hot lick

noun

, Jazz.

1. lick ( def 11 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of hot lick¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

“I had a road to travel and a life to live before I got this far. Mr. Louisiana Hot Lick had the good, raw stuff, like you. But you don’t get any better than Cool Papa, and that takes time.”

From Literature

Clayton hoped to hear funny stories about his grandfather as a kid, or as a young musician during his “Mr. Louisiana Hot Lick” days, or of his days at sea in the navy.

From Literature

What it was, as it happened, was a sonata of loneliness and regret, two elements previously not alloyed in a Redding oeuvre, in which even the self-denoted “sad songs” had the cool breeze or hot lick of uplift and optimism that everything was going to be all right.

From Salon

The atmosphere in the theater was charged, as students paid rapt attention to other bands, cheering after every hot lick, as if they were at a sports event.

From Seattle Times

Down there, music lovers can easily tell whether a hot lick comes from 50 miles east of the river or 50 miles west; whether, in other words, it is East Texas blues, Delta blues or Georgia hill blues.

From Time Magazine Archive