Idiom
hit a lick
Meaning
To earn a large sum of money in a short amount of time, usually illegally.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He hopes to hit a lick and buy a new car today.”
“The young man bragged to his friends that he could hit a lick if he found the right opportunity.”
“Driven by desperation and the promise of quick wealth, he decided to hit a lick despite the obvious risks involved.”
Examples
simple
“He hopes to hit a lick and buy a new car today.”
contextual
“The young man bragged to his friends that he could hit a lick if he found the right opportunity.”
complex
“Driven by desperation and the promise of quick wealth, he decided to hit a lick despite the obvious risks involved.”
Origin
Attested in the late 20th century, the phrase derives from the specific circumstance of robbing a liquor store. The lick in question refers to the proceeds of the crime, the term having migrated from general criminal slang into wider use.
Key words
Related idioms
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