Dulce Domum mentioned giving the bathrooms 'a lick and a prayer'. I thought, "Gosh, I haven't heard that phrase in years". Mum used to use it in the same context - doing a cleaning job in a way that sufficed but perhaps wasn't as thorough as it might have been.
So, I thought, I'll look up its origins and do a posting about it. But I've had no success. I can't find its origins. Often one cannot find the definitive origin of an old phrase but there are usually suggestions on sites like Wise old sayings. This one seems to have slipped through the net.
Presumably the idea was that one simply gave it a lick and prayed it would do but how did the phrase get popularised? Any ideas anyone?
Quotes
2 years ago
A bit late, but might be useful.
ReplyDeleteHere is an exerpt from the Word Detective site: "The metaphor of a careless maid, however unfair it probably is, harkens back to the original meaning of “a lick and a prayer,” which was “a superficial cleaning,” specifically what the Oxford English Dictionary pegs as “a slight and hasty wash,” the “wash” being the process of washing one’s face and hands. Imagine a child, sent to wash up before supper, who skips the soap and only splashes some water on his hands, yet stoutly asserts that he is squeaky clean.
The “lick” in “lick and a promise” is the standard noun, based on the verb “to lick” in the sense of, as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, “to pass the tongue over (something), e.g., with the object of tasting, moistening the surface, or removing something from it.” The noun “lick” has been used in this sense of “quick and casual cleaning” since the 17th century, quite possibly drawn from the way a cat cleans itself (although cats are known for their hygienic diligence)" (whole entry here: http://www.word-detective.com/2009/03/lick-and-a-promise/)
Thanks "Unknown" - that part "Imagine a child, sent to wash up before supper, who skips the soap and only splashes some water on his hands, yet stoutly asserts that he is squeaky clean." fits in perfectly with the way our family used it.
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