lickle
The Patois pronunciation and spelling of "little", with the English "t" palatalised into a "k"-like sound — a regular feature of Jamaican Creole phonology that also turns "bottle" into "bokkle" and "matter" into "macka".
Definitions
The Patois pronunciation and spelling of "little", with the English "t" palatalised into a "k"-like sound — a regular feature of Jamaican Creole phonology that also turns "bottle" into "bokkle" and "matter" into "macka". Used in all the standard English senses of "little": small in size, in quantity, in age, or as a softener ("a lickle help, please"). Extremely common in everyday Patois speech and writing, in dancehall and reggae lyrics, and in UK Multicultural London English (MLE), where it travelled with the Windrush generation and entered grime, drill and road rap vocabularies in the 2000s. The spelling is a deliberate marker of Caribbean voice.
gimme a lickle minute, mi soon come
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Other words near "lickle" (L)
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Related terms
Semantically related
- likkle71%
(Caribbean, MTE, MLE, Yorkshire, Lancashire, slang) Little.
- ting66%
Patois pronunciation of "thing", with the initial "th" softened to "t" as is standard in Jamaican English. Used in all the ordinary English senses — an object, a matter, a situation ("dat a different ting") — but also carries a distinctly Caribbean and Multicultural London English meaning: a romantic interest, a girl one is seeing or attracted to ("she my ting"). The word travelled from Patois into UK road rap and grime in the 2000s and 2010s and is now mainstream slang across the UK, often heard in lines like "peng ting" (an attractive person). Tone and context determine whether the speaker means an object, a situation or a person.
- dutty61%
Patois spelling of "dirty", reflecting the typical Caribbean pronunciation where the "r" softens and the final consonant is voiced. Used literally to mean unclean or filthy, but more often as slang for "raw", "hard", "intense" or "impressively grimy" in the same way English speakers might say a beat is "filthy". Common in dancehall and UK garage/grime, where a "dutty bassline" is a heavy, distorted, irresistible one. The word also names a whole family of dances and phrases: "dutty wine" (a popular 2000s dance involving rapid neck and hip rotation, named in Tony Matterhorn's 2006 hit), "dutty whine", "dutty dancing". Tone determines whether the speaker is paying a compliment, describing literal dirt or, sometimes, calling someone disreputable.
- a little58%
(UK, meiosis) A lot.
- lick out58%
Slang term for cunnilingus — performed oral sex on a woman. The term is direct and informal, used in the same register as similar British and Caribbean English sexual vocabulary. It is common in British and Caribbean English and appears in music and casual conversation.