sidekickn.
/ˈsʌɪdkɪk/, U.S. /ˈsaɪdˌkɪk/ 1. Usually as two words or with hyphen.
a. A kick delivered from or towards the side, or with a sideways motion.
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1807 T. Williamson Oriental Field Sports II. xxxviii. 208 It is highly imprudent to approach [a horse in India] within the reach of a yerk, or of a side kick.
1859 Ladies' Mag. 16 259/2 A famous Breton song or ronde, which is danced..with..primitive steps and figures, one of which, we noticed, consists in giving a hearty side kick to the next dancer.
1898 J. Goodall Assoc. Football 38 Suddenly there will be a swift clear side-kick to the other wing.
1919 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 13 Apr. 9/3 The side-kick under the table repeated too often has a way of being the forerunner of a well-developed scuffle.
2001 K. Sutcliffe Fever 316 The horse.., giving a side kick toward Chantz, sprang off into the dark like all the hounds of hell were snapping at his hocks.
b. Martial Arts. A kick delivered (usually with the heel or the edge of the foot) by raising and bending one leg before extending it straight out towards the opponent while turning sideways on the other foot and pivoting the upper body down and away from the kicking leg.
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1892 Idler Sept. 124 The side kick, the coup de flanc..may be a high or a low kick, and may attack the face, the side, or the chest.
1896 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 14 June 18/6 For the side kick the parry is to throw the extended foot either to the left or the right with the arms.
1959 Pacific Stars & Stripes 2 Dec. 13 (caption) Roundhouse kick made by demonstrator at left blocks a flying side-kick.
1963 Black Belt Summer 24/1 (caption) Kanazawa demonstrates his famous flying side kick.
2014 C. Bennardo & N. Zaman Blonde Ops xxx. 255 That's when I delivered the most bone-bruising side kick—the only thing I ever learned in tae kwon do—to his midsection.
2. Originally U.S. Usually as two words or with hyphen. A passing critical remark; an indirect rebuke or criticism; a sideswipe.
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the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > [noun] > indirect > instance of
sidestroke1611
by-wipe1641
by-fling1651
sidewipe1757
sidekick1844
by-quip1855
sidewiper1870
sideswipe1882
snipe1969
1844 Weekly Raleigh Reg. & N. Carolina Gaz. 13 Dec. A side kick is next made at the dead bank of the United States; and the present healthy state of the money affairs appealed to as evidence that nothing of the kind is wanted.
1883 New Eng. Jrnl. Dentistry 2 319 ‘An Eastern Truth-seeker’..publishes an article in the Ohio State Journal, full of sneaking side kicks at somebody who is never mentioned.
1958 Economist 1 Feb. 384/2 Two intriguing passages in Mr. Thorneycroft's speech were, first, what could be taken as a sidekick at the Government's insistence on Britain having the H-bomb.
1999 Observer Rev. (Nexis) 6 June 11 Loy is maudlin and acerbic by turns, splicing memories of her love with side-kicks at the ‘fatuous lives’ of artistic hangers-on.
3. Originally U.S. slang. A companion or close associate; esp. a loyal assistant of a more important or powerful person; (also) a partner in crime, an accomplice. Cf. side-kicker n.
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the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friend > close associate or companion
farrowa700
fellowa1225
playferec1225
companiona1325
matec1380
gossea1549
comrade1591
comrado1598
netop1643
butty1791
left bower1829
sidekick1893
side-kicker1894
cobber1895
bredda1969
bredren1980
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a companion or associate > [noun] > close
fellowa1225
loukec1386
second self1586
dear heart1669
pimple1700
fellow well met1730
hearty1880
sidekick1893
side-kicker1894
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > [noun] > subsidiary or contributory help > a subsidiary help > person
helpa1325
yeoman1363
suffragana1450
assistant?1541
under-minister1543
under-aid1579
under-fellowa1586
adjutant1622
deacon1642
under-builder1651
subsidiary1661
under-instrument1673
helper1686
understrappera1704
âme damnée1797
bottle holder1816
acolyte1829
cad1836
bellows-blower1865
sidekick1893
side-kicker1894
Watson1927
stooge1955
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > a criminal or law-breaker > one who assists
fellowa1382
accessory1414
accessary1451
confederate1495
confederator1536
snapperc1555
complice1581
accomplice?1589
assistor1601
socius criminis1602
fedariea1616
complier1619
particeps criminisa1634
correspondent1639
complicate1662
capper1753
palc1770
partner in crime1831
sidekick1893
side-kicker1894
ram1941
1893 Centralia (Wisconsin) Enterprise & Tribune 4 Feb. 8 Wonder what Dorothy Hroch is doing without her sidekick, Jackie Bressler.
1896 St. Louis Republic 27 Sept. 24/1 W'en I was in New York dis side kick o' mine says he'll write me some letters.
1899 Spencer (Iowa) Herald 18 Oct. E. B. Evans, of Des Moines, interested in the Lake township cases with Mr. Barringer, and a Mr. Clark, a partner and side kick to the same gentleman, have been trotted into the arena to espouse Mr. Barringer's cause.
1900 Mitchell (Indiana) Commerc. 13 Dec. 1/1 O, Chop that smile, And listen to my Spiel of woe; be my Side-Kick a while.
1906 H. Green At Actors' Boarding House 85 The Red Swede..sat over a pint of champagne with Dopey Polly..and his side kick, the Runt.
1934 Bulletin (Sydney) 25 July 47/1 Snowy was good at soft things; as a rule, you could trust him as a sidekick to help you to a clear getaway.
1981 ‘J. McVean’ Seabird Nine xiii. 154 It was the White House... And not just some little cotton-tail sidekick either, but counsel to the President.
1990 Daughters of Sarah Jan. 28/1 Three of the women have sidekicks or confidantes who also have certain characteristics in common.
2009 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 5 Sept. 25 He's an all-action hero who wears a cape and solves crimes with his trusty sidekick—no, it's not Batman and Robin, it's Holmes and Watson.
4. U.S. Criminals' slang. Usually as two words or with hyphen. A pocket in the side of a garment; a side pocket. Cf. kick n.1 7. Now rare.The statement in quot. 1955 that sense 3 derives from this sense is not supported by the evidence.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > pocket > types of
French pocket1675
side pocket1678
breast pocket1758
suck1821
watch-pocket1831
patch pocket1895
insider1896
prat1908
sidekick1916
bellows pocket1922
pannier pocket1922
welt pocket1932
slit pocket1933
1916 Washington Post 11 June 3/4 Pockets range from ‘side kicks’ to ‘double insiders’.
1935 Amer. Speech 10 20/2 Side-kick [formerly] one's pal. In modern argot a side pocket in the coat; it is doubtful if there is any connection.
1955 D. W. Maurer in Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. No. 24. 125 The outside pockets in an overcoat are called side kicks (from which we get a venerable American idiom).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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