lickety-cut 
So they went and pitched into the old chap, lickety-cut. 
E. S, Pltelps, Old Maid's Paradise, p. 157. 
lickety-split (lik'e-ti-splif), adv. [< "lickety 
(see lickety-cut) + split.'] Headlong; very fast. 
[Slang, U. S.] 
I tell you if they didn't whip up an' go lickity-gplit down 
that 'ure hill. H. B. Slavic, Oldtown, p. 358. 
licking (lik'ing), n. [< ME. licking, < AS. lic- 
cung, verbal n. of liccian, lick' see lick, v.] 1. 
The act of one who licks. 2. A beating; a 
thrashing. [Colloq.] 
What, still at your tricking? . . . 
I see you won't rest till you've got a good licking. 
Durham, Ingoldsby Legends, II. 320. 
lickourt, n. An obsolete spelling of liquor. 
lick-pant (lik'pan), n. [< lick, v., + obj. pan.'] 
A sycophant. 
lickpenny (lik'pen"i), .; pi. lickpennies (-iz). 
[< late ME. lyckpeny; < lick, v.,+ obj. penny.'] A 
greedy or covetous person; agrasper. [Scotch.] 
You talked of a law-suit law is a lick-penny, Mr. Tyrrel 
110 counsellor like the pound in purse. 
Scott, St. Ronan's Well, xxviii. 
lickplatter (lik'plaf'er), n, [< lick, v., + obj. 
platter."] A sneaking parasite ; a lickspittle. 
He had a passion for independence, which, though 
pushed to excess, was not without grandeur. No lick- 
platter, no parasite, no toad-eater. 
Bvlwer, My Novel, vL 23. 
lick-saucet (lik'sas), n. [< lick, v., + obj. sauce.] 
Same as lick-dish. 
lick-spigott (lik'spig^t), n. [< lick, v., + obj. 
spigot.'] A tapster or drawer. 
Gnattw. Fill, lick-spigot. 
Drawer. Ad iniuni, sir. Massinger, Old Law, iv. 1. 
lickspittle (lik'spif'l), n. [< lick, v., + obj. spit- 
tle.'] One who is abject enough to lick, as it 
were, another's spittle; a vulgar flatterer or 
parasite. 
Stage-coachmen were . . . comrades to gentlemen, lick- 
spittles to lords, and the high-priests of horse-flesh. 
J. Hawthorne, Dust, p. 8. 
lick-trenchert (lik'tren"cher), n. [< lick, v., + 
obj. trencher.'] Same as lickplatter. 
Art magnanimous, licit-trencher ? Dekker, Satiromastix. 
Licmetis (lik-me'tis), n. [NL. (Wagler, 1830), 
< Gr. "MKfj.nr6f, a winnowing, < AIK/IO.V. winnow, < 
^,iKfj.6f, also TMCOOV, a winnowing-fan.] A genus 
of slender-billed white Australian cockatoos, as 
. tenuirostris and L. pastinator. They live on 
bulbs and roots which they dig out of the ground. 
licorice, liquorice (lik'o-ris), . [Formerly also 
lickorice, lickerice, licourize; < ME. licorice, lico- 
ris, lycorys, licoriz, etc., = D. lakkris, lakkeris = 
MLG. lacker itze = G. lakritze = Dan. Sw. lakrits, 
< OF. licorice, AF. lycorys, later liquerice; also, 
in other OF. forms, recalisse, recolice, regolice, 
regalisse, rigalisse, riglisse, etc., F. reglisse = Pr. 
regalicia, regulecia = Sp. regaliz, rcgaliza, rega- 
licia = Pg. regaliz, regalice = It. regolizia, lego- 
rizia, liqiiirizia,(\A^. liquiritia, ML. also liauiri- 
tium, corrupted from L. glycyrrhiza, < Gr. yAvxvp- 
pta, the licorice-plant, lit. ' sweet root,' < y/ltwt'f, 
sweet, + pi^a, root.] 1. A leguminous plant, 
Glycyrrhiza glabra, whose root yields the licorice 
of commerce. It is a perennial herbaceous plant grow- 
ing 4 or 5 feet high, sparingly branched, with pinnate leaves 
and bluish pea-like flowers in spikes. The roots grow sev- 
eral feet long and an inch or more thick. Other plants of 
the genus are also called licorice. 
