Meaning & use
kick yourself
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Meaning
phraseidiom
to be very annoyed with yourself for doing something wrong or missing an opportunity
Grammar: Reflexive: the object must match the subject (I kicked myself, she kicked herself). Often followed by 'for' + -ing.
Patterns
- kick yourself for something
- kick yourself for doing something
I could have kicked myself for forgetting her birthday.
You'll kick yourself if you don't take this chance.
He kicked himself for not buying the tickets earlier.
Common combinations
- could have kicked yourself
- She could have kicked herself for missing the train.
- kick yourself for not doing something
- I kicked myself for not applying for the job.
- you'll kick yourself
- You'll kick yourself if you say no to this offer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- regret
- This is a neutral verb meaning to feel sorry about something; 'kick yourself' is more informal and suggests anger at your own mistake.
- reproach yourself
- This is formal and means to blame yourself; it does not carry the same physical, self-punishing image.
Commonly confused: kick yourself or kick off?
kick yourself vs kick off
This means to begin or start something, especially a game or event; it has no connection to regret.
Practice
Complete the sentence: I ______ for not studying harder.
Choose one answer.
The subject is 'I', so the reflexive pronoun must be 'myself'. 'Kicked me' is literal and wrong here; 'kicked himself' would need a third-person subject; 'kicked yourself' would need 'you' as the subject.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kick yourself”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.