lick into shape
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
to train or discipline someone into an acceptable state
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
đào tạo hoặc kỷ luật ai đó vào một trạng thái chấp nhận được
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: to lick something into shape
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The coach will lick the new team into shape by the end of the season
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “lick into shape” mean?
to train or discipline someone into an acceptable state Literally: to lick something into shape
Is “lick into shape” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.