3 Things You Should Always Lick

After seeing an Associated Content headline: 10 Things You Should Never Lick by Kelly Spries, an article on things you should always lick seemed appropriate. Here are 3 things you should always lick:

Problems
My mother often said, "Problems are put before us to solve them". Problems are like puzzles to be solved. Do not let your problems lick you, lick them.

Addictions
When it comes to addictions the old adage is true: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Licking your addictions takes a bit of effort, but better you lick your addictions than letting your addictions lick you. Licking addictions is known to prevent homelessness and could save your job, your marriage and your life.

Bad Habits
The same advice for addictions applies to bad habits. The difference is bad habits are easier to lick. Promise yourself that you will lick them. This quote from an unknown author applies: "Habits are like a chain, you weave a link everyday and soon they can not be broken."

There is another thing you should endeavor to lick and that is your opponent. I did not include "your opponent" on the list of 3 things you should always lick, because sometimes it is better to let your opponent lick you, strange as that may seem. You can always lick your wounds after your opponent licked you. The one thing you never want to lick is your children. Beating children teaches them that hitting others to get what you want (parents want obedience) is the right thing to do. It is not.

Did you ever wonder how the word for the act of using your tongue could mean the same thing as overcoming or besting someone? Me neither, until I read Ms. Spries article. According to Online Etymology Dictionary, the American word lick came from the Old English word liccian. Liccian in turn came from Proto-Germanic likkon from Pro-Indo-European imitative base leigh, whatever that means. Leigh compares to Sanskrit ledhi or Armenian lizum. These words go back to the Greek leikhein and Latin Lingere. Old Irish gives us ligim and the Welsh word llwy, which meant spoon. I also learned, but do not expect to remember, that the French equivalent of lick is lecher which is a borrowed German word. Got that?

Using the word lick to mean defeat is traced back to 1535 and believed to have come from the Coverdale bible Num.xxiii: 4: "Now shal this heape licke up all that is about vs, euen as an oxe licketh vp the grasse in the field." First recorded use with the meaning of a blow or stroke was in 1678 which may also have come from that bible quote. In 1460 "lick the whip" was to "taste punishment". There is more and that etymology is for use of the word lick as a verb.

As a noun lick appears to have come from 1814 Scottish meaning small portion. If you are familiar with hunting you know what a "salt lick" is and that usage dates back to 1847 meaning a place where an animal goes to lick salt. Lickety-cut, lickety-click or licketie popular in 1817 became lickety-split in 1859 American English. Associating licks with Jazz began in the 1920s. If you want to lick the origins of the word lick visit Etymology dot com for more details. In the meantime remember the 3 things you should always lick are problems, addictions and bad habits. I am suddenly in the mood for a Thrifty pistachio ice cream cone which is the best of all things to lick.

Author Note: Associated Content editor rejected this article because: "AC is building a unique library of online content, and this submission doesn't differ enough in topic or breadth from existing content." Oh, well, I tried.