get one's kicks

English

Etymology

From kick (“pleasure, thrill”). Compare get a kick out of.

Verb

get one's kicks (third-person singular simple present gets one's kicks, present participle getting one's kicks, simple past got one's kicks, past participle (UK) got one's kicks or (US) gotten one's kicks)

1. (idiomatic, informal) To enjoy oneself, to have a good time.
   • 1962, James Baldwin, Another Country, New York, N. Y.: The Dial Press, published 1963 January, page 18:

     “Fine, fine, we lushing it up.”
     “That ain’t nowhere. Blast Little Eva with some pot. Let her get her kicks.”
     “I’ll see to it that she gets her kicks,” he said.

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “get one's kicks v.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang