[Ads-l] Antedating of "Kick Ass"

[Jesse Sheidlower]

HDAS has an example from John Oliver Killens's _And Then We Heard the Thunder_, from 1963. (Dated 1962 in HDAS.) In a WWII context.

Jesse Sheidlower

On Wed, Jan 07, 2026 at 08:38:45PM +0000, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
> kick ass, v. (OED 1977)
> 
> 1967 Topeka Daily Capital 14 June 8/2 (GenealogyBank)
> 
> "You'll see," the American adviser said softly, "they're real tigers.  They'll kick ass and take names."
> 
> Fred Shapiro
> 
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org