Matt, do you want to kick us off?

[GoodTaste]

Does "Matt, do you want to kick us off?" mean "Matt, do you want to reject us?"

"Kick off" usually mean "to remove" - it seems to be used figuratively here. I am not sure.

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The United States opposes the use of violence by any party. We remain committed to the development of democracy in Somalia, and we want Somalis to enjoy the long-term stability, prosperity, and peace they deserve.


With that, Matt, do you want to kick us off?

Source: Department Press Briefing – February 9, 2021
NED PRICE, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON

 

[emsr2d2]

No, it means "Matt, would you like to start?" or "Matt, would you like to be the first to speak?" Here, "kick off" is a reference to the start of a football (soccer) game, which is called "kick off".

 

[jutfrank]

"Kick off" usually mean "to remove"

No, it doesn't. Perhaps you're thinking of kick out?

 

[GoesStation]

You're right that kick us off often means "remove us". It also can mean "get us started". In American English, the expression comes from the kickoff that begins an American football game.

 

[jutfrank]

You're right that kick us off often means "remove us".

I guess you mean, for example: We were in the middle of a game of pool when the manager came and kicked us off. Yes—the 'off' bit relates to the table. Have I understood that right?

 

[GoesStation]

I guess you mean, for example: We were in the middle of a game of pool when the manager came and kicked us off. Yes—the 'off' bit relates to the table. Have I understood that right?

I wouldn't expect "kicked us off" in that context. This is more typical: We got in a fight in the middle of the game and the coach kicked us off the team. It goes without saying that "off" refers to "the team".

 

[GoodTaste]

No, it doesn't. Perhaps you're thinking of kick out?

I searched "kick someone off" rather than "kick off": kick someone off something(phrasal verb) in the sense of dismiss from
We can't just kick them off the team.

 

[jutfrank]

The various uses of kick off are very confusing. Let me see if I can explain them all.

1) kick off [intransitive] = start spontaneously

A fight kicked off in the lunch room.

2) kick off something [transitive; optionally separable] = begin an activity

We kicked off the meeting immediately after lunch.
We kicked the meeting off immediately after lunch.

3) kick somebody off something [ditransitive] = remove somebody from engagement in an activity

The coach has kicked me off the team.

4) kick somebody off [necessarily separable] = to begin proceedings

Matt, do you want to kick us off?

Use 4) doesn't seem to have any mention in any dictionary that I've looked at so far. I think it's worth differentiating it from 2), since the object (the thing being kicked off) appears to be a group of people engaging in an activity rather than the activity itself.

I'd be very grateful if anyone could point out any errors or inaccuracies in the explanation above. Thanks

 

[GoesStation]

I think you cover them all well. I would only add that I suspect use #4 is rare. I can't recall having seen it before this thread — but I understood it immediately without having to think about it.

 

[GoodTaste]

It seems to me that:

"Kick the meeting off" - it sounds natural.
"Kick the briefing off" - it sounds natural. But to make it terse, can we use "kick it off" instead?
"Kick us off" sounds a bit unpleasant and not very natural since it is more or less like "piss us off" - see the context, Matt's questions appeared to be tough questions which forced Price to walk a fine line, because Biden promised to return to the WHO and now this spokesman cast doubt on its investigation.

 

[Skrej]

"Kick the meeting off" - it sounds natural.
"Kick the briefing off" - it sounds natural. But to make it terse, can we use "kick it off" instead?

If by 'terse' you simply mean 'shorter', yes.

"Kick us off" sounds a bit unpleasant and not very natural since it is more or less like "piss us off" - see the context, Matt's questions appeared to be tough questions which forced Price to walk a fine line, because Biden promised to return to the WHO and now this spokesman cast doubt on its investigation.

In the context of the original text, there's no sense of unpleasantness with 'kick us off' - just a bit of informality, perhaps. It has absolutely no connection to 'piss us off'. Sharing a similar construction does not mean they share meaning.

Remember that phrasal verbs are highly idiomatic. You have to focus on the meaning, not the individual words.

 

[GoesStation]

"Kick us off" sounds a bit unpleasant and not very natural since it is more or less like "piss us off" ….

Remember that you aren't a native speaker. You can say you think it sounds that way. It doesn't, except maybe to a foreigner guessing at the intended meaning, but it's fine for you to guess that it does. When you say it sounds that way, you're stating an objective fact or, in this case, a falsehood. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the phrasal verb "piss someone off".

Again, remember that you're not a native speaker. Don't presume to tell people what something "sounds like" as if it were an objective fact.