lickn.
/lɪk/, U.S. /lɪk/ 1.
a. An act of licking. Hence quasi-concrete a small quantity, so much as may be had by licking; also lick-up. a lick of goodwill (Scottish), ‘a small portion of meal given for grinding corn, in addition to the fixed multure’ (Jamieson). Also (U.S. colloquial) a lick, somewhat, a bit (usually in neg. contexts).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > action or process of extracting > extract liquid [verb (transitive)] > by inanimate agents, waves, or flames
lickc1000
lick-up1603
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount
speckc725
littleOE
somethingc1200
lutewihtc1230
little whatc1384
ouncec1387
lap1393
smalla1400
modicumc1400
nekedc1400
spota1413
tinec1420
nieveful?a1425
handfulc1443
mouthful?c1450
smatchc1456
weec1480
quern1503
halfpennyworth1533
groatsworth1562
dram1566
shellful1578
trickle1580
snatch1592
sprinkling1594
fleck1598
snip1598
pittance1600
lick1603
fingerful1604
modicum1606
thimbleful1607
flash1614
dasha1616
pipa1616
pickle1629
drachm1635
cue1654
smack1693
starn1720
bit1753
kenning1787
minikin1787
tate1805
starnie1808
sprat1815
harl1821
skerrick1825
smallums1828
huckleberry1832
scrimp1840
thimble1841
smite1843
nattering1859
sensation1859
spurt1859
pauchlea1870
mention1891
sketch1894
sputterings1894
scrappet1901
titch1937
tad1940
skosh1959
smattering1973
the world > food and drink > food > amounts of food > [noun] > small quantity > bitten or licked
bitc1000
bite1535
lick1603
nibble1968
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > processes or manners of eating > [noun] > licking
slap1590
lick1603
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > touching with mouth or tongue > [noun] > licking with tongue > a lick
lick1603
slake1721
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > to a small extent or a little
littlec1175
a litec1290
a little quantityc1330
little whata1387
wee1513
a whit1526
thought1581
a wee bita1661
a small (also little) matter1690
a trifle1859
a wheen1869
a taste1894
smitch1895
a lick1902
mite1939
a skosh1959
a tidge1959
a tad1969
1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. B4v I knockt you once for offering to haue a licke at her lips.
1662 R. Mathews Unlearned Alchymist (new ed.) lxxxix. 129 This Woman with one lick of my Antidote (which was mixed with hony)..received ease all over her body.
1688 J. Bunyan Good News for Vilest of Men 145 Many love Christ with nothing but the lick of the Tongue.
1690 J. Dryden Amphitryon ii. ii. 21 He cou'd..come galloping home at Midnight, to have a lick at the Honey-pot.
1742 R. North & M. North Life F. North 219 He [sc. Jeffries] could not reprehend without scolding; and in such Billinsgate Language... He call'd it giving a Lick with the rough Side of his Tongue.
1814 Abstract Proof respecting Mill of Inveramsay 3 (Jam.) P. Wilson depones, that he did not measure or weigh the lick of goodwill.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Lick-up, a miserably small pittance of any thing.
1826 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae xxix, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 781 Ae wee bit spare rib o' flesh..to be sent roun' lick and lick about.
1841 T. P. Thompson Exercises (1842) VI. 62 The polar man..shall not have a lick of oil on Christmas Day.
1853 P. B. St. John Amy Moss 50 Everybody brought ‘sunthin’—some a lick of meal, some a punkin' [etc.].
1902 W. N. Harben Abner Daniel 94 But all day yesterday an' to-day he hain't worked a lick.
1919 H. L. Wilson Ma Pettengill vii. 215 I was fool enough to argue with him a bit, trying to see if he didn't have a lick of sense.
1938 C. H. Matschat Suwannee River vii. 110 I knocked him loose an' hit him a lick.
1939 J. Joyce Finnegans Wake 415 Seven bolls of sapo, a lick of lime, two spurts of fussfor.
1957 W. C. Handy Father of Blues v. 66 We had been complaining violently against an Irishman who couldn't cook a lick.
1971 Black Scholar Sept. 37/2 His grandfather was a preacher and he couldn't read a lick.
1973 Black World Jan. 63/2 His wife Fanny can't cook a lick.
1973 M. Gordon & G. Gordon Informant xlix. 188 If you've got a lick of sense, you'll mosey back into the woodwork.
b. colloquial. A slight and hasty wash (usually a lick and a promise). Also, a dab of paint, etc.; a hasty tidying up, a casual amount of work.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > of something which makes a mark
touch1569
lickc1648
pop1718
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > [noun] > an act of washing > hasty
cat-lick1859
a lick and a promise1860
c1648 in Maidment Pasquils (1868) 154 We'll mark them with a lick of tarre.
a1771 T. Gray Candidate (?1780) 1 When sly Jemmy Twitcher had smugg'd up his face With a lick of court white-wash, and pious grimace.
1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 104 A Lick and a Slake.
1860 W. White All round Wrekin xx. 207 We only gives the cheap ones a lick and a promise.
1899 E. F. Heddle Marget at Manse 43 That lassie gi'es a lick and a promise when I tell her to sweep!
1922 A. Bennett Lilian i. vi. 57 The dirty kitchenmaid was giving the stone floor of the porch a lick and a promise.
1934 L. A. G. Strong Corporal Tune iii. ii. 230 The room, instead of its usual vigorous cleaning, got what Nelly would have called a lick and a promise.
1942 C. Morley Thorofare xl. 355 You ought to be writing the Adventures of a Crustacean. You've only done a lick and a promise. There's six more inches to fill.
1948 M. McCarthy in Partisan Rev. May 325 The Dublin Gate players..had a slapdash style of acting that suggested an Irish house~maid flailing about with a dust-cloth—they gave their roles a lick and a promise and trusted to the audience's good-nature to take the will for the deed.
1967 V. Lincoln Private Disgrace (1968) xi. 91 She had only a basin of water and a rag with which to give the insides of the windows a lick and a promise.
1969 D. Clark Death after Evensong vi. 142 A pale sun gave Rooksby a lick and a promise of better things to come.
1972 J. Burmeister Running Scared iii. 51 The isolation ward..was given a lick and a promise once a month by an unsupervised maid.
2. North American.
a. A spot to which animals resort to lick the salt or salt earth found there. Also buffalo-lick, salt-lick.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animal food > [noun] > salt lick > place
lick1747
salt-lick1751
salting-place1842
the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [noun] > salt-marsh > where animals lick
lick1747
licking-place1751
licking-pond1751
deer-lick1778
1747 Virginia Land Patents & Grants in Amer. Speech (1940) 15 280/2 Crossing the said Run above a Lick.
1750 T. Walker Jrnl. Explor. (1888) 51 At the mouth of a Creek..is a Lick, and I believe there was a hundred Buffaloes at it.
1751 C. Gist Jrnls. (1893) 42 Salt Licks, or Ponds, formed by little Streams or Dreins of Water.
1784 J. F. D. Smyth Tour U.S.A. I. xviii. 141 Licks are particular places..where the clay or earth is impregnated with saline particles.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 663 Salt Lick and Salt Spring are used synonymously, but improperly, as the former differs from the latter in that it is dry.
1807 P. Gass Jrnls. 219 One of our sergeants shot a deer at a lick close to our camp.
a1816 B. Hawkins Sketch Creek Country 1798 & 1799 in Coll. Georgia Hist. Soc. (1848) III. 29 Parallel with this, are some licks in post and red oak saplin flats.
1825 J. Pickering Jrnl. 21 Dec. in Emigration (1830) v. 49 Deer will go miles to the salt spring, or ‘licks’ as they are called.
1827 J. F. Cooper Prairie I. v. 78 To rout the unlawful settlers who had gathered nigh the Buffaloe lick in old Kentucky.
1832 J. McGregor Brit. Amer. II. 556 Both buffalo and deer resort to them for the purpose of licking the salt off the shrubs hence the name lick.
