[f. same source as TICK v.1 or sb.3] An imitation of the sound of a clock or watch; ticking; in quot. 1805, throbbing of the pulse. So Tick-a-tack. (Cf. TICK-TACK, TICK-TICK.)
1805. in Spirit Pub. Jrnls., IX. 243. Munro shall count of pulse his tick-a-tick.
1883. D. R. Sellars, in Mod. Scot. Poets, VI. 157.
| ‘Tick-a-tick! tick-a-tick!’ | |
| My old clock’s voice I hear. |
1898. Doyle, in Speaker, 5 March, 298/1. The clock goes tick-a-tack.
