See Also: tickle(1)(dictionary)
tickle(2)(dictionary)
tickle(3)(dictionary)
tickle(4)(dictionary)
Tickle - Poker(gambling)
tickle-tail(dictionary)
tickle 1, verb(dictionary)
tickle 2, noun(dictionary)

tickle(4) (iou)



tickle verb. ME.
[Origin uncertain: perh. frequentative of TICK verb1 or a metath. alt. of KITTLE verb1. Cf. TITTLE verb2.]
I. verb intrans.
Be pleasantly stirred, excited, or thrilled. ME-M17.
Henry More This pretty sport doth make my heart to tickle With laughter.
Give a sensation as of being tickled, tingle, itch; fig. have a restless or urgent desire (to do something). LME.
Oxford English Dictionary My foot tickles.
II. verb trans.
Excite agreeably, gratify, delight, (a person, sense of humour, appetite, etc.); amuse, divert. LME.
N. Hawthorne Something..that thrilled and tickled my heart with a feeling partly sensuous and partly spiritual. H. Belloc We are tickled by his irreverence..we laugh. J. Fane Quaint old names tickled our fancy.
Lightly touch or stroke (a person or part of the body) so as to excite the nerves and (usually) cause laughter, spasmodic movement, irritation, or annoyance. LME.
Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream If my hair do but tickle me I must scratch. A. S. Neill Tickling the ribs will often start a bout of happy laughter. fig.: M. Frayn The cold air tickled her smoke-raw throat, and she suffered a..fit of coughing.
b. Catch (a trout or other fish) by light rubbing which causes the fish to move backwards into the hand. E17.
a. Arouse (as) by tickling; incite, provoke, prompt, (to do something). M-L16.
b. Excite, affect; vex. M16-L17.
a. Foll. by up: stir up, arouse by tickling, excite to action. M16.
b. Get or move (a thing) into or out of some place, state, etc., as by tickling. L17.
Touch or play (an instrument's strings, keys, etc.), esp. with light touches. colloq. L16.
b. Beat, punish. colloq. L16.
C. K. Sharpe These little rogues..should be well tickled with the birch.
c. Foll. by up: improve or decorate with light touches. M19.
d. Rob, burgle. Esp. in tickle the peter, rob the till or cash box. Cf. TICKLE noun2 2. Criminals' slang (chiefly Austral. & NZ). M20.
e. Cricket. Of a batsman: glance (a ball or bowler). Cf. GLANCE verb 8b. M20.
Sunday Times Brearley tickled Doshi away behind the wicket for three.
Puzzle, perplex. Scot. M19.
Improve the action of (a carburettor, esp. in a motorcycle) by depressing the float lightly to allow some petrol to pass in, esp. to allow a cold start. E20.
Phrases: tickle in the palm colloq. bribe. tickle pink colloq. amuse greatly, delight. tickle the ivories: see IVORY noun. tickle the midriff: see MIDRIFF 1. tickle the peter: see sense 7d above.
Comb.: tickle-brain (a supplier of) strong drink; tickle-grass any of several N. American grasses, esp. the rough bent, Agrostis scabra.