1841 J. F. Cooper Deerslayer I. iv. 67 Like deer standing at a lick.
1877 N. S. Shaler App. to J. A. Allen's Amer. Bison 458 The springs at Big-Bone Lick, as at all the other licks of Kentucky are sources of saline waters derived from the older Palaeozoic rocks.
1957 Beaver Summer 37/2 The goat evidently was headed for the same lick from which the sheep were returning.
b. = lick-log n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animal food > [noun] > salt lick
lick-log1834
cattle lick1887
lick1920
1920 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Lick, an artificial saline preparation given to sheep and cattle to lick.
c1920 W. D. Powdrell Dairy Farming N.Z. v. 38 A lick of rock-salt should be provided.
1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. July 67/3 By using cobalt either as a topdressing, as a drench, or in licks all classes of stock could be run without any trouble [on this cobalt-deficient country].
1963 Times 4 Feb. 4/7 A large feed block or lick is made available to cattle.
3. A complaint in horses (see quot. 1827).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of horses > [noun] > disorders of mouth
barblec1440
barb?1523
lampas?1523
giggs1566
rampone1580
camery1587
flap1587
frounce1587
palamie1600
tin-blain1614
lick1827
1827 Sporting Mag. 20 162 Coach horses are subject to symptoms known by the appellation of ‘the Lick’... They lick each other's skins, and gnaw their halters into pieces.
4.
a. A smart blow. (Cf. to lick on the whip, cited from c1460.) Also plural (Scottish and northern), a beating, in to get one's licks, give (one) his licks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > [noun] > a sharp or smart blow
dab1300
rapc1330
thresta1400
bruntc1400
knap14..
yedderc1440
gird1487
yert1509
fillip1543
yark1555
flewet1570
stingera1577
flirt1577
wherret1577
riprapc1580
spang1595
nick1651
lick1680
flip1692
yowf1711
clink1722
wherrya1726
click1773
whither1791
swata1800
yank1818
snock1825
clip1830
snop1849
clinkera1863
siserary1893
blip1894
1680 tr. J.-B. Tavernier Coll. Several Relations & Treat. i. ii. vi. 77 [He] gave the Fellow half a dozen good Licks with his Cane.
1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd i. ii To lend his loving wife a loundering lick.
1735 J. Swift Full & True Acct. Execution W. Wood in Wks. IV. 244 3d. Cook. I'll give him a Lick in the Chops.
1786 R. Burns Poems 216 An' monie a fallow gat his licks, Wi' hearty crunt.
1810 Sporting Mag. 36 79 Unless either of them gave him a lick on the head.
1820 W. Scott Abbot I. vii. 159 The dread of a lick should not hold me back.
1826 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae xxvi, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. June 749 Every callant in the class could gie him his licks.
1837 S. Lover Rory O'More (1849) 13 We're used to a lick of a stick every day.
1887 Schoolmaster 15 Jan. 104/1 The boy..deponed that the master gave him twa licks in the lug.
1894 S. R. Crockett Lilac Sunbonnet 103 The yin that got his licks fell down and bit the dust.
b. transferred and figurative.
ΚΠ
1740 C. Cibber Apol. Life C. Cibber ii. 22 A Lick at the Laureat will always be a sure Bait..to catch him little Readers.
1794 J. Wolcot Ode to Foreign Soldiers in Wks. (1812) III. 247 A Lick at the French Convention.
1803 Naval Chron. 10 258 The tars are wishing for a lick, as they call it, at the Spanish galleons.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island iv. xviii. 144 ‘I wish I had had a lick at them with the gun first,’ he replied.
5. Scottish. ‘A wag, one who plays upon another’ (Jamieson).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > mischievous or practical joking > [noun] > one who
wag1584
shaver1592
wagship1607
lick1725
nickum1804
practical joker1830
leg-puller1887
1725 Willie was Wanton Wag in A. Whitelaw Bk. Sc. Songs (1844) 20/1 And was na Willie a great loun, As shyre a lick as e'er was seen.
a1758 A. Ramsay Grub-St. 5 He's naething but a shire daft lick.
6. dialect, colloquial, U.S., Australian, and New Zealand. A spurt at racing, a short brisk spin; a ‘spell’ of work. big licks = hard work. Also speed, in at full lick, at a great lick, etc.The phr. to go (or run, etc.) for the lick of one's life appears to be restricted to Australia and New Zealand.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [noun] > a rapid rate
post-pace1546
post speed1546
full gallop1569
gallop1651
tantivya1658
spank1801
lick1847
cracker1871
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase] > at full speed
full speed1382
with topsailc1400
at spursa1500
on (also upon) the (spurs or) spur1525
amain1555
a main pace (also speed)1567
full tilt?a1600
upon full stretch1697
at full tilt1713
at (also on) full speed1749
(at) full split1836
full chisel1837
(at) full pelt1841
full swing1843
ventre à terre1848
full out1886
at full lick1889
hell-for-leather1889
all out1895
eyes out1895
flat out1932
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase] > very swiftly
as swift (also quick, fleet) as thought?c1225
like lightning1567
(as) quick as lightning1580
like wildfire1699
like stour1787
(as) quick as a wink1825
like smoke1832
quick as a streak1839
like sixty1848
(as) quick as thought1871
at a great lick1898
like a bat out of hell1921
like the clappers1948
like a bomb1954
1809 T. Donaldson Poems 135 Ere I get a pick, In comes young Nannie wi' a lick.
1835 Gent's. Vade Mecum (Philadelphia) 14 Feb. 3/4 When you come to put in the scientific licks, I squat.
1837 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 1st Ser. (ed. 2) xv That are colt can beat him for a lick of a quarter of a mile.
1843 J. S. Robb Streaks Squatter Life 106 He was puttin' in the biggest kind a licks in the way of courtin'.
1847 W. T. Porter Quarter Race Kentucky 104 He went up the opposite bank at the same lick, and disappeared.
1851 J. B. Lamar et al. Polly Peablossom's Wedding & Other Tales 111 I saw comin' my gray mule, puttin' in her best licks, and a few yards behind her was a grizzly.
1861 W. C. Bryant Songs from Dixie's Land 26 At length I went to mining, put in my biggest licks.
1868 Putnam's Mag. June 715/1 The father..did an occasional ‘lick of work’ for some well-to-do neighbor.
1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal II. iv. 79 I..made up my mind to stay in America, till I'd done some big licks in the sporting line.
1883 J. Hay Bread-winners xii. 185 There won't be a lick of work done in town the rest of the week.
1889 P. H. Emerson Eng. Idyls 26 Down the river..came sailing the..whery..ay! going at full lick too.
1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms 82 It'll be a short life and a merry one, though, dad, if we go on big licks like this.
1892 Dial. Notes 1 230 To mend one's licks, to quicken one's steps. ‘When the dog got after me, I mended my licks.’
1898 F. T. Bullen Cruise ‘Cachalot’ xviii. 218 The recipient, thoroughly roused by this, started off at a great lick.
1905 Dial. Notes 3 86 You'll have to hit a different lick, if you expect to accomplish anything.
1906 H. D. Pittman Belle of Bluegrass Country xv. 224 I'll have to take care of the whole gang, and never get a lick of work out of one of them.
1932 W. Faulkner Light in August i. 7 She's hitting that lick like she's been at it for a right smart while.
1934 J. Masefield Taking of Gry 43 ‘They're [ships] going a good lick, sir,’ I said.
1938 Amer. Speech 13 6/1 Lick n., an easy job. ‘None of these jobs is a lick.’
1944 J. H. Fullarton Troop Target i. v. 46 ‘Go for the lick of your life down the lane,’ commanded Rangi.
1946 F. Sargeson That Summer 84 With all of us going for lick of our lives, there'd only be time for a wisecrack now and then.
