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Glite Dictionary
to lick into shape

to lick into shape

1 7.1
Make something better by working on it until it is ready
  • phrasal verb
  • UK
translation icon : dar forma
  • l'm sure we'll be able to lick you into shape.

Examples

  • After weeks of practice, the team managed to lick into shape their performance for the upcoming competition.

  • - Plenty of time to lick you into shape.

    Nobody Waved Goodbye (1964)

  • "I'm gonna bring him up here one of these days "and we'll lick this damn ranch into shape."

    Brokeback Mountain (2005)

  • With some dedication and hard work, we will lick into shape the project by the deadline.

  • The coach promised to lick into shape the athletes before the national championships.

Synonyms

to whip into shape
vsto lick into shape
  • Informal
10 5.1

Quickly make a person or thing work better by firm action

does the same but through slower persistent effort over time
to polish up
vsto lick into shape
  • Informal
4 3.5

Make something better by practicing or fixing it

uses ongoing steady effort until it reaches an acceptable state

Antonyms

to ruin
∞ 2.0

Destroy or badly damage something so it cannot be used

to deteriorate
146 5.9

To get worse in quality, condition, or value

How Refined

to perfect
118 3.9
to lick into shape
  • UK
1 7.1
to polish
22 4.1
tweak
28 3.9
to adjust
317 2.7

Surface Forms

lick into shape infinitive
licked into shape past
licked into shape past participle
licking into shape present participle
licks into shape third person singular

Morphology

lick + into + shape

The element 'into shape' transparently signals change to a desired condition, but 'lick' here uses a non-literal, idiomatic sense (to work on/put right) rather than the basic 'tongue' meaning. Because the key verb sense is metaphorical and not predictable from the literal meanings, a B1 learner knowing the constituents would likely only partly infer the intended meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Lick into shape may come from the picture of a person or animal using quick licks to smooth or finish something, like cleaning mud off or smoothing soft clay. So to lick into shape means to make small quick fixes until something is 'improved' or ready.