What does “tick” mean in this sentence?
Let me show you what makes life at this resort tick.
It's an introductory video that shows the behind the scenes of a resort. All the definitions I found from dictionary.cambridge.org don't fit in this context. What does "tick" mean in this context?
meaning
asked 5 hours ago
jayjay
44418
add a comment |
Let me show you what makes life at this resort tick.
It's an introductory video that shows the behind the scenes of a resort. All the definitions I found from dictionary.cambridge.org don't fit in this context. What does "tick" mean in this context?
meaning
asked 5 hours ago
jayjay
44418
add a comment |
Let me show you what makes life at this resort tick.
It's an introductory video that shows the behind the scenes of a resort. All the definitions I found from dictionary.cambridge.org don't fit in this context. What does "tick" mean in this context?
meaning
asked 5 hours ago
jayjay
44418
Let me show you what makes life at this resort tick.
It's an introductory video that shows the behind the scenes of a resort. All the definitions I found from dictionary.cambridge.org don't fit in this context. What does "tick" mean in this context?
meaning
meaning
asked 5 hours ago
jayjay
44418
asked 5 hours ago
jayjay
44418
edited 5 hours ago
jay
asked 5 hours ago
jayjay
44418
asked 5 hours ago
jayjay
44418
asked 5 hours ago
jayjay
44418
44418
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
This is an extension of the onomatopoeic meaning of tick, as in the sound a clock makes: tick-tock. What makes someone or something tick is what makes them function, except this is generally even more metaphorical than just the tick being a metaphor. If you "know what makes Jeff tick", then you know how his mind works, how he will act, how to provoke him into doing what you want him to do, how to do things he will appreciate, and so on.
Essentially, it's a set phrase - "what makes ... tick". It refers to a deep and fundamental knowledge about how "..." works.
There are variations that go in different directions, of course. As fred2 noted in their answer, to "really make something tick" can be to make it work better, faster, more effectively. But to find out what "really makes someone/something tick" can be that, or can be a suggestion that a person has put on a false front and you're going to try to see "behind the mask", so to speak.
If something is "ticking over nicely", that's most directly a reference to an engine or other machine ticking over, which means running on idle - not doing anything in particular, but running. It's unclear exactly how we got that expression, whether it also comes from the noise of a clock, but I suspect so. Using that reference means something is functioning and continuing to function without any particular intervention. If it is "just about ticking over" it is barely continuing to function.
answered 4 hours ago
SamBCSamBC
13.2k1749
2
I have a personal theory that it's a metaphor from watches and timepieces-- "What makes a watch tick?" meaning, how does it work, internally, which you can't see? What are the pieces that work together making the ticking sound?
– user151841
2 hours ago
That's the metaphor I was alluding to, yes.
– SamBC
2 hours ago
add a comment |
It is a common idiom, but checking Cambridge Dictionary, I can appreciate why you couldn't find it.
There are various idiomatic phrasal verbs that this usage is related to.
Things are ticking along.
The business is ticking over.
Both arise from the metaphor of an engine idling - 'ticking over', but not doing anything much. It also relates to the ticking of a clock as a metaphor for being 'alive', 'working', 'healthy'.
So
To really make something tick.
Has a a more positive sense of 'vibrant', 'lively'.
So the meaning of your sentence is:
Let me show you what makes life a this resort so lively.
answered 4 hours ago
fred2fred2
3,260722
I'd agree more if the quote in the question had the word really. Hard to tell exactly what sense is meant by the quote without more context, I suppose.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
1
Also, adding some of this interpretation to my answer, will attribute.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
I think you're probably right that the writer intended the sense of what makes it lively. But to my mind it's a bad choice of metaphor, given that we normally only use tick to mean function smoothly and quietly, at some low "standby" level (tick over) OR function as an "integrated whole", with a comprehensible mechanism of interlocking gears (what makes him tick) - where in the second sense the gear cogs metaphorically represent something like "motivations".
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
...he might have been better advised to use metaphoric hum or similar. Perhaps he was getting mixed up with tickety-boo (origin uncertain, but probably not related to tickling clocks).
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "481"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f201519%2fwhat-does-tick-mean-in-this-sentence%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
This is an extension of the onomatopoeic meaning of tick, as in the sound a clock makes: tick-tock. What makes someone or something tick is what makes them function, except this is generally even more metaphorical than just the tick being a metaphor. If you "know what makes Jeff tick", then you know how his mind works, how he will act, how to provoke him into doing what you want him to do, how to do things he will appreciate, and so on.