1948 D. Ballantyne Cunninghams ii. xviii. 249 Clive ran..full lick into the sea.
1949 Marshfield (Wisconsin) News-Herald 19 July 4/1 The power lobby got in its licks through a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee passing on the bill for funds for the Department of Interior.
1951 L. MacNeice tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust i. 33 Lord, these strapping wenches they go a lick!
1966 Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 3 Apr. 6/3 A section of the miners agreed that the happiest solution to the sorry affair would be to lynch Mr. Chapple. The little Cornishman got wind of this thinking and, treating it seriously..went for the lick of his life.
1974 ‘P. Ruell’ Death takes Low Road x. 127 Caroline contrived to be first down the gangway and set off along the quay at a good lick.
7.
a. In jazz, dance music, etc.: a short solo or phrase, usually improvised and often interpolated into a piece of written music; = break n.1 9c; frequently in hot lick (cf. hot adj. 12h).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > [noun] > passages in jazz
jazz1918
break1926
chorus1926
stop time1929
tag1929
lick1932
riff1933
ride1935
release1936
sock chorus1936
rideout1939
screamer1940
stop chords1941
chase1942
stop chorus1942
mop1945
1932 Melody Maker June 509 They manage to steal a ‘lick’ from an American record.
1933 Metronome Apr. 29 Please do not..think I want ‘hot licks’ to memorize in all keys.
1933 Fortune Aug. 47/1 His licks (musical phrases) are original.
1935 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Nov. 38/3 Hot artists..add their licks to the exciting music that flourishes there.
1935 Vanity Fair Nov. 71 Hot artists or bands that can put across their licks successfully..can ‘go’.
1935 Peabody Bull. (Baltimore) Dec. 42/2 Licks: Phrases used in solo choruses that are..catchy. They occur in ‘ad lib solos’ or hot choruses.
1952 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. xix. 237 The panic was on to push vibrato aside, pick up his licks, and produce his sound.
1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 Sept. 27/3 The blues riff is even better, full of Charlie Parker~like bebop licks.
b. Plan, idea. U.S. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > [noun] > a plan
redeeOE
devicec1290
casta1300
went1303
ordinancec1385
intentc1386
imaginationa1393
drifta1535
draught1535
forecast1535
platform1547
ground-plat?a1560
table1560
convoy1565
design1565
plat1574
ground-plota1586
plot1587
reach1587
theory1593
game1595
projectment1611
projecting1616
navation1628
approach1633
view1634
plan1635
systema1648
sophism1657
manage1667
brouillon1678
speculationa1684
sketch1697
to take measures1698
method1704
scheme1704
lines1760
outline1760
measure1767
restorative1821
ground plan1834
strategy1834
programme1837
ticket1842
project1849
outline plan1850
layout1867
draft1879
dart1882
lurk1916
schema1939
lick1955
1955 S. Allen Bop Fables 54 So here's the lick. Take this beat-up bovine to market.
1970 C. Major Dict. Afro-Amer. Slang 76 Lick, plan, idea, outline of a situation.
Draft additions 1997
c. plural. Adverse comments; criticism, censure, condemnation. Cf. knock n.1 1b. U.S. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > [noun] > instance of > sharp
quippy1519
quip1532
snack?1554
gird1566
pincha1568
quib1656
hitc1668
snapper1817
shy1840
shot1841
swipe1892
jab1905
licks1971
1971 Torch 18 Dec. 4/2 Someone thought they should set him up to get his share of licks and so eliminate him or level off his chances in the ministerial stakes.
1977 Time 24 Jan. 4/1 Barbra Streisand's A Star is Born does not deserve the licks it has got from Jay Cocks.
1987 Time 11 May 12/1 He and his..Socialist Movement have been taking their licks.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
lickv.
/lɪk/, U.S. /lɪk/ 1. transitive.absolute.c1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 295 Lik not with þy tonge in a disch.a1592 H. Smith Serm. (1637) 462 When Jonathan saw honey dropping, he must needs be licking.?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 390 While ane pat doun his hand and lickit.1694 W. Salmon Pharmacopœia Bateana i. iii. 148/1 Mix for a Dose.., and to be lickt of..as need requires.1890 L. C. D'Oyle Notches Rough Edge Life 60 The elk..was now ‘licking’ in the little side-valley.
a. To pass the tongue over (something), e.g. with the object of tasting, moistening the surface, or removing something from it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > touching with mouth or tongue > touch with mouth or tongue [verb (transitive)] > touch with tongue > lick
lickc1000
slake1535
overlick1567
sleak1846
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > processes or manners of eating > eat via specific process [verb (transitive)] > lick
lick1592
relicka1618
lick1823
c1000 Ælfric Lives Saints (1885) I. 114 Ða reðan deor..heora liða liccodon mid liðra tungan.
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 270. 320 Þo he i-saiȝ ane leon licke þat bodi.
a1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 29 Thei [dogges] were about her mouthe and liked it.
c1480 (a1400) St. Christina 261 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 405 Þe serpentis hire fete can lyke.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope i. xvii [The asse] beganne to kysse and to lykke hym.
1592 G. Harvey Foure Lett. iii. 38 To seek his dinner in poules with Duke humfrey: to licke dishes, to be a beggar.
a1617 S. Hieron Present for Caesar in Wks. (1620) II. 456 Must God then lacke the due attendance of the people in His house, while they are licking of thy trenchers?
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 431. ⁋3 I left off eating of Pipes, and fell to licking of Chalk.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man: Pt. I 9 Pleas'd to the last, he crops the flow'ry food, And licks the hand just rais'd to shed his blood.