In all thes for sayd yles ys growing wondyr myche lie- 
ores, tyme, Sage, ffyggs, Oryges, Pomgarnetts, smale Rey- 
syns, which we call Reyse of Corans. 
Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travel!, p. 61. 
2. An economic product, either the root of this 
plant or an extract from it. The former is called lico- 
rice-root or licorice ; the latter is called ttick-licorice, Spanish 
juice, or Italian extract of licorice, and is obtained by boil- 
ing the crushed root and evaporating the infusion, the re- 
siduum being rolled into sticks. The substance thus se- 
cured is dry and brittle, with a shining fracture, and when 
pure is entirely soluble in water, but is often grossly adul- 
terated. Licorice is used medicinally chiefly as a demul- 
cent, especially in bronchial affections. It is also em- 
ployed in making confectionery, in brewing, and in the 
manufacture of tobacco. The extract is prepared exten- 
sively in Mediterranean Europe, and latterly in the United 
States from imported root. 
But first he cheweth greyn and lycorys 
To smellen sweete. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 504. 
Indian licorice. See Abrus. Prickly licorice, Glycyr- 
rhiza echinata, whose pods are bristly and whose root is 
used like that of G. (rfa&ra. Wild licorice, (a) Same as 
Indianlicorice. (b) The plant also called rest-harrow,0nonis 
arvensis. Its root is used by children in place of licorice. 
[Prov. Eng.] (c) In America, a member of the true lico- 
rice genus, Qtycyrrhua lepidota, found chiefly far north- 
west; also, Galium circaaans and 0. lanceolatum, on ac- 
count of a sweetish root, (d) In Australia, Teucrium co- 
rynwosum, a sort of germander. 
licorice-mass (lik'o-ris-mas), . Same as lico- 
rice-paste. 
3438 
licorice-paste (lik'o-ris -past), . Crude lico- 
rice. 
licorice-vetch (lik'o-ris-vech), i. A milk-vetch, 
Astragalus glycyphyllos : so called on account of 
its sweet root. 
licorice-weed (lik'o-ris-wed), . A wide-spread 
tropical plant, ticoparia dulris. 
licoroust, licorouslyt, etc. See lickerous, etc. 
licourt, n. An obsolete form of liquor. 
licourizet, -A- 11 obsolete form of licorice. 
lictor (lik'tor), n. [L., an attendant on the 
Komau magistrates, perhaps lit. 'binder,' < 
ligare.(-\/ lig), bind (with ref. to the fasces or 
' bound' rods which they bore, or to binding cul- 
prits); otherwise < "licere, summon.] Among 
the ancient Romans, one of a number of offi- 
cers, required to be free-born (though freed- 
men were admitted to the office under the 
empire), whose functions were to attend a ma- 
gistrate, bearing the fasces, in some cases with 
the ax and in others without it, in order to 
clear the way and enforce due respect, and also 
to arrest offenders and to scourge or behead 
condemned persons. Magistrates were entitled to 
a number of lictors according to their rank, a dictator 
having twenty-four, a consul twelve, a pretor six (at first 
only two within the city walls), etc. The Flamen Dialis, 
or priest of Jupiter, and the Vestals also had lictors, but, 
it is believed, without fasces. 
Lictors and rods, the ensigns of their power. 
Hilton, P. R, iv. 65. 
Ho, trumpets, sound a war-note I 
Ho, lictors, clear the way ! 
The Knights will ride, in all their pride, 
Along the streets to-day. 
Macaulay, Battle of Lake Regillus. 
