kick around
kick around は英検準1級レベルの英単語で、「あれこれ検討する、蹴り回す、蹴って動かす」という意味があります。発音記号は /ˈkɪk əˌraʊnd/ です。
あれこれ検討する
解説 Definition
「kick around」は人や物を乱暴に扱う、または消耗品を雑に使い古す意味で使われます。大切に扱うべきものをぞんざいに扱う場面で批判的な語感が出ます。
To kick around an idea means to discuss it in an informal way and think about different possibilities. It is often used when people are not making a final decision yet, but are exploring options together.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
この意味の kick around は、案や考えをボールのように一人で抱え込まず、会話の中で軽く出し合うイメージです。正式な会議で結論を出す discuss よりも、まだ固まっていない案を気軽に試す感じがあります。kick around an idea, kick around a few options の形でよく使われます。物を実際に蹴る話ではなく、考えをいろいろな方向へ動かして検討する比喩として覚えましょう。
Picture an idea as a ball that people casually pass around in conversation. Nobody keeps it fixed; each person sends it in a new direction. Kick around an idea means to consider it informally before making a decision. It feels lighter and less formal than discuss.
例文
The old soccer balls were kicked around by the students for years.
古いサッカーボールは何年も学生たちに雑に蹴り回されていました。
Please do not kick around the prototype tools; they are fragile.
試作の工具は壊れやすいので粗末に扱わないでください。
蹴り回す
(意味 2)解説 Definition
ボールや空き缶などを足で何度も蹴って、あちこちへ動かす意味です。子どもが遊びでボールを回す場面にも、物を乱暴に扱って床の上を転がす場面にも使われます。考えを検討する比喩表現とは別の、文字どおりの用法です。
To kick around means to move something such as a ball or an empty can by kicking it again and again in different directions. It can describe children playing casually with a ball, or someone treating an object roughly on the ground with their feet. Here, the phrase is used in its literal physical sense, not the figurative sense of discussing an idea.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
"kick around"は、文字どおり「周りで蹴り合う」場面を思い浮かべると覚えやすいです。1つの案をボールのようにその場の全員で回し、軽く出しては受け、別の角度からまた出す感じで「あれこれ検討する」へつながります。discussよりも、結論を急がず気軽に案を転がすニュアンス。"kick around an idea"が定番で、文脈によっては「ぞんざいに扱う」の別義もあるので注意。
Picture people literally kicking a ball around in a circle. That image can help you remember the figurative use too: one idea is passed around like a ball, with each person giving it a light push from a different angle. Compared with discuss, kick around often sounds more casual and less final. Be careful, because in some contexts it can also suggest treating something roughly.
例文
The kids liked to kick around a soccer ball in the park after school.
子どもたちは放課後、公園でサッカーボールを蹴り回すのが好きだった。
While he waited for the bus, he began to kick around an empty can on the sidewalk.
彼はバスを待ちながら、歩道で空き缶を蹴り回し始めた。
Don't kick around that box on the floor, or you'll break what's inside.
その箱を床で蹴り回さないで。中の物が壊れるよ。
蹴って動かす
(意味 3)解説 Definition
「kick around」はボールや缶などを足で蹴って、あちこちへ動かす意味で使います。遊び・練習・何気ない動作の文脈が多く、目的地へ正確に送るより、周囲で蹴って転がす感じがあります。
"Kick around" means to move something like a ball or a can by kicking it with your foot. It is often used for casual play, light practice, or an unplanned action. The focus is not on sending the thing exactly to one place, but on kicking it here and there around you.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
kick around は kick「蹴る」に around「あちこちへ」が加わり、物を足で軽く蹴って場所を変える動きを表します。ball, stone, can など小さく転がる物と相性がよく、kick away のように一方向へ遠ざけるより、周囲で何度も動かす感じが中心です。足先で缶を転がす場面を思い浮かべると覚えやすいです。
"Herniated" is the -ed form of the verb "herniate," meaning "to move out" or "to bulge out." Like "injured" or "swollen," it describes a state. The key image is that tissue or material has been pushed out from the place where it normally stays, as in "herniated disc" or "herniated tissue."
例文
The kids were kicking around a soccer ball in the park after school.
子どもたちは放課後、公園でサッカーボールを蹴って動かしていた。
He kicked around an empty can while waiting for the bus.
彼はバスを待ちながら、空き缶を蹴ってあちこち動かしていた。
Before the game, the players kicked around the ball to warm up.
試合前に、選手たちは準備運動としてボールを蹴って動かした。
kick around の語源・成り立ち Etymology
kickは古ノルド語kikna（膝を曲げる）、aroundは周囲の意。ボールをあちこち蹴り回すイメージから「あれこれ検討する」意味に発展。関連語：kickback（リベート）、kickoff（開始）。
This phrasal verb is built from `kick`, a Germanic word found in Middle English and probably linked to Scandinavian forms, and `around`, from Old English words meaning "on all sides." It first suggested kicking something from place to place. From that image, it later developed the figurative sense of discussing or considering ideas casually from different angles.
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