butt

be a pain in the arse/backside (British & Australian, very informal, American & Australian, very informal)

to be very annoying. I can't stand my brother-in-law. He's a real pain in the arse. Getting up for work at 5 a.m. is a pain in the ass.

See also: arse, backside, pain

someone's butt is on the line (American & Australian, very informal!)

if someone's butt is on the line, they are in a situation where they will be blamed if things go wrong. It's my butt on the line if we don't make this delivery today, so get moving guys.

See also: line

kick (someone's) butt (American & Australian, very informal!)

to punish someone or to defeat someone with a lot of force. The officer told his men to move in on the protestors and kick butt - show them who's boss! We went out with the gang to kick some butt.

See also: kick

a kick up the arse/backside (British & Australian, very informal)

if you give someone a kick up the backside, you do or say something to try to stop them being lazy. He does nothing but watch TV all day. His mother should give him a kick up the backside. The threat of losing my job was the kick in the pants I needed.

See also: arse, backside, kick

work your arse/backside off (British & Australian, very informal, American, very informal)

to work very hard. My father worked his backside off to pay for our education.

See also: arse, backside, work

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butt in

to interrupt. Sorry to butt in on you like this, but there's an important call.

butt out

to not get involved in something. Teens usually think their parents should just butt out of their lives.

Usage notes: often used as an order: This is none of your business, so just butt out!

kick (someone's) butt

1. to defeat someone completely. Even when Barry was hurting, he was not only on the field but also kicking butt. We hope they come back because we want to kick their butt again.

2. to fight someone and hurt them. Lyle claimed she could kick my butt, and then decided she had better start training in case anybody asked her to prove it. The cops in this city don't just want to kick down doors and kick some butt.

See also: kick

kick (some) butt (and take names)

kick (some) ass (and take names)

See also: kick

kick butt

to be very exciting or effective. The new system really kicked butt, catching several cheaters the first day it was used.

See also: kick

a kick in the butt

forceful encouragement to do something. She knows when we need a kick in the butt to get this done right. Luckily, you can add memory and give your computer a real kick in the pants without spending a ton of money.

a pat on the back

See also: kick