to lick one's chops
Preserved but no longer current.
To relish in anticipa- tion. Finally, in the slang phrase first chop, meaning excellent, the word is the Hindi chhap, a print or stamp, used in India and China by English residents for an official seal, also for a passport or permit; and a Chinese custom-house is known as a chop-house.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to lick one's chops” mean?
To relish in anticipa- tion. Finally, in the slang phrase first chop, meaning excellent, the word is the Hindi chhap, a print or stamp, used in India and China by English residents for an official seal, also for a passport or permit; and a Chinese custom-house is known as a chop-house.
Is “to lick one's chops” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.