Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - lick one's wounds

 phrasal to recover from defeat or disappointment LICK  I. verb  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English liccian; akin to Old High German leckon to ~, Latin lingere, Greek leichein  Date: before 12th century  transitive verb  1.  a.  (1) to draw the tongue over ~ a stamp  (2) to f~er over like a tongue  b. to take into the mouth with the tongue ; lap  2.  a. to strike repeatedly ; thrash  b. to get the better of ; overcome, defeat has ~ed every problem  intransitive verb  1. to lap with or as if with the tongue  2. to dart like a tongue flames ~ing out of windows  II. noun  Date: 1603  1.  a. an act or instance of ~ing  b. a small amount ; bit couldn't swim a ~  c. a hasty careless effort  2.  a. a sharp hit ; blow  b. a directed effort ; crack — usually used in plural; usually used in the phrase get in one's ~s  3.  a. a natural salt deposit (as a salt spring) that animals ~  b. a block of often medicated saline preparation given to livestock to ~  4. a musical figure; specifically an interpolated and usually improvised figure or flourish  5. a critical thrust ; dig, barb