1792 J. Wolcot Wks. III. 4 The man I hate.. Who, to complete his dinner, licks his plate.
1798 Sir M. Eden in Ld. Auckland's Corr. (1862) III. 423 They continue to cringe and to lick the hand that strikes them.
1880 M. E. Braddon Just as I Am i Tim stands on end, and licks the wanderer's face.
1885 Truth 28 May 844/1 The danger of licking adhesive stamps and envelopes.
b. Frequent in phrases expressive of actions referred to allusively or figuratively, as to lick one's fingers, to lick one's lips, an action indicating keen relish or delighted anticipation of some dainty morsel; †to lick (another's) fingers, to lick the fat from (one's) beard, to cheat (him) of his gains; †to lick one's knife, said of a parsimonious person; to lick the ground, to lick (another's) boots or shoe or spittle (cf. lickspittle n.), actions expressive of abject servility; †to lick (a patron's) trencher, said of a parasite; to lick the dust, †the earth [a Hebraism: Vulgate terram lingere] , to fall prostrate, to suffer defeat; to lick the (or one's, etc.) chops (Jazz slang), to tune up or warm up before a ‘session’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [verb (intransitive)] > lap
licka1000
lapc1000
slap1603
society > armed hostility > defeat > be defeated [verb (intransitive)]
to have (also get) the worsec1275
leesec1300
to lick the dust, the earth1382
to get (also have) the waura1393
to go downa1400
to go away (also flee) with the worsea1413
to have the worsta1470
to go to (also unto) the worse1485
to go by the worse (also worst)1528
to have the overthrow1536
lose1548
tine1681
the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > be niggardly or mean [verb (intransitive)]
spare1377
to lick one's knifec1400
chincha1425
pincha1425
stick1533
nig1559
to make pottage of a flintc1576
niggard1596
wretcha1598
niggardize1606
wire-draw1616
screw1820
skincha1825
scrimp1848
stinge1937
to pinch pennies (also a penny)1942
penny-pinch1945
the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > [verb (intransitive)] > anticipate taste
to lick one's lips1508
to lick one's fingers1530
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > have (good) appetite [verb (intransitive)] > lick or smack one's lips or fingers
to lick one's lips1508
to lick one's fingers1530
to smack one's lips1557
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > self-interest > seek or look after one's own interest [verb (intransitive)]
to shift for oneselfa1513
to lick one's fingers1530
to lick the trencher1542
to serve one's (also one's own) turn1560
to have an eye to (also for) the main chance1584
to look (also have an eye, etc.) to the main chance1592
squint1642
to mind, provide for, be careful of the main chance1645
to fish for oneself1647
to scratch for oneself1850
to play politics1860
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle
defraud1362
deceivec1380
plucka1500
lurch1530
defeata1538
souse1545
lick1548
wipe1549
fraud1563
use1564
cozen1573
nick1576
verse1591
rooka1595
trim1600
skelder1602
firk1604
dry-shave1620
fiddle1630
nose1637
foista1640
doa1642
sharka1650
chouse1654
burn1655
bilk1672
under-enter1692
sharp1699
stick1699
finger1709
roguea1714
fling1749
swindle1773
jink1777
queer1778
to do over1781
jump1789
mace1790
chisel1808
slang1812
bucket1819
to clean out1819
give it1819
to put in the hole1819
ramp1819
sting1819
victimize1839
financier1840
gum1840
snakea1861
to take down1865
verneuk1871
bunco1875
rush1875
gyp1879
salt1882
daddle1883
work1884
to have (one) on toast1886
slip1890
to do (a person) in the eye1891
sugar1892
flay1893
to give (someone) the rinky-dink1895
con1896
pad1897
screw1900
short-change1903
to do in1906
window dress1913
ream1914
twist1914
clean1915
rim1918
tweedle1925
hype1926
clip1927
take1927
gazump1928
yentz1930
promote1931
to take (someone) to the cleaners1932
to carve up1933
chizz1948
stiff1950
scam1963
to rip off1969
to stitch up1970
skunk1971
to steal (someone) blind1974
diddle-
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > flatter servilely or curry favour [verb (intransitive)]
fain?c1225
fawnc1325
to make placebo1340
fagea1382
curryc1400
to curry favela1420
to claw (a person's) toea1500
to curry favour?1518
to be at the school of placebo1554
to play (with) placebo1583
insinuatea1593
wriggle1601
lick1602
sycophantize1605
gnathonize1619
pickthank1621
supparasitate1623
ingratiate1647
slaver1730
toad-eat1766
slaum1787
to eat (any one's) toads1788
toad1802
bootlick1846
toady1861
to suck in1899
smoodge1906
smarm1911
arse-lick1928
bum-suck1930
to suck round1931
ass-lick1937
brown-nose1939
suck-hole1961
weasel1980
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > flatter servilely or curry favour [verb (intransitive)] > be a parasite or sponger
hang1535
lick1602
parasite1609
shirk1633
sponge1673
scunge1846
coat-tail1852
leech1937
freeload1940
lig1960
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > defraud or swindle [verb (intransitive)]
to pull a finchc1386
to bore a person's nose?1577
to wipe a person's nose1577
verse1591
lurch1593
to grope a gull1594
cheat1647
to lick (another's) fingers1656
to live upon the shark1694
sharp1709
fineer1765
to pluck a pigeon1769
swindle1769
to run a game1894
to sell (a person) a pup1901
scam1963
the mind > emotion > humility > servility > be servile [verb (intransitive)]
fawnc1325
crouch1528
jouk1573
crawl1576
creep1581
spaniel1599
grovel1605
spanielize1641
cringec1660
to lick the ground1667
truckle1680
to kiss (a person's) arse, behind, bum1705
toad-eat1766
snool1786
to eat (any one's) toads1788
kowtow1826
sidle1828
toady1861
to knock head1876
ass-lick1937
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > perform music [verb (intransitive)] > warm up
to lick the (or one's, etc.) chops1937
a1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) lxxi[i]. 9 His feondas foldan lic~ciȥeað.
1382 J. Wyclif Psalms lxxi[i]. 9 His enemys the erthe shul licken.
1382 J. Wyclif Micah vii. 17 Thei shuln lick dust as the serpent.
c1400 Rom. Rose 6502 What shulde he yeve that likketh his knyf.
1508 W. Kennedy Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 213 Thou sal lik thy lippis and suere thou leis.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 609/2 I lycke my lippes or fyngers after swete meate.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxixv Marchantes within the citee, sore abhorryng the Italian nacion, for lickyng the fat from their beardes, and taking from them their..liuyng.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. iii. f. 104 [They] with no lesse confydence licke their lippes secreately in hope of their praye.
1602 Withals' Dict. 263 A fellow that can licke his Lordes or his ladies trencher in one smooth tale or merrie lie, and picke their purses in another.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. ii. 23 How does thy honour? Let me licke thy shooe. View more context for this quotation
1646 J. Whitaker Danger of Greatnesse 24 Have you not known some in a low condition, to bow and scrape, lick the spittle on the ground.
1656 Ld. Hatton in E. Nicholas Nicholas Papers (1897) III. 284 He purposeth not to deale at all with my cosen Kertons frends, vnless it be for mault, and that too in an honorable and considerable way without licking my fingars.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 526 Oft he [sc. the serpent] bowd His turret Crest..and lick'd the ground whereon she trod. View more context for this quotation
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 5. ¶2 Sparrows for the Opera, says his Friend, licking his Lips, what are they to be roasted?
1808 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 13 1009 He should have learnt to lick spittle, and have drilled himself to crawl upon his belly.
1861 C. Reade Cloister & Hearth III. iv. 104 He found the surly innkeepers licked the very ground before him now.
1890 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads (1892) 23 An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it.
1909 G. B. Shaw Press Cuttings 9 And now comes this unmannerly young whelp Chubbs-Jenkinson, the only son of what they call a soda-king, and orders a curate to lick his boots.
1930 G. B. Shaw Apple Cart i. 34 I had rather be a dog than the Prime Minister of a country where the only things the inhabitants can be serious about are football and refreshments. Lick the king's boots: that is all you are fit for.
1937 Etude Music Mag. Dec. 835/1 Licking their chops, getting warmed up to swing.
1937 L. Armstrong Swing that Music xiii. 111 I wanted to give 'em a load of how we swing that music at home. My ‘cats’ understood it the same way and began lickin' their chops, as we say it.
1959 J. Braine Vodi x. 138 He had to use his..willingness to lick anyone's boots, no matter how dirty, to get the money.
1970 C. Major Dict. Afro-Amer. Slang 77 Licking the chops, the tuning up musicians do before a jam session.
1974 Guardian 19 Dec. 10/2 If Lifestyle (BBC-2) keeps licking boots like this, Cherry Blossom will sprout out of its ears.
c. in proverbial sayings.
ΚΠ
1523 J. Skelton Goodly Garlande of Laurell 1438 Wele wotith the cat whos berde she likkith.
1545 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Prouerbes (new ed.) f. xix He is an euyll cooke, that can not lycke his owne fyngers.
1573 C. Hollyband French Schoole-maister 94 You doo licke here the disshes in the kitchin, lookyng if the roast be roasted, and taste if the sauce is saulted.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. vi. 162 They say, a good cook knows how to lick his own fingers.
d. With adverbs, e.g. over; to take in or up by licking. With away, †forth, off, out, and with preposition off: To remove by licking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > remove or take away > by licking
licka1240
to lick off1775
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > by licking
lickc1450
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > processes or manners of eating > eat via specific process [verb (transitive)] > lick
lick1592
relicka1618
lick1823
a1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 185 Huni þer in beoþ liked of þornes.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 2858 Þan es sco [Lot's wife, or the pillar of salt] liked al a-way.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 93 Hanibal likked venym of his owne rynge.
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 247 Þe bysschop wyth his tunge lykkyd it out lowly.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 40 And oft thay [the doggis] did this catiue man refresche Lickand the fylth furth of his laithlie flesche.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 630 My Hell-hounds, to lick up the draff and filth. View more context for this quotation
1721 A. Ramsay Prospect of Plenty ix O'er lang, in troth, have we by-standers been, And loot fowk lick the white out of our een.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth III. 77 Their [sc. cows] practice of licking off their hair.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 175 The serpent..was seen to lick the whole body over.
