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lick one's chops

 - 4 dictionary results

chop

3  [chop]
Use lick one's chops in a Sentence
–noun
1. Usually, chops. the jaw.
2. chops,
a. the oral cavity; mouth.
b. Slang. the embouchure or technique necessary to play a wind instrument.
c. Slang. musical ability on any instrument, esp. in playing jazz or rock; technical virtuosity.
d. Slang. the music or musical part played by an instrumentalist, esp. a solo passage.
3. an entranceway, as into a body of water.
4. Horology. either of two pieces clasping the end of the suspension spring of a pendulum.
—Idioms
5. bust one's chops, Slang. to exert oneself.
6. bust someone's chops, Slang. to annoy with nagging or criticism: Stop busting my chops—I'll get the job done.
7. lick one's chops, to await with pleasure; anticipate; relish: He was already licking his chops over the expected inheritance.
Also, chap.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME; perh. special use of chop 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
chop

  1. n.
    a rude remark; a cutting remark. : That was a rotten chop! Take it back!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

chop  (2)
"shift," O.E. ceapian "to bargain," with a sense of "changing back and forth." Choppy, of seas, is attested from 1867.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

lick one's chops

Also, lick one's lips. Anticipate with great pleasure. For example, The kids were licking their chops as Mother described the family vacation plans, or I couldn't help but lick my lips when she talked about the menu. Both expressions allude to anticipating a tasty morsel of food. The second is the older, dating from about 1500 and used interchangeably with lick one's fingers, now seldom heard. The first also served as 1930s jazz slang for warming up, chops meaning "the jaw or mouth" (a usage dating from the 1300s).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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