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Dictionary definition of “kick flick”

kick flick

n. a martial arts movie. Subjects: , , ,
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Citations: 1984 Washington Post (Nov. 2) “Films” p. W37: Ninja III: The Dominiation…—Lucinda Dickey liberates kung fu as the first woman ever to star in a kick flick. 1993 Usenet: alt.folklore.computers (Dec. 30) “Re: Computers, Hollywood Styl”: Watching an alien that is speaking English through the universal translator ought to be like watching a dubbed Asian kickflick. 2000 John E. Kleber Encyclopedia of Louisville (Dec.) p. 631: By the late 1970s, the Kentucky had established a reputation for attracting a rough crowd for its repertoire of horror movies and “kick flicks.” 2005 Tony Mochama Society (Nairobi, Kenya) (June 19) “Mitumba country”: At the Ronald Ngala Street, people stop to peer through the shop windows at videos—mostly cheap Chinese kick-flicks or weird Nigerian productions—that play in silent mode.
Posted 28 Mar 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend
Reader comments:
Interesting that this predates “chick flick” (dated by OED3/MWCD11 to 1988). I’d imagine one expression influenced the other, but I would’ve guessed “chick flick” came first.
by Ben Zimmer 28 Mar 06, 0529 GMT

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