大家大概都看到过一匹年轻的俊马在宽阔的草原上兴高彩烈地奔跑的情景吧!这是一幅很美丽的图象,马的前腿往前伸展,后腿很有节奏地往上踢。美国有一个俗语就是建筑在这一形像之上的。这个俗语就是:to kick up one's heels。
"How about coming out with us Wednesday night? We're all going to take Bill Glover out to dinner. Then later we'll drop into a few night spots. It's Bill's last chance to kick up his heels, you know--he's getting married the next morning."
To kick up one's heels并不一定是年轻人的事,上了年纪的人有时也想到外面去轻松轻松。下面的例子就很能说明问题:
"My mother and dad are over sixty, but they still like to go out once in a while to have dinner and do a little dancing and kick up their heels. Of course, they go home a lot earlier than they used to."
"Last night Michael Smith kicked off his campaign for the U.S. Senate with a speech here promising lower taxes and a bigger budget for schools and more help to the farmers."
下面这个例子是学生在准备他的暑期活动。他说:
"Now that my exams are all finished, I'm going to kick off the summer vacation by going down to Ocean City for a week to get some sun, some surf and a chance to look at the girls."