Licnala (lik-u-a'la), . [NL. (Thunberg, 1782), 
from the native Macassar name.] A genus of 
palms of the tribe Coryphea!, distinguished by 
the terminal style, valvate corolla, and slightly 
coherent three-angled carpels. There are about 
36 species, natives of tropical and eastern Asia, 
New Guinea, and northern Australia. 
lid (lid), n. [< ME. lid, < AS. Mid (= OFries. 
hlid, lid = D. lid, lid, cover, = MLG. lide, way, 
passage, = OHG. Mit, lit, MHG. lit, G. lid (in 
comp. augenlid, augenlied, eyelid), a lid, cover, 
= Icel. hlidh, a gate, gateway, gap, breach, = 
Dan. Sw. led, wicket, gate), < hlidan, pp. hliden, 
= OS. hlidan = OFries. hlidia, cover.] 1. A 
movable cover which closes an aperture or 
shuts in a cavity, and usually forms an integral 
part of the structure to which it belongs by 
being either attached or closely fitted to it: 
as, the lid of a tea-kettle, stove, chest, or desk. 
My Lord, I broke my Glass that was in the Lid of my 
Snuff-box. Congreve, Double-Dealer, i. 5. 
2. In bot., the upper section of a pyxis, which 
separates by a transverse line; also, the hood of 
the leaf in the pitcher-plants ; in mosses, the 
operculum. 3. An eyelid. 
The flame o' the taper 
Bows toward her, and would under-peep her lids, 
To see the enclosed lights. Shak., Cymbeline, ii. 2. 20. 
4. In coal-mining, a short piece of timber placed 
on top of a prop to help in supporting the roof. 
5. A coverlet. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
6. One of the covers or boards of a book: as, 
everything between the lids of the Bible. [Col- 
loq.] Granular lids. See granular. Port-lid, one of 
two shutters, upper and lower, which together close a port- 
hole. Each .shut tor has a semicircular piece cut out of it, so 
that together they fit round the gun. Also called half-pint. 
lid-cells (lid'selz), n. pi. In bot., the terminal 
cells of the neck of an archegonium of a crypto- 
gam, closing for a time its canal. Also called 
stigmatic cells. 
lidded (lid'ed), a. [< lid + -ed?.] Having a 
lid ; covered by a lid. In mining, the top of the hear- 
ing part of a pipe is said to be lidded when its usual space 
is contracted to a small compass or width. UalliweU. 
The Persian girl alone, 
Serene with argent-Kddeii eyes. 
Tennyson, Arabian Nights. 
One minute's while his eyes remained 
Half lidded, piteous, languid, innocent. 
Ktati, Cap and Hells, st. 20. (Dames.) 
lidden (lid'en), n. [A dial, form of leden, led- 
den.] A saying, song, or story. [Prov. Eng.] 
lidder (lid'er), a. A dialectal variant of lither 1 . 
Also used adverbially. 
The horses are grown sae lidder fat, 
They downa star out o' the sta'. 
Dick o' the Cow (Child's Ballads, VI. 68). 
lidderont, n. [< ME. lidrone; < lidder, lither 1 .] 
A lazy fellow. 
I leve we schall laugh and haue likyng 
To se nowe this lidderon her he leggis oure lawis. 
York Plays, p. 298. 
lid-flower (lid'Sou''^, . Any tree or shrub 
of the genus Culyptranthes, of the natural or- 
lie 
der Myrtnceo'. The upper part of the calyx 
forms a lid, which falls as the flower opens. 
Lidford law. See 
gate. [Prov. Eng.] 
lidless (lid'les), a. [< lid + -Jess.] Having no 
lid; especially, having no eyelids ; hence, poeti- 
cally, incapable of closing the eyes ; sleepless ; 
perpetually vigilant. 
Dost imagine 
We will but laugh into thy lidless eyes? 
Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, i. 1. 
An eye like mine, 
A lidless watcher of the public weal. 
Tennyson, Princess, iv. 
lie 1 (li), v. i.', pret. lay, pp. lain, ppr. lying. 
