lickety-split

lickety-split
lickety-split 1852, Amer.Eng. (earlier lickety-cut, lickety-click, and simply licketie, 1817), from LICK (Cf. lick) (n.1) in dialectal sense "very fast sprint in a race" (1809) on the notion of a "lick" as a fast thing (Cf. blink).

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • lickety-split — • lickety split • lickety cut adv informal At full speed; with a rush. As soon as school was out the boys ran lickety split to the swimming pool …   Словарь американских идиом

  • lickety-split — ☆ lickety split [lik′ə tē split′ ] adv. [fanciful formation based on LICK, n. 4c] Informal at great speed …   English World dictionary

  • lickety-split — adv. colloq. at full speed; headlong. Etymology: prob. f. LICK (cf. at full lick) + SPLIT * * * lickety split 7 [ˌlɪkəti ˈsplɪt] [ˌlɪkəti ˈsplɪt] adverb (NAmE …   Useful english dictionary

  • lickety-split — [likidi”split] mod. very fast. □ They ran across the field lickety split. □ We were there lickety split in my new car …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • lickety-split — /lik i tee split /, adv. Informal. at great speed; rapidly: to travel lickety split. [1835 45, Amer.; perh. dial. licket rag (for wiping in haste, with one lick) + Y1 + SPLIT, as in split second] * * * …   Universalium

  • lickety-split — also[lickety cut] {adv.}, {informal} At full speed; with a rush. * /As soon as school was out the boys ran lickety split to the swimming pool./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • lickety-split — also[lickety cut] {adv.}, {informal} At full speed; with a rush. * /As soon as school was out the boys ran lickety split to the swimming pool./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • lickety split — adverb without delay she tackled the job lickety split • Syn: ↑lickety cut …   Useful english dictionary

  • lickety-split — lick′e•ty split′ [[t]ˈlɪk ɪ ti[/t]] adv. Informal. inf at great speed; rapidly: to travel lickety split[/ex] • Etymology: 1835–45, amer …   From formal English to slang

  • lickety-split — adverb Quickly; as fast as possible; in short order. At the sound of the starting gun, they were off and running lickety split …   Wiktionary

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