Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Ireland) an act of sycophancy.

c.1662

‘On the Act of Settlement’ in Carpenter Verse in English from Tudor & Stuart Eng. (2003) 360: And if the English dogges beginn to barke, / Weel stop theyr mouthes and arselickes without Corke.

2. (orig. US) a toady, a sycophant, a groveller.

1977		J. Olsen Secret of Fire Five 146: He’s Steicher’s biggest ass-lick, but not a bad guy when you can get him alone.
1998		I. Welsh Filth 268: Arselick Lennox in Toalie’s office.
2001		Fade In mag. 🌐 Maybe some ratbag producer will say, ‘Hey, that asslick is your agent? I’ll have him send me one of your scripts.’.
2010		L. Berney Gutshot Straight [ebook] ‘Why did you give this ass-lick the job?’.