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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2
stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2 |
Does anyone know the origin of the phrase "lickety split?"
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear sasa11: I am quite sure it is one of those expressive colloquialisms that spread rapidly and persist for quite a while, with no clue as to where, when, or who started it. Welcome to the board.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
and the full-speed sense of lick(ety) was used in all sorts of fanciful combinations, most of haven't lasted: lickety-cut, -smash, -wallop, -click, -switch, etc.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
and the full-speed sense of lick(ety) was used in all sorts of fanciful combinations, most of which haven't lasted: lickety-cut, -smash, -wallop, -click, -switch, etc.
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 53
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 53 |
a split-second is a very short second...or a time period that goes by incredibly quickly. Split seems to have the same meaning here as in lickety-split.
Hey everybody! I'm finally a newbie!!
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
> lickety-click... reminds me of:
Clickety-clack, don't talk back!
> Hey everybody! I'm finally a newbie!! Congrats Marine-Squirt, on your completion of 25 doses of capricious piffle and epithets alike!
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2
stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2 |
Thanks for the lickety split answers everyone...
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