kick off v.2
1. (orig. US, also kick things off) to begin, to start, to set in motion.
Life in Boston & N.Y. (Boston, MA) 11 Apr. n.p.: The first couple [...] were enaged for the Vesuvia [i.e. a dance] , which they kicked off in a style that would [...] make blush the inmates of the Louisiana Ball room in New orleans. | ||
Lonely Plough (1931) 79: Hod thy gab, an’ let yan o’ t’aald yans kick off! | ||
Dict. of Aus. Words And Terms 🌐 KICK OFF—To commence. | ||
Thieves Like Us (1999) 61: The Vault kicks off either at nine or maybe before. | ||
Sun (Sydney) 29 Sept. 15/1: When Aussie kicked off the Choom Government was too lousy to mint enough coins for themselves let alone send a boatload out for the cons to play swy with. | ||
Jives of Dr. Hepcat (1989) 6: Mr. ——, I don’t want to kick off on the wrong side of the street but I know you are well policed on the type of slave I put down. | ||
Spook who Sat by the Door (1972) 5: All right, team, let’s have a run-down [...] Tom, kick it off. | ||
Animal Factory 58: Some shit is likely to kick off down there. | ||
Up the Cross 13: Whiffy Maloney’s latest bout of strike kicked off that night. | (con. 1959)||
London Fields 256: In the old days you kicked off by threatening someone’s family. | ||
How to Kiss a Crocodile 101: Well, let’s kick off the day with a heart starter. | ||
(con. early 1950s) L.A. Confidential 197: Parker kicked things off. | ||
Lairs, Urgers & Coat-Tuggers 301: ‘So, if it’s all right with you I’d like to kick off with how I not only go to be an SP but also how I got to be a punter’. | ||
Yes We Have No 72: A movement that had kicked off with Flower Power. | ||
(con. 1990s) in One of the Guys 103: ‘Why would you grow up to be on this side and I’m on this side/ So that’s how it [i.e. choosing a gang] be kicking off’. | ||
PS, I Scored the Bridesmaids 71: I didn’t think it would all kick off so quickly. | ||
(con. 1960s-70s) Top Fellas 57/1: The concert kicked off at 9 a.m. | ||
Life 125: The Station Hotel, Richmond [...] everything really kicked off from there. | ||
Artefacts of the Dead [ebook] They ranted, shouted, screamed, poured recriminations in every direction [...] ‘All kicking off, is it?’ said DS McCormack. | ||
ThugLit Jan. [ebook] [T]he signal that Little Luca was back and it was about to kick off. | ‘Redline’ in||
What They Was 233: He knows Dario [...] so it’s not gonna kick off. | ||
April Dead 35: ‘First sign of anything kicking off he’ll be back up here like a shot’. | ||
I Am Already Dead 15: [T]he man who’d raided Firmin’s office when things kicked off outside. |
2. of a club or bar, to open.
After Hours 22: They kick off when the regular joints close. |