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My high kicks are not done in a line!

The above sentence appeared as a legend in a T-shirt I saw once. It accompanied the caricature of a soccer player warming up, but I didn't get the pun intended. When I told a friend of mine about this, he said that the joke might have to do with a certain expression from ballet ... I hope that you can shed some light on this enquiry of mine.

José Hdz. Stgo.
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    Whoever downvoted this, stand and unfold yourself! – José Hdz. Stgo. Nov 11 '12 at 22:12
  • Not ballet but a chorus line, like the Rockettes. – StoneyB on hiatus Nov 11 '12 at 22:20
  • Thanks a bunch, StoneyB. However, I'm afraid that I still don't get it. What's a "high kick" in soccer jargon? Besides, those downvotes make me think that there is an offensive connotation of the expression, but I'm failing to see what it might be... – José Hdz. Stgo. Nov 11 '12 at 22:31
  • In soccer, a "high kick" is a kick well above the ground--typically waist level or higher--which in a referee's judgement inadvertently imperils another player and therefore constitutes prohibited "dangerous play". – StoneyB on hiatus Nov 11 '12 at 22:40
  • Joe, not all questions are downvoted, only some. And, generally speaking, the ones that are not all that great. I wouldn't downvote so easily, but I don't think it's worth being offended. If the questions are good, they'll be upvoted anyway. Good look. –  Nov 11 '12 at 22:45
  • @StoneyB Actually, in football ("soccer" if you must) a high kick is also one which causes the ball to go high in the air, a kick which is not necessarily dangerous at all. – Andrew Leach Nov 11 '12 at 23:15
  • @AndrewLeach Thank you. I'm from hardcore SEC football country; all I know about the global game is what I heard the coaches telling my son when he was a kid. – StoneyB on hiatus Nov 11 '12 at 23:32
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    @Carlo_R: I know that questions may or may not be upvoted... Besides, I wouldn't have raised any hell had this particular question not received any positive votes. What prompted me to enter that first comment is the fact that I don't find it that fair to downvote stuff without leaving any type of feedback for the OP. – José Hdz. Stgo. Nov 11 '12 at 23:40

1 Answers1

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As others have mentioned in the comments, "high kicks" can refer to moves performed by a dance team; for example, these dancers are doing high kicks in a line:

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However, the wearer of the T-shirt does her "high kicks" like this:

enter image description here

I think the shirt is just meant to playfully say, "I'm an athlete, not a dancer!" by making veiled references to the football (soccer) field and dance floor.

I'd also guess the T-shirt was meant to be worn by a girl, since boys don't typically high kick in a line, or proudly proclaim that they feel more at home on the athletic field, as opposed to the dance floor.

J.R.
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