kick the tires and light the fires

verb

To take off.

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Meanings

verbkick the tires and light the fires (third-person singular simple present kicks the tires and lights the fires, present participle kicking the tires and lighting the fires, simple past and past participle kicked the tires and lit the fires)

present singular third person kicks the tires and lights the fires · participle present kicking the tires and lighting the fires · participle past kicked the tires and lit the fires · past kicked the tires and lit the fires

  1. USslanggovernmentTo take off.

    His face appears in the open window of the pilot's seat on the flight deck. He is ready. I am ready. It's time to kick the tires and light the fires.

    1998, Jimmy Buffett, A Pirate Looks at Fifty (2000 Random House edition), p. 108 (Google preview)

Origin

From kick the tires, referring to a preflight check of the landing gear, and light the fires, referring to the ignition of the afterburners, a part of the engine which burns extra fuel for a speed boost.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

kick the tires and light the fires. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick%20the%20tires%20and%20light%20the%20fires

MLA

“kick the tires and light the fires.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick%20the%20tires%20and%20light%20the%20fires. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kick the tires and light the fires,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick%20the%20tires%20and%20light%20the%20fires.

Source: kick the tires and light the fires on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.