kick over the traces

Idioms  

1. Break loose from restraint, misbehave. For example, There's always one child who'll kick over the traces as soon as the bell rings. This metaphoric expression alludes to the straps attaching a horse to a vehicle, which the animal sometimes gets a leg over in order to kick more freely and thereby refuse to move forward. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kick over the traces

That made voters kick over the traces again.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2022

But "Patrick" was only a persona, and there is a restlessness in Byrne that makes him kick over the traces.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 17, 2011

The horses that kick over the traces will have to be put in a corral.'

From Time Magazine Archive

Unhappily, when harnessed to the same chariot, one of those steeds is very apt to kick over the traces.

From Out in the Forty-Five Duncan Keith's Vow by Emily Sarah Holt

When she thought of it, she felt inclined to kick over the traces.

From The Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne