastinating for weeks, I realized I needed a kick in the butt to finish my project on time.
Synonyms
33
4.8
A hit on a child's bottom as punishment
7
4.4
A violent act of hitting a person or damaging a thing
1
1.0
A single hit with the foot, often in sport
A very heavy defeat or a hard physical beating
Antonyms
How Severe
- NSFW
276
4.2
- Offensive
2
7.9
22
6.8
- Informal
1
7.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The expression's meaning is directly built from 'kick' (to hit with the foot) and 'butt' (the buttocks): it denotes being kicked in the behind and by extension a sharp reprimand or motivational shove. This compositional relation is literal or straightforwardly metaphorical and is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would reasonably infer the meaning.
Etymology
Kick in the butt shows the image of a real kick to the butt used as a quick punishment or to make someone move. That's why today it means a hard 'push' or a sharp 'punishment' to get someone to act.