subs. (old).—1. A blow. Hence, HIS LICKS = a thrashing. For synonyms, see WIPE.
d. 1701. DRYDEN, King Arthur, i. 1. He … gave me two LICKS across the face.
1746. W. FORBES, The Dominie Depos’d, 28.
| When he committed all these tricks, | |
| For which he well deserv’d his LICKS. |
1753. FOOTE, The Englishman in Paris, i. I lent him a LICK in his Lanthorn Jaws.
1755. JOHNSON, A Dictionary of the English Language, s.v. LICK. A low word.
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. LICK. … I’ll give you a good LICK o’ the chops, I’ll give you a good stroke, or blow on the face.
1786. BURNS, Epistle to William Simson, ‘Postscript.’
| Frae less to mair it gaed to sticks; | |
| Frae words an’ aiths to clours an’ nicks, | |
| An’ mony a fallow gat his LICKS, | |
| Wi’ hearty crunt. |
1821. P. EGAN, Tom and Jerry [ed. 1890], p. 78. Oh I took him such a LICK of his mummer.
1840. R. H. BARHAM, The Ingoldsby Legends, ‘The Ingoldsby Penance.’
| I gave him a ‘LICK’ | |
| With a stick, | |
| And a kick. |
1851–61. H. MAYHEW, London Labour and the London Poor, i. 41. If a cove was to fetch me a LICK of the head, I’d give it him again.
2. (American).—A stroke; hence, an effort; BIG LICKS = hard work.
1847. W. T. PORTER, ed., A Quarter Race in Kentucky, etc., p. 128. When he returned we were running a twenty-five knot LICK. Ibid., p. 104. He went up the opposite bank at the same LICK, and disappeared. Ibid., p. 94. I struck a LICK back to the log and looked over.
1848. W. T. THOMPSON, Major Jones’s Sketches of Travel, 189. He couldn’t swim a LICK.
1851. J. J. HOOPER, The Widow Rugby’s Husband, etc., 62. I can’t swim a LICK—how deep is it.
1863. Bryant’s Comic Songs [quoted by BARTLETT], ‘The Ballad of Joe Bowers.’
| At length I went to mining, | |
| Put in my BIGGEST LICKS, | |
| Went down upon the boulders | |
| Just like a thousand bricks. |
1847. ROBB, Streaks of Squatter Life, p. 106. Old Alic had a darter Molly, that war the most enticin’, gizzard-ticklin’, heart-distressin’ feline creatur that ever made a fellar git owdacious, and I seed Tom Seller cavortin’ round her like a young buffalo—he was puttin’ in the BIGGEST kind a LICKS in the way of courtin’.
1882. M. E. BRADDON, Mount Royal, xiii. Then I coiled up, and made up my mind to stay in America, till I’d done some BIG LICKS in the sporting line.
1888. BOLDREWOOD, Robbery under Arms, xii. It’ll be a short life and a merry one, though, dad, if we go on BIG LICKS like this.
1892. MILLIKEN, ’Arry Ballads, 36. Stage LICKS.
3. (common).—A drinking bout.
1886. Daily Telegraph, 3 March. More frequently the ‘sowker’ wound up his BIG LICK in an attack of delirium tremens.
Verb. (common).—1. See quot.
1573. HARMAN, A Caveat or Warening for Common Cursetors, s.v. LYCKE, to beate.
1732. FIELDING, The Mock Doctor, Sc. ii.
| Suppose I’ve a Mind he should drub, | |
| Whose Bones are they, Sir, he’s to LICK? |
1733. FIELDING, Don Quixote, II. vii. Badg. Stand away, landlord, stand away.—If I don’t LICK him!
1749. FIELDING, Tom Jones, Bk. xv. v. ‘I’ll teach you to father-in-law me. I’ll LICK thy jacket.’
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. LICK, to beat: also, to wash, or to paint slightly over. I’ll give you a good LICK of the chops; I’ll give you a good stroke or blow on the face. Jack tumbled into a cow-turd, and nastied his best clothes, for which his father stepped up and LICKED him neatly. I’ll LICK you! the dovetail to which is, If you LICK me all over you won’t miss my arse.
