lickety-split
802
down the hill at quite a lick (=fast) 4 a lick and a prom-
ise a) BrE old-fash infml a quick careless wash or clean b) AmE
(of a job or duty) an incomplete or hurried performance,
usually with the intention of doing it better later: I gave the
piano a lick and a promise this morning but I'm really going
to practise this weekend. → see also SALTLICK
lick·e·ty-split /ˌlɪkəti ˈsplɪt/ adv AmE very fast; at high
speed: He was running lickety-split down the road.
lick·ing /ˈlɪkɪŋ/ n old-fash infml 1 a severe beating 2 a defeat:
The other team gave us quite a licking.
lic·o·rice /ˈlɪkərɪs, -rɪʃ/ n [U] LIQUORICE
lid /lɪd/ n 1 a cover for the open top of a pot, box, or other
container that can be lifted up or removed 2 an EYE-
LID 3 put the (tin) lid on infml to ruin or put an end to (an
activity, a person's hopes etc), especially by being the last in
a set of misfortunes 4 take the lid off to make known the
unpleasant truth about (something); EXPOSE: a film that takes
the lid off the world of organized crime
li·do /ˈliːdəʊ, ˈlaɪ-||liːdəʊ/ n pl. ·dos especially BrE an outdoor
public swimming bath, a special part of a BEACH or the edge
of a lake used for swimming and lying in the sun, with
changing rooms and places to get food and drink. Many
lidos were built in Britain in the 1930s, but now people
prefer heated pools indoors.
lie¹ /laɪ/ v lay /leɪ/, lain /leɪn/, present participle lying /ˈlaɪ-ɪŋ/
1 [+adj/adv/prep] to be or remain in a flat position on
a surface: They just lie on the beach all day. | Don't move: just lie
still. | There was a book lying on the table. | He lay on the floor
reading a book. | Father is lying down (=resting on a bed) for
a while. 2 [+adv/prep, especially DOWN] to put one's body into
such a position: The doctor told me to go and lie (down) on the
bed. 3 [+adv/prep; L+adj] to be, remain, or be kept in the
stated condition: The criminals were lying in wait for (=hid-
ing in order to attack) their victim. | The village lay in ruins
after the war. | The machinery was lying idle (=not being
used) because of the strike. | Where do your best interests lie? |
The final decision lies with the minister. (=the minister must
make the final decision.) | We're trying to establish where the
responsibility lies. (=find out who is responsible) 4 [+adv/
prep] to be in the stated place, position, or direction: The
town lies about two miles to the east of us. | Liverpool are lying
third (=are in third position) in the football championship. |
(fig.) The truth lies somewhere between these two statements. |
(fig.) The future lies before us. 5 [+adv/prep] old use to stay, e.g.
with friends or at a hotel 6 lie heavy/heavily on to have an
uncomfortable effect on: guilt lying heavy on one's con-
science 7 lie in state (of the dead body of an important
person) to be placed in a public place so that people may
honour it 8 lie low to hide so as to avoid being discovered
→ see also LAY² (USAGE)
lie about/around phr v [I] derog to spend one's time lazily,
doing nothing → see also LAYABOUT
lie behind sthg. phr v [T no pass.] to be the (hidden) reason
or explanation for: What lies behind her reluctance to speak?
lie down phr v [I] 1 lie down on the job to do work that is
not good enough in quantity or quality 2 take something
lying down to suffer something bad without complaining or
trying to stop it: You mustn't take his rudeness lying down. →
see also LIE¹, LIE-DOWN
lie in phr v [I] especially BrE to stay in bed late in the morning
→ see also LIE-IN, LYING-IN
lie off (sthg.) phr v [I; T no pass.] tech (of a ship) to keep a short
way from (the shore or another ship): The fleet lay off (the
coast).
