take a licking and keep on ticking
take a licking and keep on ticking verb: to be tough; to have endurance; to have the capacity to absorb stress or damage, but still be able to function.
Verb
take a licking and keep on ticking (third-person singular simple present takes a licking and keeps on ticking, present participle taking a licking and keeping on ticking, simple past took a licking and kept on ticking, past participle taken a licking and kept on ticking)
- To be tough; to have endurance; to have the capacity to absorb stress or damage, but still be able to function.
- How am I supposed to knock these other guys off. My wild card is nothing but defensive. I take a licking and keep on ticking. Big whoop.2008, George R. R. Martin et al., Inside Straight, page 124
- Insurance allows your business to take a licking and keep on ticking.2006, Anthony Mancuso, LLC Or Corporation?: How to Choose the Right Form for Your Business, page 47
take a licking and keep on ticking meaning in Bengali
take a licking and keep on ticking in Bengali
- অত্যন্ত শক্তিশালী, সহনশীল হওয়া
Forms of take a licking and keep on ticking
| third-person singular present | takes a licking and keeps on ticking |
|---|---|
| present participle | taking a licking and keeping on ticking |
| past | took a licking and kept on ticking |
| past participle | taken a licking and kept on ticking |
Origin of take a licking and keep on ticking
Derived from the advertising slogan for Timex wrist-watches.
Questions about take a licking and keep on ticking
- What does take a licking and keep on ticking mean?
- Take a licking and keep on ticking means to be tough; to have endurance; to have the capacity to absorb stress or damage, but still be able to function.
- What is take a licking and keep on ticking in Bengali?
- Take a licking and keep on ticking in Bengali is অত্যন্ত শক্তিশালী, সহনশীল হওয়া. See Take a licking and keep on ticking meaning in Bengali.
- What part of speech is take a licking and keep on ticking?
- Take a licking and keep on ticking is a verb.
- What is the past tense of take a licking and keep on ticking?
- The past tense of take a licking and keep on ticking is took a licking and kept on ticking.
Words near take a licking and keep on ticking in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: take a licking and keep on ticking (page history and authors); take a licking and keep on ticking (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-take a licking and keep on ticking.ogg.
Cite this entry: “take a licking and keep on ticking.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/take_a_licking_and_keep_on_ticking. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.