Word.ws English Dictionary

taking a licking and keeping on ticking

taking a licking and keeping on ticking is the present participle and gerund of take a licking and keep on ticking.

Meaning of take a licking and keep on ticking

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)

  1. (idiomatic) 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

Questions about taking a licking and keeping on ticking

What is taking a licking and keeping on ticking the present participle and gerund of?
Taking a licking and keeping on ticking is the present participle and gerund of take a licking and keep on ticking.

Words near taking a licking and keeping on ticking in the dictionary

  1. taking a hit
  2. taking a joke
  3. taking a knee
  4. taking a knife to a gunfight
  5. taking a leaf out of someone's book
  6. taking a licking and keeping on ticking
  7. taking a liking to
  8. taking a listen
  9. taking a load off
  10. taking a long walk off a short pier
  11. taking a long walk on a short pier

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taking a licking and keeping on ticking (page history and authors); take a licking and keep on ticking (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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