1786. BURNS, Second Epistle to Davie.
| I’m tauld the Muse ye ha’e negleckit; | |
| An gif it’s sae, ye suld be LICKET. |
c. 1794. WOLCOT (‘Peter Pindar’), Orson and Ellen, II., 305. And oft … the gentleman would LICK her.
1840. R. H. BARHAM, The Ingoldsby Legends (The Cynotaph).
| Chasing him round, and attempting to LICK | |
| The ghost of poor Tray with the ghost of a stick. |
1843. HALIBURTON (‘Sam Slick’), Sam Slick in England, xxii. I would like to LICK him … round the park … to improve his wind, and teach him how to mend his pace.
1846. THACKERAY, Jeames’s Diary (in Punch, x. p. 13). It was Mary Hann who summind the House and put an end to my physty coughs with Fitz warren. I LICKED him and bare him no mallis.
1870. Daily News, 25 Nov. ‘Leader.’ ‘We ought to believe,’ says the Bishop of Carlisle ‘that an Englishman can LICK a Frenchman, a German or any body else.’
1888. Missouri Republican, 2 Feb. I’m a terror from Philadelphia, and I can LICK any man in the world.
1892. CLARENCE H. PEARSON, The Prayer-Cure in the Pines, in Lippincott’s Magazine, Oct., p. 500.
| Till Big-Foot Zekel, who used to laff | |
| At his genteel manners, quit his chaff, | |
| An’ give out the statement, cold an’ chill, | |
| He’d LICK the duffer as used Hank ill. |
2. (colloquial).—1. To surpass; to vanquish; and (2) to puzzle or astound. Fr. bouler. [Cf. CREATION, HOLLOW, SHINE, etc.]
1864. Derby Day, 39. ‘As sure as the sun shines, Askpart ’ll LICK ’em; if so be,’ he added significantly, ‘as there ain’t no CROSS.’ Ibid., 79. ‘Don’t you know Little un?’ ‘They LICK me,’ answered the trainer.
1871. Durham County Advertizer, 10 Nov. ‘By G—, chum, it LICKS me how the bottom itself did not tumble clean away from the ship.’
1888. BOLDREWOOD, Robbery under Arms, xxxi. But in his own line you couldn’t LICK him. Ibid., xxiv. It LICKED me to think it had been hid away all the time.
1891. N. GOULD, The Double Event, 108. ‘Lets hope you’ll draw the winner, Ike,’ said Kingdon. ‘If you do, and Caloola gets LICKED, you can pull us through,’ he laughed.
3. (old).—1. To sleek; (2) TO TITTIVATE (q.v.); (3) to smooth over, with varnish, rouge, and so forth; to fashion.
1594. NASHE, Have with You to Saffron-Walden [GROSART, iii. 99]. Spending a whole forenoone euerie daie in spunging and LICKING himselfe by the glasse.
c. 1696. B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, s.v. LICKT. Pictures new varnished, Houses new whitened, or Women’s faces with a wash.
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. LICK.
1853. TOM TAYLOR, Life of Haydon, p. 212. Modern cartoons with few exceptions are LICKED (smoothed) and polished intentionally.
4. (American).—To coax.
1859. G. W. MATSELL, Vocabulum; or, The Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v.
TO LICK INTO SHAPE, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To fashion; to train. [From the popular idea that the bear’s young are born shapeless and are licked into shape by the dam.]
1663. BUTLER, Hudibras, i. 3, 1308.
| A bear’s … most ugly and unnatural … until the dam | |
| Has LICKT IT INTO SHAPE and frame. |
1870. Figaro, 6 July, ‘To a Sheet of Paper.’
| My essay on ‘The Busy Bee’ | |
| Wants LICKING INTO FASHION. |
TO LICK SPITTLE, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To fawn upon. Hence, LICKSPITTLE, subs. = a parasite or talebearer.
A LICK AND A PROMISE, subs. phr. (common).—A piece of slovenliness.
TO LICK THE EYE, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To be well-pleased.
A LICK AND A SMELL, subs. phr. (common).—A DOG’S PORTION (q.v.).
TO LICK THE TRENCHER, verb. phr. (old).—To play the parasite.
1608. WITHALS, Dictionarie, 263. A fellow that can LICKE his lordes or his ladies TRENCHER in one smooth tale or merrie lye, and picke their purses in another.
TO LICK ONE’S DISH, verb. phr. (old).—To drink.—RAY (1767).