1823 C. Lamb Praise of Chimney-sweepers in Elia 260 It was a pleasure to see the sable younkers lick in the unctuous meat.
e. With adjective complement expressing the result, e.g. to lick clean. †to lick whole: to heal of wounds or sores by licking; in quots. figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > amending > restoration > restoration of a person > recovery from misfortune, error, etc. > [verb (reflexive)]
recover1485
to lick whole1581
1581 Compendious Exam. Certayne Ordinary Complaints i. f. 11 If any..men haue licked themselues whole, yee be the same.
1596 Bp. W. Barlow tr. L. Lavater Three Christian Serm. i. 129 Who vnder a shew of licking them whole, suck out euen their hart blood.
1607 S. Hieron Spirituall Sonne-ship in Wks. (1620) I. 366 It is not a limme of Satan which is wounded; he might then licke himselfe whole.
1670 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Prov. 211 And yet betwixt them both, they lick't the platters clean.
1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar ii. iv. 28 If there were no more in Excommunication then the Churche's Censure, a Wise man wou'd lick his Conscience whole with a wet finger.
1712 J. Arbuthnot Lewis Baboon iv. vi. 26 He would quickly lick himself whole again by his Vails.
ΚΠ
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) 1 Kings xxi. 19 In this place, in the which houndis lickiden the blood of Naboth, shulen lick and thi blood.
a1400–50 Alexander 3826 Sum of his awen vryn & sum on Iren lickid.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1521 So long likked þise lordes þise lykores swete.
1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid viii. Prol. 139 Sum langis for the liffyr ill to lik of ane quart.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judges vii. 5 Whosoeuer licketh of the water with his tunge, as a dogg licketh.
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus sig. O The Cat would licke milke, but she will not wette her feete.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. xxi. 148 Lie there, and feed the fishes, which shall lick Thy blood secure.
3. transferred and figurative (from 1, 2).
a. Of persons and animals. Formerly in many specialized uses. †to lick up (an enemy's forces): to destroy, ‘annihilate’ (after Numbers xxii. 4). †to lick (a person) of something: to cheat, ‘fleece’. †to lick the letter: to use alliteration. †to lick of the whip: to have a taste of punishment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [verb (transitive)]
to bathe in bloodc1300
murderc1325
to make larder ofa1330
spend1481
to lick upa1500
slaught1535
butcher1562
wipe1577
slaughter1586
massacre1588
dispeople1596
shamble1601
depeople?1611
mow1615
internecate1623
dislaughter1661
mop1899
pogrom1915
decimate1944
overkill1946
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > beat or flog [verb (intransitive)] > be beaten
to drink or lick (up) on the whipa1500
to lick of the whipa1500
to have it1599
vapulate1783
to eat stick1862
to get laldy1889
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle > out of something
beguile1394
wrongc1484
delude1493
licka1500
to wipe a person's nose1577
uncle1585
cheat1597
cozen1602
to bob of1605
to bob out of1605
gull1612
foola1616
to set in the nick1616
to worm (a person) out of1617
shuffle1627
to baffle out of1652
chouse1654
trepan1662
bubble1668
trick1698
to bamboozle out of1705
fling1749
jockey1772
swindle1780
twiddle1825
to diddle out of1829
nig1829
to chisel out of1848
to beat out1851
nobble1852
duff1863
flim-flam1890
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > figure of speech > figures of structure or thought > use figure of structure or thought [verb (intransitive)] > alliterate (of words) > practise alliteration
to hunt (also affect, lick) the letter1575
to lick the letter1605
alliterate1804
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. iii. 41 In fayth, and for youre long taryyng Ye shal lik on the whyp.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Num. xxii. A Now shal this heape licke vp all that is aboute vs, euen as an oxe licketh vp the grasse in the felde [euē (euen) in text].]
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. cxxvj Yet sometyme thei wer slain, taken, and licked vp, or thei were ware.
1557 in P. F. Tytler Hist. Scotl. (1864) III. 388 Three hundred of them [Gascons] be licked up by the way.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries 259 b They confesse the craft themselues, wherby they licked vs of our money.
1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie i. iv. sig. D4 A crew..That lick the tayle of greatnes with their lips.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 27 The English and Welsh delighted much in licking the letter.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State v. ix. 391 Hypocrites rather then they will lose a drop of praise will lick it up with their own tongue.
1647 J. Trapp Mellificium Theol. in Comm. Epist. & Rev. 690 Till he had licked of the whip, and learned better language.
1726 Life Penn in Wks. (1782) I. 136 Those very lies..which himself had now licked up afresh.
b. Of inanimate agents (chiefly waves, flame, etc.): To lap, play lightly over, etc.; to take up (moisture, etc.) in passing over. Sometimes with personification.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > action or process of extracting > extract liquid [verb (transitive)] > by inanimate agents, waves, or flames
lickc1000
lick-up1603
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > move in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > move lightly or briskly > move lightly on
lick1635
c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 276 Seo lyft liccað and atyhð ðone wætan of ealre eorþan.
1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi v. §2. 155 Untill the sunne or the winde have licked the tops of the grasse and flowers.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 117 Feavers..rack their Limbs; and lick the vital heat. View more context for this quotation
1827 R. Pollok Course of Time I. iii. 102 Consumption licked her blood.
1856 J. H. Newman Callista 154 The tide of human beings..licking the base of the hill, rushed vehemently on one side.
1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche x. xxvi. 128 An upleaping jet Of cold Cocytus, which for ever licks Earth's base.
1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles II. xxiv. 35 The wheels..licked up the pulverized surface of the highway.
1893 Earl of Dunmore Pamirs I. 45 The flames..ruthlessly licked up everything in their path of destruction.
1900 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. July 59/2 Fires had consumed the underbrush and licked the branches off the giant trees.
c. Scottish. to lick one's winning(s: To make the best of one's bargain.
ΚΠ
1776 C. Keith Farmer's Ha' 144 But now let us our winning lick (He cry'd in pet).
1790 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum III. 279 Bitter in dool I lickit my winnins, O' marrying Bess, to gie her a slave.
4. to lick (a person or thing) into (shape , etc.), also †to lick over: To give form and regularity to; to mould, make presentable. Alluding to the alleged practice of bears with their young (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > [verb (transitive)]
tighta1000
teec1000
thewc1175
forma1340
informc1350
nurturec1475
train1531
breeda1568
train1600
to lick (a person or thing) into (shape , etc.)1612
scholar1807
educate1826
the world > space > shape > shape or give shape to [verb (transitive)] > give proper shape to
to lick over1612
1413 Pilgr. Sowle (1483) iv. xxiv. 70 Beres ben brought forthe al fowle and transformyd and after that by lyckynge of the fader and the moder they ben brought in to theyr kyndely shap.]
1612 G. Chapman Widdowes Teares ii. sig. Ev He has not lickt his Whelpe into full shape yet.
1624 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 2) Democritus to Rdr. 9 Enforced, as a Beare doth her whelpes, to bring forth this confused lumpe, and had not time to lick it into forme.
1628 H. Wotton Let. 6 Mar. in Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (1685) 444 The Author hath licked them [verses] over.
1699 Bp. G. Burnet Expos. 39 Articles (1700) xxviii. 339 Men did not know how to mould and frame it; but at last it was licked into shape.
1702 Eng. Theophrastus 4 The play is writ, the Players upon the recommendation of those that lick'd it over, like their parts to a Fondness.
1780 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) IX. 509 Mr. Law, by taking immense pains, has licked it into some shape.