Essentially, it's a set phrase - "what makes ... tick". It refers to a deep and fundamental knowledge about how "..." works.
There are variations that go in different directions, of course. As fred2 noted in their answer, to "really make something tick" can be to make it work better, faster, more effectively. But to find out what "really makes someone/something tick" can be that, or can be a suggestion that a person has put on a false front and you're going to try to see "behind the mask", so to speak.
If something is "ticking over nicely", that's most directly a reference to an engine or other machine ticking over, which means running on idle - not doing anything in particular, but running. It's unclear exactly how we got that expression, whether it also comes from the noise of a clock, but I suspect so. Using that reference means something is functioning and continuing to function without any particular intervention. If it is "just about ticking over" it is barely continuing to function.
answered 4 hours ago
SamBCSamBC
13.2k1749
2
I have a personal theory that it's a metaphor from watches and timepieces-- "What makes a watch tick?" meaning, how does it work, internally, which you can't see? What are the pieces that work together making the ticking sound?
– user151841
2 hours ago
That's the metaphor I was alluding to, yes.
– SamBC
2 hours ago
add a comment |
This is an extension of the onomatopoeic meaning of tick, as in the sound a clock makes: tick-tock. What makes someone or something tick is what makes them function, except this is generally even more metaphorical than just the tick being a metaphor. If you "know what makes Jeff tick", then you know how his mind works, how he will act, how to provoke him into doing what you want him to do, how to do things he will appreciate, and so on.
Essentially, it's a set phrase - "what makes ... tick". It refers to a deep and fundamental knowledge about how "..." works.
There are variations that go in different directions, of course. As fred2 noted in their answer, to "really make something tick" can be to make it work better, faster, more effectively. But to find out what "really makes someone/something tick" can be that, or can be a suggestion that a person has put on a false front and you're going to try to see "behind the mask", so to speak.
If something is "ticking over nicely", that's most directly a reference to an engine or other machine ticking over, which means running on idle - not doing anything in particular, but running. It's unclear exactly how we got that expression, whether it also comes from the noise of a clock, but I suspect so. Using that reference means something is functioning and continuing to function without any particular intervention. If it is "just about ticking over" it is barely continuing to function.
answered 4 hours ago
SamBCSamBC
13.2k1749
2
I have a personal theory that it's a metaphor from watches and timepieces-- "What makes a watch tick?" meaning, how does it work, internally, which you can't see? What are the pieces that work together making the ticking sound?
– user151841
2 hours ago
That's the metaphor I was alluding to, yes.
– SamBC
2 hours ago
add a comment |
This is an extension of the onomatopoeic meaning of tick, as in the sound a clock makes: tick-tock. What makes someone or something tick is what makes them function, except this is generally even more metaphorical than just the tick being a metaphor. If you "know what makes Jeff tick", then you know how his mind works, how he will act, how to provoke him into doing what you want him to do, how to do things he will appreciate, and so on.
Essentially, it's a set phrase - "what makes ... tick". It refers to a deep and fundamental knowledge about how "..." works.
There are variations that go in different directions, of course. As fred2 noted in their answer, to "really make something tick" can be to make it work better, faster, more effectively. But to find out what "really makes someone/something tick" can be that, or can be a suggestion that a person has put on a false front and you're going to try to see "behind the mask", so to speak.
If something is "ticking over nicely", that's most directly a reference to an engine or other machine ticking over, which means running on idle - not doing anything in particular, but running. It's unclear exactly how we got that expression, whether it also comes from the noise of a clock, but I suspect so. Using that reference means something is functioning and continuing to function without any particular intervention. If it is "just about ticking over" it is barely continuing to function.
answered 4 hours ago
SamBCSamBC
13.2k1749
This is an extension of the onomatopoeic meaning of tick, as in the sound a clock makes: tick-tock. What makes someone or something tick is what makes them function, except this is generally even more metaphorical than just the tick being a metaphor. If you "know what makes Jeff tick", then you know how his mind works, how he will act, how to provoke him into doing what you want him to do, how to do things he will appreciate, and so on.
Essentially, it's a set phrase - "what makes ... tick". It refers to a deep and fundamental knowledge about how "..." works.
There are variations that go in different directions, of course. As fred2 noted in their answer, to "really make something tick" can be to make it work better, faster, more effectively. But to find out what "really makes someone/something tick" can be that, or can be a suggestion that a person has put on a false front and you're going to try to see "behind the mask", so to speak.
