E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Slick Off.
To finish a thing there and then without stopping; to make a clean sweep of a job in hand. Judge Haliburton’s Sam Slick popularised the word. (German, schlicht, sleek, polished, hence clean; Icelandic, slke, sleek.) We say, “To do a thing clean off” as well as “slick off.”
ke, sleek.) We say, “To do a thing clean off” as well as “slick off.”