1862 J. W. Carlyle Lett. III. 132 I shall have trouble enough in licking her [a young servant] into shape.
1891 Spectator 12 Dec. 837 Their proposals..would be licked, by debate..into practicable shape.
5. Contemptuously used for: To smear with cosmetics; to varnish, to smarten with paint; to ‘sleek’, give smooth finish to (a picture).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the skin or complexion > beautify (the skin or complexion) [verb (transitive)] > in a messy way
lick1596
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > paint [verb (transitive)] > give smooth finish
lick1853
1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. Lv Spending a whole forenoone euerie day in spunging and licking himselfe by the glasse.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Lickt, Pictures new Varnished, Houses new Whitened, or Women's Faces with a Wash.
1853 T. Taylor Life B. R. Haydon III. 212 Modern cartoons with few exceptions are licked (smoothed) and polished intentionally.
6. slang.absolute.1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. xii. 228 I believe that a gentleman will always lick in a fair fight.
a. To beat, thrash. Also, to drive (something) out of (a person) by thrashing. †to lick off: to cut off clean, to slice off.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > administer corporal punishment [verb (transitive)] > beat
threshOE
beatc1000
to lay on?c1225
chastise1362
rapa1400
dressc1405
lack?c1475
paya1500
currya1529
coil1530
cuff1530
baste1533
thwack1533
lick1535
firka1566
trounce1568
fight1570
course1585
bumfeage1589
feague1589
lamback1589
lambskin1589
tickle1592
thrash1593
lam1595
bumfeagle1598
comb1600
fer1600
linge1600
taw1600
tew1600
thrum1604
feeze1612
verberate1614
fly-flap1620
tabor1624
lambaste1637
feak1652
flog1676
to tan (a person's) hide1679
slipper1682
liquora1689
curry-comb1708
whack1721
rump1735
screenge1787
whale1790
lather1797
tat1819
tease1819
larrup1823
warm1824
haze1825
to put (a person) through a course of sprouts1839
flake1841
swish1856
hide1875
triangle1879
to give (a person or thing) gyp1887
soak1892
to loosen (a person's) hide1902
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > remove or take away > by licking > from something
to lick off1535
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > remove or take away > by licking
licka1240
to lick off1775
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 144 Leggis war likkit of hard of at the kne.
1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) s.v. (Farmer) Lycke, to beate.
1719 A. Ramsay Epist. to Hamilton vi May I be licket wi' a bittle, Gin of your numbers I think little.
1732 H. Fielding Mock Doctor i. ii Suppose I've a mind he should drub, Whose bones are they, Sir, he's to lick?
1775 F. Burney Jrnl. Nov. in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1990) II. 178 As for..your Father, I could lick him for his affected Coolness & moderation.
1828 C. Darwin in F. Darwin Life & Lett. C. Darwin (1888) I. 167 How those poor dogs must have been licked.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. viii. 191 Say you won't fag—they'll soon get tired of licking you.
1879 C. H. Spurgeon Serm. XXV. 542 Almost as free as America in the olden time, when every man was free to lick his own nigger.
1881 Atlantic Monthly 49 41 Well, I've tried to lick the badness out of him... You can, out of some boys, you know.
b. To overcome, get the better of; to excel, surpass. it licks me: I cannot explain it. Also to lick into fits: to defeat thoroughly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)] > overcome or defeat
shendc893
overwinOE
overheaveOE
mate?c1225
to say checkmatea1346
vanquishc1366
stightlea1375
outrayc1390
to put undera1393
forbeat1393
to shave (a person's) beardc1412
to put to (also at, unto) the (also one's) worsec1425
adawc1440
supprisec1440
to knock downc1450
to put to the worsta1475
waurc1475
convanquish1483
to put out1485
trima1529
convince1548
foil1548
whip1571
evict1596
superate1598
reduce1605
convict1607
defail1608
cast1610
banga1616
evince1620
worst1646
conquer1655
cuffa1657
trounce1657
to ride down1670
outdo1677
routa1704
lurcha1716
fling1790
bowl1793
lick1800
beat1801
mill1810
to row (someone) up Salt River1828
defeat1830
sack1830
skunk1832
whop1836
pip1838
throw1850
to clean out1858
take1864
wallop1865
to sock it to1877
whack1877
to clean up1888
to beat out1893
to see off1919
to lower the boom on1920
tonk1926
clobber1944
ace1950
to run into the ground1955
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)] > overcome or defeat > soundly
threshc1384
to knock the socks offa1529
thump1597
thrash1609
thwacka1616
capot1649
to beat to snuff1819
to knock into a cocked hat1830
to —— (the) hell out of1833
sledgehammer1834
rout1835
whop1836
skin1838
whip-saw1842
to knock (the) spots off1850
to make mincemeat of1853
to mop (up) the floor with1875
to beat pointless1877
to lick into fits1879
to take apart1880
to knock out1883
wax1884
contund1885
to give (a person) fits1885
to wipe the floor with1887
flatten1892
to knock (someone) for six1902
slaughter1903
slather1910
to hit for six1937
hammer1948
whomp1952
bulldozer1954
zilch1957
shred1966
tank1973
slam-dunk1975
beast1977
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (transitive)] > surpass or beat
whip1571
overmaster1627
to give (one) fifteen and a bisque1664
to beat (all) to nothing1768
beatc1800
bang1808
to beat (also knock) all to sticks1820
floga1841
to beat (a person, a thing) into fits1841
to beat a person at his (also her, etc.) own game1849
to knock (the) spots off1850
lick1890
biff1895
to give a stone and a beating to1906
to knock into a cocked hat1965
1800 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1801) 4 232 By Dane, Saxon, or Pict We had never been lick'd Had we stuck to the king of the island.
1836 F. B. Head Let. in S. Smiles Publisher & Friends (1891) II. xxxi. 366 I believe we shall lick the radicals.
1847 T. De Quincey Milton v. Southey & Landor in Tait's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 253/2 Greece was..proud..of having licked him [sc. an enemy].
1879 E. Walford Londoniana I. 37 If we have a war and beat Russia or lick Abyssinia into fits.
1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xxiv It licked me to think it had been hid away all the time.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 195 As a seller of unparalleled generosity, we can't be licked.
1900 Speaker 8 Sept. 618 We must either lick and rule these savages or run away.
7. slang (originally dialect: widespread outside the U.K.). intransitive. To run, ride, or move at full speed. Also in the U.S., to lick it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > move swiftly [verb (intransitive)]
lakeOE
flyOE
runOE
scour13..
jace1393
hie1398
spina1400
fleetc1400
glentc1400
stripc1400
suea1450
carryc1450
speed1488
scud1532
streek1598
winga1616
to clip it1616
hackney1617
swifta1618
whirryc1630
dust1673
whew1684
race1702
stroke1735
cut1797
spank1807
skid1815
speela1818
crack1824
skimmer1824
slap1827
clip1832
skeet1838
marvel1841
lick1850
travel1850
rush1852
zip1852
sail1876
rabbit1887
move1906
high-tail1908
to ball the jack1914
buzz1914
shift1922
giddap1938
burn1942
hoosh1943
bomb1966
shred1977
1850 L. H. Garrard Wah-to-Yah i. 16 The mad animal..charged. How they did ‘lick it’ over the ground!
1856 J. Collie Poems 124 Sae aff gaed Death what he cou'd lick.
1886 Outing Dec. 198/1 He'd nothin' ter do but ter lick it like blazes, with the little dog a-follerin' along.
1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xxi A horseman..rattled down the stony track as hard as he could lick.
1903 J. Lumsden Toorle iv. i. 76 Jock! lick awa' in, an' blaw up.
1947 ‘A. P. Gaskell’ Big Game 80 He sped her [sc. a car] along. Boy, she can lick.
1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 169 As hard as one can lick, as fast as one can go. To lick along, to go fast.
1966 W. S. Ramson Austral. Eng. iv. 65 To lick, meaning ‘to travel fast’ and common in..as hard as one can lick.
Phrases
coarse slang. to lick (a person's) arse, ass, etc.: to behave obsequiously towards (a person). Cf. to kiss (a person's) arse at kiss v. 6l.See also arse-lick v., arse-licker n., arse-licking n., arse-licking adj., ass-lick v., ass-licker n., ass-licking n. 2, ass-licking adj.
