lick and a promise

Meaning: (idiomatic)Aquick, not-very-thoroughwash.2007, Joy Dettman,One Sunday:She'd given her face alick and a promise, drawn her hair back tight and walked in.2010, Nina Ansley,The Plague of Provence, page47:He never felt quite clean with “cat baths”—as Marcel called them, or “alick and a promise,” the way Renaud put it.2014, Margaret Weis, Robert Krammes,The Seventh Sigil:She had not had time for a proper bath in the week since this journey had begun. She had been forced to bathe in the washbasins of the inns along the route, giving herself what her old nursemaid would have called “alick and a promise.”; (by extension,idiomatic)Thehastyorincompleteperformance of atask.1955,Max Shulman, Robert Paul Smith,The Tender Trap: A Comedy‎[1], page14:Now this is not the way to get a house in order. What this place needs is a real thorough old-fashioned cleaning. Alick and a promisewon't do, no, sir!2000,Mary Higgins Clark,While My Pretty One Sleeps‎[2]:The snowplows had made what Myles would call alick-and-a-promiseattempt to partially clear the accumulated snow from West End Avenue.2013, David Jeremiah,God in You: Releasing the Power of the Holy Spirit in Your Life:Well, he knows hes supposed to make his bed before he goes to school, so he gives it alick and a promiseand walks out of the room.2014May 22, “EDITORIAL: India's Modi wins voter mandate for economic growth”, inWashington Times:Rising out of poverty will require not alick and a promisebut deep reform.2014, Timothy Schaffert,The Swan Gondola, page74:Workers scrambled to slap it all together on nothing but alick and a promise—unlike the pristine whiteness of the court, the haphazard shacks ahead clashed in color and stripe, some tall, some short, each roof at an awkward angle to the other.

Examples:

EN: Mmm. Gave yourself a lick and a promise, I'll be bound worthy.
ES: Ponte más presentable y prometo tenerte más crédito.
EN: A lick and a promise won't do.
ES: Una limpieza por encima no basta.
EN: Wouldn't hurt if you was to give them a lick and a promise.
ES: Hará bien sacudiéndolos un poco.
EN: Nothing that a lick and a promise won't take care of if you have a mind to clean her up.
ES: -Puedes buscarte un rincón y acomodarte, si no te importa limpiarlo.
EN: Spick-and-span or just a lick and a promise?
ES: Incluso encontré la cinta que perdí para el pelo.
EN: Look, we gave Wynonna a lick and a promise that we wouldn't take out any townsfolk, but a drugged-up mob is not our only problem.
ES: - Oye. Le hicimos a Wynonna una promesa que no mataríamos a nadie del pueblo, pero una muchedumbre envenenada no es nuestro único problema.
EN: And I wish I could've given this place a quick lick and a promise before they showed up.
ES: Y me gustaría haber podido darle a este lugar una limpiadita antes que llegaran.
ID: Dan aku harap bisa sempat bersih-bersih dan merapikan tempat ini sebelum mereka muncul.
EN: And good lord this martini deserves a lick and a promise.
ES: Y Dios mío, este martini merece una lamida y una promesa.
EN: It's a lick and a promise in vampire years. Maybe, but I'm not yourchild anymore.
ES: Un vínculo como ese te hace creer que solo sois dos en el mundo.
EN: This boat's being held together by a lick and a promise!
ES: ¡Este bote se mantiene unido por una lamida y una promesa!
EN: To preserve my sanity, I'm giving it a bit of a lick and a promise.
HI: थोडे नाल मान मेरा और वाधोदे
EN: Did you wash your hands good? Mmm. Gave yourself a lick and a promise,
ID: Sudah beri kau sedikit dan janji, aku pantas dihormati.
EN: Are you planning to give it a lick and a promise?
ID: Apakah setelah 6 bulan kau akan mengakhiri ini begitu saja ?
EN: So we are saying, join the race, but give it a lick and a promise.
ID: Jadi maksud kami, ikuti kompetisinya, tapi berusaha sedikit saja dan berjanjilah.
EN: A lick and a promise?
ID: Jilatan atau janji?

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