lickety-split[lIkIdi”splIt] mod. very fast.
They ran across the field lickety-split.
We were there lickety-split in my new car.
lick something into shape and whip
something into shapetv. to put some-
thing into good condition, possibly with
considerable effort. I’ve got about two
days more to lick this place into shape so I
can sell it. I want to whip this house into
shape for Saturday night.
licorice stick[“lIkrIS stIk] n. a clarinet.
(Jazz musicians.) Man, can he play the
licorice stick. Frank makes the old
licorice stick talk.
lid 1. n. an eyelid. Her lids began to close,
and the professor raised his voice to a roar.
Pop your lids open! It’s morning! 2. n.
one half to one ounce of marijuana.
(Drugs. An amount that will fill a Prince
Albert tobacco can lid. Often plural.)
How much a lid? It looks like a match-
box to me. Why do they call it a lid? 3. n.
a hat. Where did you get that silly lid?
lid poppersGo to lid proppers.
lid proppers and lid poppersn. amphet-
amine tablets or capsules. (Drugs. Refers
to the eyelids.) Kelly has to have a cou-
ple of lid proppers each morning. Are lid
poppers habit-forming?
lie doggo[“laI “dOgo] in. to remain unrec-
ognized (for a long time). (See also
doggo. Old, but standard English.)
This problem has lain doggo since 1967.
If you don’t find the typos now, they will
lie doggo until the next edition.
lifer[“laIf#] n. someone who is attached to
an institution for life, such as a lifetime
soldier or a prisoner serving a life sen-
tence. (Prisons and military.) Me a
lifer? Not in this army! The lifers begin
to accept their fate after a few years.
Most of the lifers are kept in this cell block.
LIFOphr. last in, first out. (Computers. Ac-
ronym. Refers to the order of data put in
and returned from the processor.) I
can’t remember whether the stack is LIFO
or FIFO. This one is LIFO.
lift 1. n. the potency of alcohol in liquor.
This stuff doesn’t have much lift! Now,
this imported stuff has enough lift to raise
the dead. 2. n. a brief spiritual or ego-lift-
ing occurrence. Your kind words have
given me quite a lift. I could use a lift
today. I am glummer than usual. 3. and
lift-upn. drug euphoria; a rush. (Drugs.)
This stuff ’ll give you quite a lift. The
lift-up from the shot jarred her bones. 4.
tv. to steal something. She had lifted
this ring. We found it on her when we ar-
rested her. Some of these really young
kids will lift something just because they
like it. 5. tv. to take something away.
It was his third offense, so they lifted his li-
cense. They lifted the rule about not
having two different jobs. 6. n. a tall heel
on shoes that makes someone seem taller.
(Usually plural.) I feel better in my lifts.
Some people wear lifts just to make them
a little more confident. 7. n. a surgical
face-lift. He had a lift on his vacation,
but his face still looked two sizes too big.
We’ve got three lifts and a nose job in OR
this morning. 8. n. a device—worn under
the hair at the temples—that provides
some of the effects of a surgical face-lift.
Do you think she’s wearing a lift? Lift,
hell, she’s got a damn pair of cranes un-
der that hairdo. 9. n. a ride; transporta-
tion. Can you give me a lift? Would
you like a lift over to your apartment?
liftedmod. drunk; high. He was acting
a little lifted. He only had 12 beers.
lift one’s elbowGo to bend one’s elbow.
lift-upGo to lift.
light 1. mod. alcohol intoxicated. I began
to feel a little light along about the fourth
beer. I feel a little light. You’d better
drive. 2. n. an eye. (Crude. Usually
plural.) You want I should poke your
lights out? Open your lights and watch
for the turn off sign. 3. n. a police car.
A couple of lights turned the corner just
as the robbers were pulling away. We
could see the lights coming down the ex-
pressway behind us, so we pulled over to
the right and let them pass.
light bulbn. a pregnant woman. (Jocular.
Refers to the shape of a pregnant
woman.) Who’s the light bulb on the
sofa? I can’t possibly fit that light bulblickety-split