Where does the idiom hasn't got a lick of sense come from?

I have a guess -- it seems somewhat self-explanatory to me. I think "a lick" is used to indicate something minor, somewhat quick, leaves a little bit of evidence (some spit that dries quickly). So if something doesn't even have the significance of a lick, as in not having even "a lick of sense" => then it means having no sense at all. Or, another guess -- maybe it refers or relates to the practice some mothers have of licking in their hand, and smearing it into their kids' hair to keep their bangs out of their eyes. Maybe that makes some correlation between the lick and applying it to their brains. - Annette P. That last paragraph sounds very stupid. I think the meaning of the phrase "a lick of something" is pretty self-explanatory. It's just a taste of something; one lick of ice cream is just a little bit of ice cream. The first paragraph makes mostly sense.