ΚΠ
1958 J. Kesson White Bird Passes iii. 41 My Hughie would work too, if he'd got work. But he was never the one to lick the Town Council's arse.
1973 C. Mullard Black Brit. ii. iv. 44 We were treated like filth, not good enough to lick their asses.
2001 Sunday Mirror (Nexis) 13 May The people I fronted were always at a party or premiere. They turn up at these events expecting to have their bottoms licked.
2008 F. B. Wilderson Incognegro (2015) 111 I'm not licking ass. I didn't say I liked you. I said I approved of you, politically.
Compounds
Combinations. Also lick-dish n., lickpenny n., lickpot n., lick-spigot n., lickspittle n.† lick-halter n. Obsolete (see quot. 1611).
lick-box n. = lick-dish n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > [noun] > servile flatterer > parasite
clienta1393
lick-dishc1440
maunche present1440
scambler?a1513
smell-feast1519
parasite1539
hanger-on1549
parasitaster1552
waiter at the table1552
lick-trencher1571
hang-by1579
shadow1579
trencher-fly1590
trencher-friend1590
fawnguest1592
pot-hunter1592
lick-spigot1599
trencherman1599
shark1600
tub-hunter1600
zany1601
lick-box1611
by-hangera1626
cosherer1634
shirk1639
panlicker1641
clientelary1655
tantony1659
led friend1672
sponger1677
fetcher and carrier1751
myrmidon1800
trencher-licker1814
onhanger1821
tag-tail1835
sponge1838
lick-ladle1849
lick-platter1853
sucker1856
freeloader1933
bludger1938
ligger1977
joyrider1990
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Liche-casse, a lick-box, a sweet-lips.
1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 2nd Bk. Wks. xxx. 197 Achilles was a scauld pated maker of hay bundles. Agamemnon, a lick-box.
lick-fingers n. one who licks his fingers (used as a term of abuse).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > as abused
warlockOE
swinec1175
beastc1225
wolf's-fista1300
avetrolc1300
congeonc1300
dirtc1300
slimec1315
snipec1325
lurdanc1330
misbegetc1330
sorrowa1350
shrew1362
jordan1377
wirlingc1390
frog?a1400
warianglea1400
wretcha1400
horcop14..
turdc1400
callet1415
lotterela1450
paddock?a1475
souter1478
chuff?a1500
langbain?c1500
cockatrice1508
sow1508
spink1508
wilrone1508
rook?a1513
streaker?a1513
dirt-dauber?1518
marmoset1523
babiona1529
poll-hatcheta1529
bear-wolf1542
misbegotten1546
pig1546
excrement1561
mamzer1562
chuff-cat1563
varlet1566
toada1568
mandrake1568
spider1568
rat1571
bull-beef1573
mole-catcher1573
suppository1573
curtal1578
spider-catcher1579
mongrela1585
roita1585
stickdirta1585
dogfish1589
Poor John1589
dog's facec1590
tar-boxa1592
baboon1592
pot-hunter1592
venom1592
porcupine1594
lick-fingers1595
mouldychaps1595
tripe1595
conundrum1596
fat-guts1598
thornback1599
land-rat1600
midriff1600
stinkardc1600
Tartar1600
tumbril1601
lobster1602
pilcher1602
windfucker?1602
stinker1607
hog rubber1611
shad1612
splay-foot1612
tim1612
whit1612
verdugo1616
renegado1622
fish-facea1625
flea-trapa1625
hound's head1633
mulligrub1633
nightmare1633
toad's-guts1634
bitch-baby1638
shagamuffin1642
shit-breech1648
shitabed1653
snite1653
pissabed1672
bastard1675
swab1687
tar-barrel1695
runt1699
fat-face1740
shit-sack1769
vagabond1842
shick-shack1847
soor1848
b1851
stink-pot1854
molie1871
pig-dog1871
schweinhund1871
wind-sucker1880
fucker1893
cocksucker1894
wart1896
so-and-so1897
swine-hound1899
motherfucker1918
S.O.B.1918
twat1922
mong1926
mucker1929
basket1936
cowson1936
zombie1936
meatball1937
shower1943
chickenshit1945
mugger1945
motherferyer1946
hooer1952
morpion1954
mother1955
mother-raper1959
louser1960
effer1961
salaud1962
gunk1964
scunge1967
1595 W. S. Lamentable Trag. Locrine iii. iv. F 2 b You stopsauce, lickfingers, will you not heare?
1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes Dram. Pers., in Wks. II The Persons of the Play, Lick-finger. A Master Cooke, and parcell Poet.]
lick-foot n. the action of licking the feet, servility.Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1631 B. Jonson New Inne ii. vi. 37 No flattery for't: No lick-foote, paine of loosing your proboscis.
ΚΠ
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Lecca fune, a licke-halter, a knauish wag, a gallowes-clapper.
lick-hole n. Australian a place where lick-logs are placed for stock to lick.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > place where animals fed
feeding station1844
feed-floor1868
feed-lot1889
lick-hole1928
1928 ‘Brent of Bin Bin’ Up Country ix. 143 No horse..was safe..in the lick-hole country of its myriad spring-heads. Pool found a way with rock-salt to make the lick-holes a trap.
1936 M. Franklin All that Swagger xvi. 148 A hint without evidence is a snake in the grass, like that boomer you dispatched to-day at the lickhole.
lick-ladle n. a parasite.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > [noun] > servile flatterer > parasite
clienta1393
lick-dishc1440
maunche present1440
scambler?a1513
smell-feast1519
parasite1539
hanger-on1549
parasitaster1552
waiter at the table1552
lick-trencher1571
hang-by1579
shadow1579
trencher-fly1590
trencher-friend1590
fawnguest1592
pot-hunter1592
lick-spigot1599
trencherman1599
shark1600
tub-hunter1600
zany1601
lick-box1611
by-hangera1626
cosherer1634
shirk1639
panlicker1641
clientelary1655
tantony1659
led friend1672
sponger1677
fetcher and carrier1751
myrmidon1800
trencher-licker1814
onhanger1821
tag-tail1835
sponge1838
lick-ladle1849
lick-platter1853
sucker1856
freeloader1933
bludger1938
ligger1977
joyrider1990
1849 G. P. R. James Woodman I. ii. 35 ‘Who and what is he?’ ‘A lickladle of the court, lady’.
lick-log n. a block of salt for cattle to lick; to stand up to one's lick-logs, to make a firm stand.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animal food > [noun] > salt lick
lick-log1834
cattle lick1887
lick1920
the mind > will > decision > resolution or determination > be resolute or determined [verb (intransitive)] > make a firm stand
to make (a) stand1591
to put one's foot down1833
to stand up to one's lick-logs1834
1834 D. Crockett Narr. Life 170 I was determined to stand up to my lick-log, salt or no salt.
1840 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 3rd Ser. xii I like a man to be up to the notch, and stand to his lick-log.
