kick one's heels

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

kick one's heels (third-person singular simple present kicks one's heels, present participle kicking one's heels, simple past and past participle kicked one's heels)

1. (idiomatic) To wait; to wait impatiently or restlessly.
   • 1830, The Edinburgh Literary Journal, volume 1, page 231:

     […] whether, in one single instance, any individual has been obliged to kick his heels in the lobby even for one minute, and whether the order was not instantly granted ?

   • 1893, Robert Louis Stevenson, Catriona, Dedication: To Charles Baxter:

     It is the fate of sequels to disappoint those who have waited for them; and my David, having been left to kick his heels for more than a lustre in the British Linen Company’s office, must expect his late re-appearance to be greeted with hoots, if not with missiles.

   • 1999, Denis Diderot, translated by David Coward, Jacques the Fatalist, page 37:

     […] the older fathers were left to kick their heels in their empty booths, which made them very cross...

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see kick,‎ heels.

   The restless boy kicked his heels against the chair legs.

   The dancer kicked her heels as high as her shoulders.

Synonyms

• (to wait impatiently or restlessly): be left kicking, bide one's time, cool one's heels; See also Thesaurus:wait

See also

• kick up one's heels