lickety split
8
8.6
- idiom
- /ˈlɪkɪti splɪt/
- Informal
- Amos and Orville ran after it lickety-split.
Examples
-
Shakespeare's Globe production of "Hamlet" at Pace University moves lickety-split, and you need to act lively too to catch this wonderfully spirited and well-spoken take on the much-done classic.
Blog text (9) -
The kids cleaned up the toys lickety split before their mom came home.
-
After the action, Mona was always gone, lickety-split.
Fiction book (2000) -
The car zoomed past us lickety split, leaving a trail of dust behind.
-
With her experience, she finished the project lickety split, impressing her boss.
Synonyms
356
1.4
In a very short time
75
1.0
Quickly and smoothly
4
4.1
Very fast, without delay
3
8.8
Happens very quickly and without delay
2
3.0
It happens very quickly with little effort
1
2.0
Happen very fast
1
8.0
In a very quick way, like someone running fast
1
5.1
To happen or be done very quickly
Very quickly and in a hurry
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
lickety + split
The first element 'lickety' is not a recognizable independent lexical item and 'split' in its literal senses (to divide or leave) does not transparently yield the adverbial meaning 'very quickly.' The phrase is a fixed, rhyming idiom whose meaning arises from conventional usage rather than predictable composition, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not reliably infer its meaning.
Etymology
Lickety split may come from old slang where lick meant a quick move and split meant to go away fast. Put together, the picture is of a quick action and an instant leaving, so the phrase now means 'very quickly'.