1852 G. W. L. Bickley Hist. Tazewell County 226 Capt. Moore..was at a lick log..salting his horses of which he had many.
1948 E. N. Dick Dixie Frontier 105 Small troughs were cut in the trunk of a fallen tree and occasionally salt was placed there, making what was known as a ‘lick log’.
lick-ma-dowp n. Scottish a sycophant.Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1724 A. Ramsay Vision in Ever Green I. xxiii Quhen thus redust to howps, They dander, and wander About pure lickmadowps.
lick-platter n. a parasite.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > [noun] > servile flatterer > parasite
clienta1393
lick-dishc1440
maunche present1440
scambler?a1513
smell-feast1519
parasite1539
hanger-on1549
parasitaster1552
waiter at the table1552
lick-trencher1571
hang-by1579
shadow1579
trencher-fly1590
trencher-friend1590
fawnguest1592
pot-hunter1592
lick-spigot1599
trencherman1599
shark1600
tub-hunter1600
zany1601
lick-box1611
by-hangera1626
cosherer1634
shirk1639
panlicker1641
clientelary1655
tantony1659
led friend1672
sponger1677
fetcher and carrier1751
myrmidon1800
trencher-licker1814
onhanger1821
tag-tail1835
sponge1838
lick-ladle1849
lick-platter1853
sucker1856
freeloader1933
bludger1938
ligger1977
joyrider1990
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel II. vi. xxiii. 186 No lick-platter, no parasite, no toadeater.
lick-sauce n. = lick-dish n.
lick-spit n. = lickspittle n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > [noun] > servile flatterer
papelard1340
placeboc1395
fawnerc1440
pickthank1460
adulator?a1475
earwigc1475
curry-favel1515
men-pleaser1526
gnatho1533
upcreeperc1540
claw-back1549
curry-favourer1563
man-pleaser1564
claw-poll1569
please-man1570
sycophant1575
curry-favour1577
capper1587
insinuator1598
clawera1603
scrape-shoe1607
suck-fist1611
courtiera1616
foot lickera1616
fleerera1627
wriggler1631
fawn1635
limberham1689
toad-eater1742
tuft-hunter1755
arse-kisser1766
sleeve-creeper1809
lick-spit1822
lickspittle1825
shoe-licker1826
toady1826
toad1831
toader1842
bootlicker1846
bootlick1849
favour-currier1855
lubricator1872
bum-sucker1877
handshaker1884
suck1900
mbongo1911
sucker-up1911
apple-polisher1918
snurge1933
ass-licker1939
brown-nose1939
brown-noser1942
arse-licker1951
ass-kisser1951
greaser1959
suck-hole1966
suck-up1970
bumboy1984
fly-
1822 T. Mitchell tr. Dicast turned Gentleman in tr. Aristophanes Comedies II. 302 Him..who has A smutty tale for ev'ry rich man's table? Lickspit and flatterer both!
1833 S. Austin Characteristics Goethe II. 35 To play..the lickspit about the court of Weimar.
lick-trencher n. = lick-platter n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > [noun] > servile flatterer > parasite
clienta1393
lick-dishc1440
maunche present1440
scambler?a1513
smell-feast1519
parasite1539
hanger-on1549
parasitaster1552
waiter at the table1552
lick-trencher1571
hang-by1579
shadow1579
trencher-fly1590
trencher-friend1590
fawnguest1592
pot-hunter1592
lick-spigot1599
trencherman1599
shark1600
tub-hunter1600
zany1601
lick-box1611
by-hangera1626
cosherer1634
shirk1639
panlicker1641
clientelary1655
tantony1659
led friend1672
sponger1677
fetcher and carrier1751
myrmidon1800
trencher-licker1814
onhanger1821
tag-tail1835
sponge1838
lick-ladle1849
lick-platter1853
sucker1856
freeloader1933
bludger1938
ligger1977
joyrider1990
1571 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Psalmes of Dauid with Comm. To Rdr. sig. **.ij Not onely licktrenchers but also claw backs, which curry fauour with great men by their false appeachings.
1787 J. Wolcot Ode upon Ode in Wks. (1816) I. 298 Butlers and lick-trenchers.
lick-up n. (a) something that licks up (see quot. 1844); (b) something ‘licked’ into shape (see quot. 1851); (c) used attributively to designate a type of paper-making machine (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1844 Mechanics' Mag. 40 47 [Of Silver plating.] When cool the hammer is allowed to fall upon the lead, to which it firmly adheres by means of a plate roughed as a rasp, which is called the lick-up.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 34/1 A ‘lick-up’ is a boot or shoe re-lasted to take the wrinkles out..and then blacked up to hide blemishes.
1929 R. H. Clapperton & W. Henderson Mod. Paper-making xv. 212 The ‘lick-up’ machine may have either a vat or Fourdrinier wet end, but it does not possess a wet press... On this type of machine the underside of the web sticks to the cylinder and receives the polished surface.
1952 F. H. Norris Paper & Paper Making xv. 208 The ‘lick up’ type of machine..may have either a cylinder mould to pick up the stuff out of a vat and form the paper as on a board machine, or it may have the normal Fourdrinier wet end. On a ‘lick up’ machine, the wet felt also acts as an over~felt, and as there is no wet press, the web is transferred to the wet felt at the top couch roll.
Draft additions 1997
Also intransitive with adv. or adverbial phrase indicating direction (esp. with at).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > move in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > move lightly or briskly
whitter1513
play1590
lick1909
1909 Chambers's Jrnl. Sept. 572/2 The swish of the water licking sloppily against the yacht's side.
a1961 in Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) The surf licked at the seawall.
1979 N. Wallington Fireman! i. 19 High over a roof leaping flames were now clearly visible, licking skyward.
1987 New Yorker 26 Jan. 28/1 Abe looked out their bedroom window..and saw a small flame licking at the edge of the ashes.
Draft additions 1997
transferred. To solve (a problem or puzzle); to overcome, transcend (a difficulty). Chiefly U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > resolving of problem, solution > find solution, solve [verb (transitive)]
findOE
assoilc1374
soil1382
contrive1393
to find outc1405
resolvea1438
absolvea1525
solute?1531
solve?1541
dissolve1549
get1559
salvec1571
to beat out1577
sort1581
explicate1582
untiea1586
loose1596
unsolve1631
cracka1640
unscruple1647
metagrobolize1653
to puzzle out1717
to work out1719
to get around ——1803
to dope out1906
lick1946
to get out1951
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)]
overcomeeOE
forecomec1000
overwieldlOE
masterc1225
overmaistrie1340
overmatcha1375
overpassa1382
surmount1390
to have the fairer (of)c1400
maistriec1400
overmasterc1425
winc1440
overc1485
bestride1526
rixlec1540
overreach1555
control1567
overmate1567
govern1593
to give (a person) the lurch1598
get1600
to gain cope of1614
top1633
to fetch overa1640
down1641
to have the whip hand (of)1680
carberry1692
to cut down1713
to be more than a match for1762
outflank1773
outmaster1799
outgeneral1831
weather1834
best1839
fore-reach1845
to beat a person at his (also her, etc.) own game1849
scoop1850
euchrec1866
bemaster1871
negotiate1888
to do down1900
to get (someone) wetc1926
lick1946
1946 E. O'Neill Iceman Cometh iv. 225 You've finally got the game of life licked.
1957 A. Stevenson New Amer. iii. iv. 151 We have never yet in this country met a problem we couldn't lick, and we have come through every crisis stronger than we went in.
1974 E. Bowen Henry & Other Heroes ii. 30 She had me licked before we started.
1985 C. Yeager & L. Janos Yeager (1986) 161 We had licked the elevator problem.
Draft additions September 2021
to lick down Caribbean.
transitive. To knock (someone or something) down.
ΚΠ
1837 T. Price J. Williams's Narr. Events Jamaica 12 in Slavery in Amer. He raise up his stick three times to lick me down. I said, you can't lick me down, Sir, the law does not allow that.
1957 Caribbean Q. 5 41 The donkey would not walk in front of her, and she take up three stones and she lick it down.
1988 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 7 Dec. 25/1 Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have no home to return to... Gilbert lick it down.
2014 M. James Brief Hist. Seven Killings (2015) 227 Pity car never lick you down, I want to say.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
<
n.1603
v.a1000- all-comprehending
- all-comprehensive
- all-comprehensiveness
- all-concerning
- all-confounding
- all-conquering
- all-conqueringly
- all-consuming
- all-containing
- all-court
- all-creating
- all-creator
- all-cure
- all-day
- all-day breakfast
- all-day horse
- all-day singing
- all-day sucker
- all-dayer
- all-deciding
- all-defiance
- all-defiant
- all-defying
- all-destroyer
- all-destroying