Word.ws English Dictionary

kick over the traces

kick over the traces verb: to rebel against authority; to defy orders or instructions.

Verb

kick over the traces (third-person singular simple present kicks over the traces, present participle kicking over the traces, simple past and past participle kicked over the traces)

  1. (UK, dated, informal) To rebel against authority; to defy orders or instructions.
    • Near-synonym: kick against the pricks
    • "I remember that she once said to me, 'Women do get the worst of it when they kick over the traces,'" Hillyard resumed. "And undoubtedly they do. On the other hand you have McKerrel's hard-headed verdict, 'If these poor neurotic bodies had any work to do they wouldn't have so much time to worry...1920, A. E. W. Mason, The Summons, XXX: A Revolution in Sir Chichester
  2. (UK, dated, informal) To live overextravagantly; to come to grief by fast living.
    • Near-synonyms: live large, live beyond one's means, live high on the hog
    Synonyms:
    live large, live beyond one's means, live high on the hog

Synonyms of kick over the traces

Forms of kick over the traces

third-person singular presentkicks over the traces
present participlekicking over the traces
past participlekicked over the traces
pastkicked over the traces

Origin of kick over the traces

Refers to a horse kicking its legs over to the wrong side of the traces, straps of leather connecting it to the vehicle being towed.

Questions about kick over the traces

What does kick over the traces mean?
Kick over the traces means to rebel against authority; to defy orders or instructions.
What part of speech is kick over the traces?
Kick over the traces is a verb.
What is the past tense of kick over the traces?
The past tense of kick over the traces is kicked over the traces.

Words near kick over the traces in the dictionary

  1. kick one's feet up
  2. kick one's heels
  3. kick out
  4. kick out the jams
  5. kick over
  6. kick over the traces
  7. kick payment
  8. kick plate
  9. kick plates
  10. kick pleat
  11. kick pleats

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: kick over the traces (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “kick over the traces.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kick_over_the_traces. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.