kicking up one's heels
Having carefree fun
Kicking up one's heels means celebrating or enjoying oneself in a lively, uninhibited way, like a horse or colt frolicking in a field.
The phrase suggests freedom from restraint or responsibility: After finals, the students were ready to kick up their heels.
It often implies a break from routine or duty.
- joyfulFeeling great happiness
- leapingSpringing into air
- dancingRhythmic bodily motion
- cutting looseAbandoning restraint suddenly
- partyGathering for celebration
hoedown · carousing · revelry · paint the town red · carefree · fancy free · shindig · jubilation · skipping · frolic · bash · exuberant · living it up · stomping · twirling · merriment · letting loose · ecstatic
kicking up one's heelsmoping
Brooding in dejection
brooding · sulking · languishing · grieving · mourning
kicking up one's heelsnose to the grindstone
Devoted to hard work
sitting on one's hands · slaving away · toiling · grinding · drudging
kicking up one's heelsbuckling down
Applying oneself with determination
knuckling under · bearing one's cross · tightening one's belt