Now, the VOA Special English programWords and Their Stories.From birth to death,the word "kick" has been given an important partin expressing human experience.The proud and happy mother feels the first signsof life "kicking" inside her womb.And that same life -- many years later-- comes to its end in a widely-used expression,to "kick the bucket," meaning to die.The expression to "kick the bucket" is almost 200 years old.One belief is that it startedwhen an English stableman committed suicideby hanging himself while standing on a pail, or bucket.He put a rope around his neckand tied it to a beam in the ceiling,and then kicked the bucket away from under him.After a while, to die in any waywas called "kicking the bucket."Another old expression that comes from Englandis to "kick over the traces,"meaning to resist the commands of one's parents,or to oppose or reject authority."Traces" were the chains that held a horseor mule to a wagon or plow.Sometimes, an animal rebelled and "kicked over the traces."The word "kick" sometimes is used to describe a complaintor some kind of dissatisfaction.Workers, for example, "kick" about long hours and low pay.There are times when workers are forcedto "kick back" some of their wages to their employersas part of their job.This "kickback" is illegal.So is another kind of kickback:a secret payment made by a supplier to an officialwho buys supplies for a government or company."Kick around" is a phrase that is heard often in American English.A person who is kicked aroundis someone who is treated badly.Usually, he is not really being kicked by somebody's foot-- he is just not being treated with the respect that all of us want.A person who has "kicked around" for most of his lifeis someone who has spent his life moving from place to place.In this case, "kicking around"means moving often from one place to another."Kick around" has a third meaningwhen you use it with the word idea.When you "kick around an idea,"you are giving that idea some thought.There is no physical action when you "kick a person upstairs,"although the pain can be as strong.You kick a person upstairs by removing himfrom an important job and giving him a jobthat sounds more important, but really is not.Still another meaning of the word "kick"is to free oneself of a bad habit,such as smoking cigarettes.Health campaigns urge smokers to "kick the habit."This VOA Special English program Words and Their Storieswas written by Marilyn Rice Christiano.Maurice Joyce was the narrator.