lie to phr v [I] tech (of a ship) to be still or almost still while
facing the wind → compare LAY TO
lie up phr v [I] 1 to stay in bed, especially for a long
period 2 especially BrE to stay in hiding or avoid being noticed
lie with sbdy. phr v [T] old use or bibl to have sex with
lie² n [C usually sing.] 1 the way or position in which something
lies, especially, in GOLF the position in which the ball lies on
the grass: I had a terrible lie, amongst some long grass. 2 the
lie of the land BrE || the lay of the land AmE — a) the
appearance, slope etc of an area of land b) the state of
affairs at a particular time
lie³ v lied; present participle lying 1 [I] to make an untrue
statement in order to deceive; tell a lie: He said he'd never
been there, but he was lying. | She lied (to them) about her age
in order to get the job. 2 [T+obj+adv/prep] to put into a particu-
lar condition by telling lies: He lied himself out of trou-
ble. 3 [I] to have a misleading appearance: Figures can lie
when statistics are misused. 4 lie in/through one's teeth infml
to tell a bad lie shamelessly → see also LIAR, lies, damned
lies and statistics (STATISTICS)
lie⁴ n 1 an untrue statement purposely made to deceive: to
tell lies | a barefaced lie | an outright lie | She said she loved
me, but it was all lies/all a lie. (=it was untrue) | Their
explanation sounded convincing, but it was just a pack of
lies/a tissue of lies (=it was completely untrue) 2 Father, I
cannot tell a lie a phrase which is believed to have been used
by George Washington when admitting to his father that he
had cut down a CHERRY tree → see also George WASHING-
TON 3 BrE give the lie to to show that (something) is untrue:
These figures give the lie to the government's claims! → see
also WHITE LIE
Lieb·frau·milch /ˈliːbfraʊmɪlʃ, ˈliːp-, -mɪlk/ n [C; U] a
popular white wine from Germany. It is rather sweet, and is
often drunk in the UK by people who do not normally drink
much wine.
Liech·ten·stein /ˈlɪktənstaɪn/ a very small country
between Austria and Switzerland. Many foreign companies
have their main offices there because taxes are low and the
banks keep information about companies secret. Population:
33,145 (2003). Capital: Vaduz. —Liechtensteiner n
lie·der /ˈliːdər/ n [U;P] German songs for one voice and
piano, especially 19th-century settings of poems to music
'lie de,tector also polygraph tech — n an instrument, used
especially by the police, that is supposed to show when a
person is telling lies: Some civil servants were forced to take
lie detector tests.
'lie-down n BrE infml a short rest, usually on a bed: I'm just
going upstairs for a lie-down. → see also LIE¹
liege /liːdʒ/ n old use 1 also ,liege 'lord a lord or ruler to whom
others must give loyalty and service 2 also 'liege man a man,
or servant who must give loyalty and service to his lord
'lie-in n [usually sing.] infml, especially BrE a stay in bed later than
usual in the morning → see also LIE IN
lien /lɪən/ n [(on)] law the legal right to keep possession of
something belonging to someone who owes money, until
the debt has been paid: The court granted me a lien on my
debtor's property.
lieu /ljuː, luː||luː/ n in lieu (of) instead (of): The company
offered us time off in lieu (of extra payment).
Lieut written abbrev. for LIEUTENANT
lieu·ten·ant /lefˈtenənt||luːˈten-/ n written abbrev. Lt. or
Lieut 1 an officer of low rank → see TABLE 3 2 [in comb.]
an officer or official with the rank next below the one
stated: a lieutenant colonel | the Lieutenant Governor of the
State of New York 3 a person who acts for, or in place of,
someone in a higher position; DEPUTY → see also FLIGHT
LIEUTENANT
life /laɪf/ n pl. lives /laɪvz/ 1 [U] the active force in animals
and plants that makes them different from all other forms of
matter, such as stones or machines or dead bodies: The plant
may recover; it's very dry and withered, but there's still life in
it. | a life-sciences course at university (=studying BIOLOGY,
ZOOLOGY etc) | Life began on Earth millions of years
ago. 2 [U] matter in which this force is present and which
can grow, produce new forms etc: There is no life on the
moon. | There is little plant life in the desert. 3 [C;U] the state
or condition of being alive: Once someone has died, they
cannot be brought back to life. | Hurry, doctor! It's a matter
of life and death. | Hundreds of lives were lost/Hundreds of
people lost their lives (=died) in the floods. | Run for your
lives! (=Run away fast!) He's got a gun! → compare
DEATH 4 [U] (the typical qualities of) human existence: Life
isn't all fun. | Life is full of surprises. | The story is very true
to life. (=represents life as it really is) → see also FACTS OF
LIFE 5 [C;U] the period between birth and death, between
birth and the present time, or between the present time and
death: to devote one's life to science | She's had a hard life. | I
have lived all my life in England, but I'm going to spend the
rest of my life abroad. | Since an early age he'd led a life of
crime. (=been a criminal) | She got married quite late in
life. 6 [C] the period for which a machine, organization etc