lick one's wounds en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat; to recuperate.
If the ball was out of play, someone in blue would dash to get it back. This was not a side licking its wounds from the humbling of Anfield or Saturday’s ordeal against Manchester United. It was the best team in England with adrenaline running through their veins, playing as if they believed anything was achievable.
2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian (London):Prevented by internal and external influences, this ideal of placing the sovereignty in the hands of the people was not carried out immediately after the establishment of the Republic of China. With the changes of time, particularly with the relocation of the ROC government to Taiwan, we have gradually carried it out at last, but only after having licked our wounds and built our strength for forty years.
1996 May, Lee Teng-hui, “Political Reforms”, in Peace Through Democratic Reforms, Taipei: Wen Ying Tang Press Inc., →ISBN, →OCLC, page 11:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| licks one's wounds | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| licked one's wounds | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| licked one's wounds | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| licking one's wounds | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Translations (16)
it leccarsi le ferite (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · bg ближа си раните (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · da slikke sine sår (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · es lamerse las heridas (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · hu nyalogatja a sebeit (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · ru зали́зывать ра́ны (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · nl zijn wonden likken (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · uk зали́зувати ра́ни (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · uk зализа́ти ра́ни (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · fi nuolla haavansa (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · fr panser ses plaies (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · fr panser ses blessures (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · cmn 舔舐伤口 (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · pl wylizać rany (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · pl lizać rany (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat) · ru зализа́ть ра́ны (withdraw temporarily while recovering from a defeat)