lick into shape
Make finally presentable
To lick into shape is to bring something or someone to a satisfactory condition through effort and discipline: The new coach licked the team into shape before the season started.
The phrase suggests transformation from a rough or unfinished state to proper form—whipping disorganized recruits into soldiers, or revising a messy draft into polished prose.
- break inUnlawful entry
- honeMake keener or better
- drillHole-boring device
- straighten outCorrect or organize properly
- moldForm-giving container
improve · groom · train · develop · polish · smooth out · tidy up · refine · fine tune · pull together · perfect · streamline · practice · set · bring up to speed · work in progress · medieval folklore · maternal instincts
lick into shaperuin
Complete destruction or collapse
wreck · run into the ground · destroy · let slide · mess up
lick into shapeneglect
Failure to provide care
abandon · give up on · let slide · leave in the lurch · wash one's hands of
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