lickety-split

[ lik-i-tee-split ]

/ ˈlɪk ɪ tiˈsplɪt /

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adverb Informal.

at great speed; rapidly: to travel lickety-split.

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On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

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Origin of lickety-split

An Americanism, perhaps dialectical, first recorded in 1835–45; licket “rag (for wiping in haste, with one lick)” + -y¹ + split, as in split second

Words nearby lickety-split

licit, lick, lick-alike, licker-in, lickerish, lickety-split, licking, Licking River, lick into shape, Lick Observatory, lick one's chops

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use lickety-split in a sentence

The conspirators were split into two teams, “Alpha” and “Bravo.”
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If you look at the history, you can really understand why the parties are so divided and why the public is so split.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society|Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Before it was split between Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, Baluchistan spread over an area slightly larger than California.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His section on why he and his wife split—he essentially chose soccer over her—would be risky if its candor were not so refreshing.
Tim Howard’s Wall of Intensity|William O’Connor|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Most critically, the split perspectives of Noah and Alison need to marry more elegantly.
What On Earth Is ‘The Affair’ About? Season One’s Baffling Finale|Tim Teeman|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Under the one-sixth they appear as slender, highly refractive fibers with double contour and, often, curled or split ends.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The cantonment was split into two sections by an irregular ravine, or nullah, running east and west.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
The atmosphere seemed drawn taut before him as though it must any instant split open upon a sound of crying.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
The Griffin carried off one sheep a day from a German village, till a man came with a "falchion" and split the Griffin open.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
The rein was fastened to a piece of split rattan drawn through the animal's nose.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin|Mary Hazelton Wade

British Dictionary definitions for lickety-split

lickety-split

/ (ˈlɪkɪtɪˈsplɪt) /

adverb

US and Canadian informal very quickly; speedily

Word Origin for lickety-split

C19: from lick + split

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

lickety-split

Origin of lickety-split

Words nearby lickety-split

Words related to lickety-split

How to use lickety-split in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lickety-split

Word Origin for lickety-split