take a licking

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

take a licking (third-person singular simple present takes a licking, present participle taking a licking, simple past took a licking, past participle taken a licking)

1. (slang) To suffer a defeat or a beating.
   • 2006, Oh, nooo!:

     Oh no, it says here that Granny's alphabet soup is really taking a licking ... No, it's an expression. Taking a licking means something isn't going well.

Derived terms

• take a licking and keep on ticking