1. Kick sb. upstairs 明升暗降
To weaken his hold on the government, the President kicked the Secretary of State upstairs by making him Vice President.
为了消弱国务卿对政府的影响力，总统对他明升暗降，委任他为副总统。
释义：源于英国的议会制度。英国议会分上下两院，上院（the Upper House）地位高却没有实权，下院(the Lower House）地位低却实权在握。与权贵意见相左的下院议员，往往会被“晋升”到上院，其实就是被“踢上楼”了。
2. Kickback （名词）回扣，贿赂
The former mayor is charged with taking a 50,000-dollar kickback from the Construction Company.
前任市长因接受建筑公司给他的5万美元回扣而被起诉。
疯狂联想：美国人把政府官员接受的回扣称为kickback，字面意思是踢回来，挺形象吧。
