kick in the pants

a kick in the pants

1. A forceful gesture or message of some kind (usually delivered with good intentions) that acts as motivation to the (previously unmotivated) recipient. These days, teenagers seem to need a swift kick in the pants to convince them to do well in school. That speeding ticket was the kick in the pants that Dan needed to get his driving under control.
2. A frustrating or unwelcome occurrence. Having to move back in with my parents at age 40 is a real kick in the pants.
3. A source of pleasure or enjoyment. Our night out was a real a kick in the pants—we had a great time.
See also: kick, pant
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

kick in the (seat of the) pants

 and kick in the ass; a kick in the butt; a kick in the teeth
Fig. Inf. a strong message of encouragement or demand. (Use ass and butt with discretion.) All he needs is a kick in the seat of the pants to get him going. A kick in the butt will get her moving.
See also: kick, pant
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

kick in the pants

verb
See kick in the seat of the pants
See also: kick, pant
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

kick in the (seat of the) pants, a

A reproof or reprimand; also, a goad or spur to get someone moving. Both can be literal or figurative. The idea must be very old indeed, and the expression, a euphemism for a kick in the posterior, appeared in Samuel Butler’s Hudibras (1663). A more recent term with the same meaning as the first sense is a kick in the teeth, used from the mid-twentieth century on.
See also: kick, of
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • a kick in the pants
  • kick in the (seat of the) pants, a
  • kick in the pants, a
  • kick in the butt
  • a kick in the butt
  • a kick up the backside
  • an iron hand
  • iron hand
  • kick in the rear
References in periodicals archive
One need only look across the pond at the way the Australian Rupert Murdoch has revolutionized both professional soccer and rugby to realize that some problems can never be solved by the locals; moribund industries sometimes need a kick in the pants from a foreign foot.
Ordering Chinese takeout: can far east management turn failing U.S. companies around?
And it's certain his fashion deficiency will be given a swift kick in the pants as the two posh ladies are given full reign to do what they think best.
PICK OF THE DAY: Ripped apart by the style councillors; What Not to Wear, 8.30pm BBC 2
In Rodney Graham's projection City Self Country Self, 2000, the artist as country bumpkin is unceremoniously welcomed to the city by a kick in the pants from his urban-dandy doppelganger.
"Loop": P. S. 1. (Reviews: New York)
Many of them won't fully understand how to go about it, but we will supply the direction, encouragement, and proverbial kick in the pants.
"Iron Sharpens Iron": Motivation in the weight room and beyond. (Powerline)
These cartoons challenge progressive and liberal readers, which makes the book more than just a kick in the pants to the anti-abortion side.
Back to the drawing board on abortion
Skate paintings are still a kick in the pants, though.
Of where do you remember me from?