VOA词汇掌故2025--'Kicking Off' a New Year

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning¹ English.

One of the most popular sports in the United States is American football. In the U.S., "football" is a sport that involves a lot of contact. What people around the world call "football," Americans call soccer.

For today's show, we talk about some idioms and expressions that come from American football.

The American sport mainly involves carrying or throwing the ball. But there are times when a player must use their feet to kick the ball. The kicker can kick field goals to get points. In addition to that, the game starts with a kickoff and, after scoring points, a team will kick off to the other side, beginning their turn on offense².

Kicks and punts

The term kickoff is commonly used to describe the start of an event or project. For example, we could say experts from all over the world attended the kickoff of the new language museum.

You can use it as a phrasal verb, as well. For example, people often like to "kick off" the new year with a resolution, or promise to yourself, to reach a goal or to do something.

Football also has the term "punt." Punting is another sort of kick a team uses when they cannot score. The punter kicks a ball with the top of his foot. "Punt," like "kick," can be both a noun³ and a verb.

When you punt the ball, you put it in play for the other team. The same can be said for punting in life. When we punt something, we give our task, job, or responsibility to someone else. For example, if I'm not good at a certain task or I just don't want to do it, I can punt it to someone else.

It can also mean to delay a decision. If I'm not sure about taking a trip, for example, I can punt the decision until later. Another way to say this in American English is to table it. If you are not ready to think about something, it can or must wait until later.

In football, the kicker not only starts the game with a kickoff but also kicks field goals. To do this, the kicker must kick the football between the goalposts at either end of the football field. If he succeeds, his team gets three points.

Kicking a field goal can be difficult if the kicker is far from the goalposts or if the weather in an outdoor stadium is windy, rainy or snowy.

But imagine if the goalposts were moving? That would make kicking the ball between them much more difficult.

To move the goalposts

We can face this problem in everyday life. Imagine if you are given a task at work with specific goals to reach. For example, if you are a social media manager you could be asked to increase followers⁴ by 10,000 by the end of the month. But when the end of the month comes, your boss tells you that now you need to add 20,000 followers, not 10,000.

In this case, your boss has moved the goalpost.

Sometime a person moves the goalposts on purpose. They have a reason for doing so. If the goalposts keep moving, it is difficult or even impossible to reach the goal. So, if you say that someone has "moved the goalposts," you are accusing them of changing the rules or end goals to make it difficult for you to succeed.

We can also say to move the target to mean the same thing. A moving target is a changing goal or result. A desired goal, end, or objective⁵ that changes all the time is difficult or perhaps even impossible to reach.

Both expressions - to move the goalposts and to move the target - can be used in the same way and in similar situations. However, moving the goalposts is a classic⁶ football expression. While moving the target can refer to several sports.

And that's Words and Their Stories. Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.

Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English.

________________________________________

Words in This Story

idiom -n. a word or expression that does not mean what the dictionary definition⁷ of the word or words would suggest

field goal -n. a three-point score in American football that is made by kicking the ball through goalposts

kickoff -n. the start of something; the beginning kick of an American football game

goalpost -n. one of two upright⁸ poles that exist in a goal which is used in several field sports including American football and soccer

stadium -n. a very large structure that surrounds a playing field or court where people can sit and watch a sports competition or a performance

classic -adj. one of the best examples of something

refer -v. to have a connection to or be related to something

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

3 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

4 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

5 objective   

adj.客观的；n.目标，目的

参考例句：

• He tried to take an objective view of the situation.他试图对形势有个客观的看法。
• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。

6 classic   

n.经典作品；adj.经典的，一流的；古典的

参考例句：

• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
• The football match was a classic.那场足球比赛堪称典范。

7 definition   

n.定义；限定，确定；清晰度

参考例句：

• The book attempts a definition of his role in world politics.该书要阐明的是他在世界政局中的作用。
• I made a definition for this word.我给这个字下了定义。

8 upright   

adj.直立的；正直的；adv.挺直着，竖立着

参考例句：

• He stood himself upright.他笔直地站着。
• An upright man is respectable.正直的人是值得尊敬的。