Idiom
kick the beam
Meaning
To lack in weight, importance, or strength compared to another.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“His small argument kicks the beam against the evidence.”
“My old laptop kicks the beam next to your new computer.”
“When you compare his experience to the senior manager's, his qualifications clearly kick the beam.”
“The local team's defensive strategy kicks the beam when they face the speed and power of the national champions.”
“Your short summary of the book kicks the beam compared to the deep analysis written by the professor.”
“In the final analysis of the historical records, the minor evidence provided by the witness kicks the beam when weighed against the overwhelming testimony of the experts.”
Examples
simple
“His small argument kicks the beam against the evidence.”
“My old laptop kicks the beam next to your new computer.”
contextual
“When you compare his experience to the senior manager's, his qualifications clearly kick the beam.”
“The local team's defensive strategy kicks the beam when they face the speed and power of the national champions.”
“Your short summary of the book kicks the beam compared to the deep analysis written by the professor.”
complex
“In the final analysis of the historical records, the minor evidence provided by the witness kicks the beam when weighed against the overwhelming testimony of the experts.”
Origin
The expression references a loaded balance scale, specifically the moment an object is found so light that its side of the scale rises sharply and strikes the overhead cross-bar. This cross-bar was known as the beam. The movement indicated a significant lack of weight, or a failure to meet a standard, by which the lighter arm would fly up and kick the beam.
Key words
Related idioms
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