Where did this term come from?
It seems that it’s the remaining 19th century colloquilism from a rash of such phrases, as lickety-click, lickety-quick etc
Or for a more detailed discussion.
Thanks DeVena
Of course now I feel like an idiot, since I could probably have googled the result.
Yes, you probably could have, **but then what would we do in this forum?
A couple of weeks ago a waiter said to my wife and I:
"Your salad will be out, before you can say “lickety split”
Then he grinned and added:
“If you say it verrrrry slowly.”
DeVena 's site(wordwizard) has the basics correct. But I’m not sure that I’d rely on that site for all my answers.
If you notice, the basic format is that a question is posted, and people answer the question. That’s all well and good if the posters know what they’re talking about.
The second poster, Susumu Enomoto , correctly answered the question, giving pretty good cites along the way. Problem is, he/she started out the answer by saying …
.
Hendrickson wrote many a book and article about word origins. Many of his entries are WRONG! You simply cannot trust his attributions. One of the sloppier writers out there on etymology.
On the subject of “lickety split,” he got it right.