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A lick and a promise

What's the meaning of the phrase 'A lick and a promise'?

A cursory effort, for instance at painting or tidying up. It alludes to the perfunctory washing performed by children.

What's the origin of the phrase 'A lick and a promise'?

This is colloquial English and the first record of it in print that I can find is in the English newspaper The Era, March 1848:

…polish here, brush there, slop at one place, give a lick and a promise at another…

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Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.
A lick and a promise

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