If something is "ticking over nicely", that's most directly a reference to an engine or other machine ticking over, which means running on idle - not doing anything in particular, but running. It's unclear exactly how we got that expression, whether it also comes from the noise of a clock, but I suspect so. Using that reference means something is functioning and continuing to function without any particular intervention. If it is "just about ticking over" it is barely continuing to function.
answered 4 hours ago
SamBCSamBC
13.2k1749
edited 4 hours ago
answered 4 hours ago
SamBCSamBC
13.2k1749
answered 4 hours ago
SamBCSamBC
13.2k1749
answered 4 hours ago
SamBCSamBC
13.2k1749
13.2k1749
2
I have a personal theory that it's a metaphor from watches and timepieces-- "What makes a watch tick?" meaning, how does it work, internally, which you can't see? What are the pieces that work together making the ticking sound?
– user151841
2 hours ago
That's the metaphor I was alluding to, yes.
– SamBC
2 hours ago
add a comment |
2
I have a personal theory that it's a metaphor from watches and timepieces-- "What makes a watch tick?" meaning, how does it work, internally, which you can't see? What are the pieces that work together making the ticking sound?
– user151841
2 hours ago
That's the metaphor I was alluding to, yes.
– SamBC
2 hours ago
2
2
I have a personal theory that it's a metaphor from watches and timepieces-- "What makes a watch tick?" meaning, how does it work, internally, which you can't see? What are the pieces that work together making the ticking sound?
– user151841
2 hours ago
I have a personal theory that it's a metaphor from watches and timepieces-- "What makes a watch tick?" meaning, how does it work, internally, which you can't see? What are the pieces that work together making the ticking sound?
– user151841
2 hours ago
That's the metaphor I was alluding to, yes.
– SamBC
2 hours ago
That's the metaphor I was alluding to, yes.
– SamBC
2 hours ago
add a comment |
It is a common idiom, but checking Cambridge Dictionary, I can appreciate why you couldn't find it.
There are various idiomatic phrasal verbs that this usage is related to.
Things are ticking along.
The business is ticking over.
Both arise from the metaphor of an engine idling - 'ticking over', but not doing anything much. It also relates to the ticking of a clock as a metaphor for being 'alive', 'working', 'healthy'.
So
To really make something tick.
Has a a more positive sense of 'vibrant', 'lively'.
So the meaning of your sentence is:
Let me show you what makes life a this resort so lively.
answered 4 hours ago
fred2fred2
3,260722
I'd agree more if the quote in the question had the word really. Hard to tell exactly what sense is meant by the quote without more context, I suppose.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
1
Also, adding some of this interpretation to my answer, will attribute.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
I think you're probably right that the writer intended the sense of what makes it lively. But to my mind it's a bad choice of metaphor, given that we normally only use tick to mean function smoothly and quietly, at some low "standby" level (tick over) OR function as an "integrated whole", with a comprehensible mechanism of interlocking gears (what makes him tick) - where in the second sense the gear cogs metaphorically represent something like "motivations".
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
...he might have been better advised to use metaphoric hum or similar. Perhaps he was getting mixed up with tickety-boo (origin uncertain, but probably not related to tickling clocks).
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
add a comment |
It is a common idiom, but checking Cambridge Dictionary, I can appreciate why you couldn't find it.
There are various idiomatic phrasal verbs that this usage is related to.
Things are ticking along.
The business is ticking over.
Both arise from the metaphor of an engine idling - 'ticking over', but not doing anything much. It also relates to the ticking of a clock as a metaphor for being 'alive', 'working', 'healthy'.
So
To really make something tick.
Has a a more positive sense of 'vibrant', 'lively'.
So the meaning of your sentence is:
Let me show you what makes life a this resort so lively.
answered 4 hours ago
fred2fred2
3,260722
I'd agree more if the quote in the question had the word really. Hard to tell exactly what sense is meant by the quote without more context, I suppose.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
1
Also, adding some of this interpretation to my answer, will attribute.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
I think you're probably right that the writer intended the sense of what makes it lively. But to my mind it's a bad choice of metaphor, given that we normally only use tick to mean function smoothly and quietly, at some low "standby" level (tick over) OR function as an "integrated whole", with a comprehensible mechanism of interlocking gears (what makes him tick) - where in the second sense the gear cogs metaphorically represent something like "motivations".
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
...he might have been better advised to use metaphoric hum or similar. Perhaps he was getting mixed up with tickety-boo (origin uncertain, but probably not related to tickling clocks).