[Early mod. E. also lye; < ME. lien, lyen, ligeii, 
lyaen, also liggen, lyggen (> E. dial, lig) (pret. 
lay, lai, ley, pi. layen, leyen, laye, leye, pp. 
layn, leyn, leyen,_ yleye, etc.), < AS. licgan 
(pret. l<eg, pi. latgon, pp. legen) = OS. lig- 
gian = OFries. liga, lidzia = D. liggen = 
MLG. liggen = OHG. ligan, liggan, lickan, MHG. 
ligen, lichen, G. liegen = Icel. liggia = Sw. ligga 
= Dan. ligge = Goth, ligan, lie, = OBulg. lezha- 
ti, lie, leshti, lay oneself down, = Euss. lejati, 
lie (etc., the word having a wide development 
in the Slavic tongues), = L. leg, legh, in deriv. 
lectus, a bed (> E. lectual, etc.), lectica, a litter 
(> E. litter), = Gr. root Ac^ in an old defective 
verb *'ttxem (aor. act. Ifega, /Ufa, fut. mid. 
tel-oiuu, aor. mid. efalia/iqv, /.efo/fl?v, aor. pass. 
IfanTo, MKTO, inf. f^xftai, etc.), act. lay down 
(to sleep), pass, lie down, and in deriv. MX<>, a 
bed, tenrpov, abed (>ult. E. lectern, q. v.), ?-<i^of, 
a lying in wait, ambush, a lurking-place, lair, 
etc. ; not found in Skt. From the E. verb lie are 
derived many forms, some of them no longer felt 
to be connected with lie: namely, from AS., 
lay 1 , allay 1 , belay, lair 1 , law 1 , layer, ledge 1 , ledge^, 
lidge, ledger 1 , lidger, lidget, etc.; from D. G. or 
Scand., leaguer^, beleaguer, lager, log 1 , log 2 , low 2 , 
etc.; from the L. and Gr. are lectual, litter, lectern, 
etc.] 1. To rest in a recumbent or prostrate 
position; remain or be held flatwise, length- 
wise, or inclined on a supporting surface ; re- 
cline or be prone or supine on something. 
And some wolde munche hire mete al allone, 
Lygffynye abedde. Chaucer, Troilus, i. 908. 
In that Kyngdom lithe the body of seynt Thomas the 
Apostle, in Flesche and Bon, in a faire Tombe. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 171. 
When the kynge Rion felt hym so sore wounded, and 
saugh his felowes ly at ertho deed bledynge, he hadde 
grete drede. Merlin (E. E. T. .S.), ii. 346. 
If I do not gull him ... do not think I have wit enough 
to lie straight in my bed. Shak., T. N., ii. 3. 148. 
When the angel hath troubled the water, and made it 
medicinal for him that is first put in and no more, then to 
have lien many years in expectation, and still to lack a 
servant, or a friend to do that office, this is a misery. 
Donne, Sermons, v. 
In strong convulsions panting on the sands 
He lies, and grasps the dust with dying hands. 
Pope, Iliad, xvii. 367. 
2. To be in a quiescent state ; be or become 
quiet or inactive ; remain passive or expectant. 
Well it shewed by theire armes that thei hadde not al- 
wey leyen at reste. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 356. 
Tho' the Wind lye, yet after a Storm the Sea will work 
a great while. Selden, Table Talk, p. 82. 
3. To lay or place one's self in a recumbent 
or prostrate position ; take a reclining posture: 
often followed by down when entire prostration 
is intended: as, to lie back in a chair; to lie 
down on the ground. 
And he [Eli] answered, I called not, my son ; lie down 
again. 1 Sam. iii. 6. 
His mother lay ower her castle wa', 
And she beheld baith dale and down. 
Leesoine Brand (Child's Ballads, II. 345). 
From off the wold I came, and lay 
Upon the freshly-flower'd slope. 
Tennyson, Miller's Daughter. 
4. To have place, position, or direction; be 
situated, set, or settled; stay or abide: as, the 
Azores lie in the Atlantic ocean ; the army lay 
in a fortified camp. 
The napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the 
linen clothes. John xx. 7. 
And the Turkes mayne londe lithe with in ij or iij myle 
of them. Torkingtan, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 17. 
Those happy climes that lie 
Where day never shuts his eye. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 977. 
The door is open, sir ; there lies your way. 
Shak., T. of the S., iii. 2. 212. 
Even when that good king lay in the Isle of Athelney, 
he had a Ridd along with him. 
R. D. Blackinore, Lorua Doolie, xlviii. 
