Horlicks

English

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Etymology 1

A mug of Horlicks

The name of the drink, first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", is derived from the surname of its developers, James (1844–1921) and William Horlick (1846–1936); equivalent to Horlick +‎ -'s (possessive marker). The term later became a euphemism for bollocks (“mess; to make a mess of”).

Alternative forms

• horlicks

Noun

Horlicks (countable and uncountable, plural Horlicks)

1. (chiefly British) A hot bedtime drink made with malted milk.
   • 1990, Barbara Hanrahan, A Chelsea Girl, Ulverscroft Large Print Books, →ISBN:

     When the theatres turned out, people flocked back for their Horlickses and cocoas. Because of the summer visitors, we were open till one o'clock in the morning.

   • 2016 December 6, Jeanette Winterson, Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days, Grove/Atlantic, Inc., →ISBN:

     Kathy, drinking Horlicks and laughing about the impossibility of custard (she could not cook – she could not even stir), and obsessive about everything, found out for me that Dylan Thomas had invented a fantasy […]

   • 2021 March 10, Helen Jones, I Am a Real Person, AuthorHouse, →ISBN:

     It did seem very odd though, drinking Horlicks in the middle of the day. From then on, first thing in the morning, after all meals, and last thing at night, Ruth made me a big mug of Horlicks. Every day, Horlicks. All day, Horlicks.

2. (chiefly UK, slang, euphemistic) Bollocks, a mess or balls-up.

   Synonyms: hash, mess-up, muddle

   • 2021 March 1, Carol Midgley, “McDonald & Dodds review – cheerful escapism and filth-free distraction”, in The Times‎^[1]:

     McDonald & Dodds is back, with episode one so deliberately hammy and meta that, technically, it should have been a complete horlicks. In one scene, when they were all hanging on to the balloon ropes, Mr Bean-like, to stop Jason Watkins flying away, it sort of was.

3. (chiefly UK, slang, euphemistic) Bollocks, nonsense, false statements.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nonsense

   • 2018 October 8, Hannah Devlin, “Sleep: how much do we really need?”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     As sleep patterns come unstuck and more and more people complain of not getting enough shuteye, so businesses have spotted an opportunity. […] And beware any consumer product which claims it will transform your slumber: it’s probably a load of Horlicks.

   • 2022 December 23, Archie Bland, “Friday briefing: The Crown discourse, Elon Musk tweets and 15 more things to leave behind in 2022”, in The Guardian‎^[3]:

     “I don’t condone any abuses of human rights anywhere. But if we’re not condoning human rights abuses anywhere, I wouldn’t even be able to perform in my kitchen.” Which is total Horlicks, clearly, but did at least bless us with this cheering reply: “Robbie, what are you doing in your kitchen?”

Verb

Horlicks (third-person singular simple present Horlickses, present participle Horlicksing, simple past and past participle Horlicksed)

1. (chiefly UK, slang, euphemistic) To make a mess of (something); to bollocks.
   • 1993 September 25, Stuart Wolfendale, “Column Eight”, in South China Morning Post‎^[4]:

     I have seen a priest massacred in charge of a Mass, experienced schoolmasters carbonated in charge of a class and felt hairdressers Horlicksed in charge of hair clippers. / On a more lasting level, it is possible for surprisingly long periods of time to be drunk in charge of a relationship.

   • 2001 June 28, Senan Molony, “Inquiry a training ground for linguistic acrobatics”, in Irish Independent‎^[5]:

     Mr O'Brien has admitted that he was tempted to pay £100,000 to Mr Lowry, out of his own personal generosity, because he had heard pub talk that Mr Lowry's Streamline Enterprises was "Horlicksed"[—]that's a word the Irish Independent has to use as an "intermediary" because the real word is too rude.

   • 2009 April 15, alland...@live.co.uk, “SKY News - Dead Man Walking”, in uk.media.tv.misc‎^[6] (Usenet):

     One does wonder how the history books will treat Gordon if, as it now looks, he won't even still be PM by the time the next election comes along. / Indeed, if he hadn’t horlicksed the economy with nuclear abandon would they have even mentioned him at all?

   • 2009 August 23, Ben Dirs, “Strauss's England worthy winners”, in BBC Sport‎^[7], archived from the original on 2021-01-09:

     Not the groundsman's fault Australia horlicksed it all up in the space of a couple of hours on Friday.

   • 2022 March 14, Sam Philip, “Citroen C4 PureTech 130 – long-term review”, in Top Gear‎^[8]:

     Assuming the Citroen engineers haven’t really Horlicksed things up, which I suspect they haven’t, electric should be the neatest of fits for the comfy, untaxing C4.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Horlicks.

Etymology 2

Variant of Horlick.

Proper noun

Horlicks (plural Horlickses)

1. A surname.
   • 2012 April 11, Tricia Bennett, Polly Brown: A Modern-Day Oliver With a Twist, Charisma Media, →ISBN:

     “But how can this be, for Mr. Horlicks suffered from such a painful back condition that he could hardly walk?” she informed Hodgekiss. “Not anymore!” said Hodgekiss with a twinkle in his eye.

   • 2017 March 21, Barbara Trapido, Frankie & Stankie, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, →ISBN:

     ... causing Mr Horlicks to think, in several worried thought bubbles, that She's not the girl I married. She then goes on to take tea in a café with a wise woman friend. Both Mrs Horlicks and her wise friend are always depicted […]

   • 2018 January 9, David Plante, American Stranger: A Novel, Open Road Media, →ISBN:

     And this will go on and on in that way until they are invited to Buckingham Palace to dine with the queen, who they are absolutely sure is the center, and will drop this bit of information when they meet the Horlickses at a reception, […]

   • 2021 September 9, Chips Channon, Henry ‘Chips’ Channon: The Diaries (Volume 2): 1938-43, Random House, →ISBN:

     The Crown Prince went to the Horlickses. I have hardly seen him and am quietly, tactfully freezing him off. Sent off long letter to the Regent, my child, and to Peter. I feel somehow that the New Year will benefit me and bring […]

Etymology 3

Proper noun

Horlicks

1. plural of Horlick