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
add a comment |
It is a common idiom, but checking Cambridge Dictionary, I can appreciate why you couldn't find it.
There are various idiomatic phrasal verbs that this usage is related to.
Things are ticking along.
The business is ticking over.
Both arise from the metaphor of an engine idling - 'ticking over', but not doing anything much. It also relates to the ticking of a clock as a metaphor for being 'alive', 'working', 'healthy'.
So
To really make something tick.
Has a a more positive sense of 'vibrant', 'lively'.
So the meaning of your sentence is:
Let me show you what makes life a this resort so lively.
answered 4 hours ago
fred2fred2
3,260722
It is a common idiom, but checking Cambridge Dictionary, I can appreciate why you couldn't find it.
There are various idiomatic phrasal verbs that this usage is related to.
Things are ticking along.
The business is ticking over.
Both arise from the metaphor of an engine idling - 'ticking over', but not doing anything much. It also relates to the ticking of a clock as a metaphor for being 'alive', 'working', 'healthy'.
So
To really make something tick.
Has a a more positive sense of 'vibrant', 'lively'.
So the meaning of your sentence is:
Let me show you what makes life a this resort so lively.
answered 4 hours ago
fred2fred2
3,260722
answered 4 hours ago
fred2fred2
3,260722
answered 4 hours ago
fred2fred2
3,260722
answered 4 hours ago
fred2fred2
3,260722
3,260722
I'd agree more if the quote in the question had the word really. Hard to tell exactly what sense is meant by the quote without more context, I suppose.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
1
Also, adding some of this interpretation to my answer, will attribute.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
I think you're probably right that the writer intended the sense of what makes it lively. But to my mind it's a bad choice of metaphor, given that we normally only use tick to mean function smoothly and quietly, at some low "standby" level (tick over) OR function as an "integrated whole", with a comprehensible mechanism of interlocking gears (what makes him tick) - where in the second sense the gear cogs metaphorically represent something like "motivations".
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
...he might have been better advised to use metaphoric hum or similar. Perhaps he was getting mixed up with tickety-boo (origin uncertain, but probably not related to tickling clocks).
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
add a comment |
I'd agree more if the quote in the question had the word really. Hard to tell exactly what sense is meant by the quote without more context, I suppose.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
1
Also, adding some of this interpretation to my answer, will attribute.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
I think you're probably right that the writer intended the sense of what makes it lively. But to my mind it's a bad choice of metaphor, given that we normally only use tick to mean function smoothly and quietly, at some low "standby" level (tick over) OR function as an "integrated whole", with a comprehensible mechanism of interlocking gears (what makes him tick) - where in the second sense the gear cogs metaphorically represent something like "motivations".
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
...he might have been better advised to use metaphoric hum or similar. Perhaps he was getting mixed up with tickety-boo (origin uncertain, but probably not related to tickling clocks).
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
I'd agree more if the quote in the question had the word really. Hard to tell exactly what sense is meant by the quote without more context, I suppose.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
I'd agree more if the quote in the question had the word really. Hard to tell exactly what sense is meant by the quote without more context, I suppose.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
1
1
Also, adding some of this interpretation to my answer, will attribute.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
Also, adding some of this interpretation to my answer, will attribute.
– SamBC
4 hours ago
I think you're probably right that the writer intended the sense of what makes it lively. But to my mind it's a bad choice of metaphor, given that we normally only use tick to mean function smoothly and quietly, at some low "standby" level (tick over) OR function as an "integrated whole", with a comprehensible mechanism of interlocking gears (what makes him tick) - where in the second sense the gear cogs metaphorically represent something like "motivations".
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
I think you're probably right that the writer intended the sense of what makes it lively. But to my mind it's a bad choice of metaphor, given that we normally only use tick to mean function smoothly and quietly, at some low "standby" level (tick over) OR function as an "integrated whole", with a comprehensible mechanism of interlocking gears (what makes him tick) - where in the second sense the gear cogs metaphorically represent something like "motivations".
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
...he might have been better advised to use metaphoric hum or similar. Perhaps he was getting mixed up with tickety-boo (origin uncertain, but probably not related to tickling clocks).
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
...he might have been better advised to use metaphoric hum or similar. Perhaps he was getting mixed up with tickety-boo (origin uncertain, but probably not related to tickling clocks).
– FumbleFingers
4 hours ago
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f201519%2fwhat-does-tick-mean-in-this-sentence%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
