kettle of fish
A complicated or awkward situation
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kettled
Drunk.
kettledrums
Cupid's kettle drums; a woman's breasts, called by sailors chest and bedding.
kew
(or more properly KEEU), a week.
kews
SKEW, or SKEEU, weeks.
Key and Bible
Formerly employed as a method of divination. The Bible is opened either at Ruth, ch. i, or at Psalm li, and a door- key is placed inside the Bible, so that the handle projects beyond the^book. The Bible is then tied with a piece of string and held by the fourth fingers of the accuser and defendant, who must repeat the words touched by the wards of the key.
key down
To lower in pitch, level, or intensity; to tone down.
key of the street
An imaginary instrument said to be possessed by any one locked out of doors.
keys to the kingdom
Complete control or authority over something
Khyber Pass
The arse.
kibosh
Nonsense, stuff, humbug; "it’s all KIBOSH," i.e., palaver or nonsense; to "put on the KIBOSH," to run down, slander, degrade, &c. To put the KIBOSH on anything is, latterly, to put an effectual end or stop to it.
kick
A moment; "I’ll be there in a KICK," i.e., in a moment.
kick a dog when it's down
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
kick against the pricks
To resist or fight against something that is inevitable or unstoppable
kick ass
to do something very well or successfully
kick ass and take names
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
kick at an open door
to take an unnecessary or easy action
kick at the can
to procrastinate or delay taking action
kick back
relax and enjoy oneself
kick bollocks scramble
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
kick butt
to do something very well or successfully
kick in
to start working or having an effect
kick in the teeth
A severe disappointment or setback
kick into the long grass
To delay or avoid making a decision or taking action
kick into touch
To dismiss or evade a problem or issue
kick it
to start or begin something
kick loose
to escape or break free from something
kick off
start or initiate an event or activity
kick one's heels
To wait impatiently or idly
kick out
to force someone to leave a place
kick out the jams
To express oneself freely and energetically, often through music or performance
kick over the traces
To be over-extravagant. Any one who has come to grief by fast living is said to have KICKED OVER THE TRACES.
kick rocks
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
kick some tail
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
kick some tires
Examine or test something informally
kick someone when they are down
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
kick someone's ass
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
kick the beam
to be weighed and found wanting
kick the can down the road
To delay or avoid making a decision or taking action
kick the tires
Examine or test something to assess its quality or functionality
kick the tyres
Test or evaluate something to see if it is working properly
kick to the curb
to reject or abandon someone
kick up
A noise or disturbance.
kick up one's heels
To celebrate or have a good time, often in a lively or uninhibited way
kick upstairs
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
kick with the other foot
to change one's behavior or approach
kickeraboo
Dead. A West Indian negro’s phrase. See KICK THE BUCKET, of which phrase it is a corruption.
kicking and screaming
strongly resisting or protesting something
kicking boots
dancing energetically
kicks
Breeches. A high kick; the top of the fashion. It is all the kick; it is the present mode. Tip us your kicks, we'll have them as well as your lour; pull off your breeches, for we must have them as well as your money. A kick; sixpence. Two and a kick; half-a-crown. A kick in the guts; a dram of gin, or any other spirituous liquor. A kick up; a disturbance, also a hop or dance. An odd kick in one's gallop; a strange whim or peculiarity.
kicks and giggles
for fun or entertainment
kickseys
Trousers.
kickseys
Or KICKSIES, trousers.
kickshaws
French dishes: corruption of quelque chose.
kickshaws
Trifles; made, or French dishes—not English or substantial. Anything of a fancy description now. Corruption of the French QUELQUES CHOSES.
kicksy
Troublesome, disagreeable. German, KECK, bold.
kid
A little dapper fellow. A child. The blowen has napped the kid. The girl is with child.
kid
An infant, or child. From the German kind; or possibly from the name for the young of a goat. Also, a shallow dish in which sailors receive their portions of food.
kid around
to joke or tease someone
kid lay
Rogues who make it their business to defraud young apprentices, or errand-boys, of goods committed to their charge, by prevailing on them to execute some trifling message, pretending to take care of their parcels till they come back; these are, in cant terms, said to be on the kid lay.
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