E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Kick the Beam (To).
To be of light weight; to be of inferior consequence. When one pan of a pair of scales is lighter than the other, it flies upwards and is said to “kick the beam” [of the scales].
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“The evil has eclipsed the good, and the scale, which before rested solidly on the ground, now kicks the beam.”—Gladstone.
