lickety-split
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
First attested during the 19th century, in the US, as a fanciful alteration of the noun lick “a very fast sprint”, and the verb split. The forms lickety-cut and licketie are similarly attested.
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (US) (file)
Adverb[edit]
lickety-split (not comparable)
- Quickly; as fast as possible; in short order.
- At the sound of the starting gun, they were off and running lickety-split.
- I need tea right now, lickety-split.
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:lickety.
References[edit]
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “lickety-split”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.