Does "kick one's ass" literally mean kicking someone's hip?
Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
The phrase "kick one's ass" is an expression with multiple meanings, not all of them are literal. In this case it means to motivate one or shock one out of laziness or lack of effort. In this usage, a possessive noun or pronoun is used between "kick" and "ass." Ex: The professor's speech today kind of kicked my ass and made me realize I need to start applying myself. Ex: I need someone to kick my ass to get me moving around here.