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单词 stick
释义

stickn.1

Brit. /stɪk/, U.S. /stɪk/
Forms: early Old English stecca, Old English sticca, Old English (rare)–early Middle English sticce, early Middle English sticcke, early Middle English styccan (plural), Middle English scyke (transmission error), Middle English stek, Middle English steke, Middle English stike, Middle English stikk, Middle English stikke, Middle English–1500s stik, Middle English–1500s styck, Middle English–1500s stycke, Middle English–1500s styk, Middle English–1500s styke, Middle English–1500s stykke, Middle English–1600s sticke, 1500s stykk, 1500s– stick; Scottish pre-1700 stek, pre-1700 stik, pre-1700 stike, pre-1700 stikke, pre-1700 stiks (singular, transmission error), pre-1700 1700s– stick, pre-1700 1800s styk, 1800s steck, 1800s steeck.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with West Frisian stikke stake, rod, pole, Old Saxon stikko quantity of eels (Middle Low German sticke stake, rod, pole, quantity of eels), Old Icelandic stikka , Old Swedish stikka (Swedish sticka ), Old Danish stikkæ (Danish stikke ), all in sense ‘stake, rod, pole’, < the same Germanic base as stick v.1 (with gemination of the consonant).Further Germanic relations. Compare Old Saxon stekko , Middle Dutch stecke , stec (Dutch stek ), Old High German stecko (Middle High German stecke , German Stecken , now only regional (southern) and colloquial), all in sense ‘stake, rod, pole’ < a variant of the same Germanic base, perhaps with a -mutation (compare steek v.2). Compare also the following forms, which apparently reflect parallel forms (without consonant gemination) of the Germanic bases cited above: Old High German stehho (Middle High German steche ), Old Icelandic stik , stika , Swedish regional (eastern) stika , in the same senses. The simplest form of this base is reflected by stitch n.1 and its Germanic cognates. Early borrowings into other languages. Compare ( < Middle English) Anglo-Norman estike , sticke measure of quantity for eels (mid 13th cent. or earlier), stem, stalk (late 13th cent. or earlier), short piece of wood (early 14th cent. or earlier). Compare also post-classical Latin stica , sticha , sticka measure of quantity for eels (frequently from 1086 (Domesday Book) in British sources; apparently < Old English), estika , estikka , in the same sense (from 13th cent. in British sources; < Anglo-Norman). Specific senses. In Old English, as in the later language, the word can denote both an unworked piece of wood from a tree or shrub (compare sense 1a) and a fully shaped implement (compare senses 2, 11a). In individual instances (especially in the context of medical remedies) it is often difficult to determine the degree to which it is implied that a piece of wood has been shaped for its purpose. Use with reference to a quantity of eels (see sense 20) apparently arose because eels were lined up on rods for sale. The source of quot. OE at sense 20 also uses Old English snās (also snǣs ) spit, skewer, attested elsewhere with reference to a quantity of fish and apparently here also denoting a measure of quantity of eels, possibly a smaller quantity than sticca . Compare also Old English gebind , a larger measure of quantity of eels, and later bind n. 5.
I. A long or (relatively) thin piece of wood, esp. when cut or shaped for a particular purpose.
1.
a. A relatively small and thin branch of a tree or shrub, esp. when cut or broken off; a twig.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > [noun] > bough or branch > twig
stickeOE
twigc950
yardc950
sprintlea1250
ricec1275
twistc1374
sarmenta1398
tinea1400
lancec1400
pirnc1450
shred15..
shrubc1530
shrag1552
taunt1567
ramelet1652
hag wood1804
hag1808
fibre1810
twiglet1849
virgultum1866
thorn-twig1895
twigling1907
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. lxviii. 142 Sleah þry scearpan neah fromweardes, læt yrnan þæt blod on grenne sticcan hæslenne.
OE Ælfric De Temporibus Anni (Cambr. Gg.3.28) (2009) x. 92 Nimm ænne sticcan, & gnid to sumum ðince; hit hatað þærrihte of ðam fyre þe him on lutað.
OE Lacnunga (2001) I. xxxi. 20 Do þonne ða tyrwan, ond mæng þonne mid cwicbeamenum sticcan oð heo brun sy.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 135 Ne lat hie nawht ðe hande pleiȝende mid stikke, ne mid strawe—nis þat non god tocne of ripe manne.
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 9174 Heueden fet and armes þer Lay strewed..Vnder stede fet so þicke In crowes nest so doþe [emended in ed. to doþ] þe sticke.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. l. 5054 (MED) He hath his Ape anon beholde, Which hadde gadred al aboute Of stickes hiere and there a route.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 4432 (MED) Þe speres crakeþ also þicke So on hegge sere stykke.
a1450 ( G. Chaucer Bk. Duchess (Tanner 346) (1871) l. 423 So gret treis..of..fourti fifti fedim length Clene with-oute bow or stikke.
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 i. ii. 33 He that breakes a sticke of Glosters groue, Shall for th'offence, make forfeit of his head.
1620 F. Quarles Feast for Wormes sig. K4 Thou, in whose distrustfull brest Despayre hath brought in sticks to build her nest.
1660 J. Childrey Britannia Baconica 108 Near Lutterworth is a Spring so cold, that within a short time it turneth straw and sticks into stones.
1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farming 172 The Bark will be prevented slipping up, as it is very apt to do.., when the Sticks or Cuttings are forced into the Ground of themselves.
1763 W. Lewis Commercium Philosophico-technicum 223 Lacca..is found incrustated on sticks or branches of trees.
1820 J. Keats Fancy in Lamia & Other Poems 124 Rooks, with busy caw, Foraging for sticks and straw.
1862 J. G. Wood Illustr. Nat. Hist. (new ed.) II. 30 Their nest..is most inartistically constructed of sticks.
1937 D. Gunn Links with Past 17 All the boras I know consist of two round patches of ground cleared of grass and sticks.
1988 R. Caron Jojo ix. 111 They gingerly picked their way..to the low mound of sticks and mud, almost overgrown with grass, jewelweed, and shoreline plants—in fact, the beaver's dam.
2014 H. MacDonald H is for Hawk iii. 21 It was..a brief, muffled crash, sticks breaking, wings flapping, men running, and a dead bird placed reverently in a hawking bag.
b. Chiefly in plural. A piece of wood used as fuel for a fire.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > wood as fuel > [noun]
woodc888
trouse978
stickc1175
spray1297
spraya1300
firewood1377
lopc1420
billet1465
buchette1507
bag-wood1525
bavin1573
brushment1591
brushwood1616
burning-wood1642
firebote1661
chump1680
lop-wood1693
brush1699
burn-wood1701
lightwood1705
shravel1732
billet-wood1759
hedge-wood1785
pine knot1791
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [noun] > pruning or lopping > prunings or loppings
shreddingc950
trouse978
stickc1175
rammelc1250
spray1297
brush1330
shriding1340
shridels1399
lopc1420
shraggingc1440
shroud1475
tops1485
polling1557
brutting1577
lopping1589
pruning1658
toppings1668
scorel1671
loppage1683
lop-wood1693
shrouding1725
cropping1768
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8651 & her i gaddre stikkess twa..To ȝarrkenn þatt to fode.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 914 Stickes kan ich breken and kraken, And kindlen ful wel a fyr.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Num. xv. 32 Þei foondyn aman gederynge stikkys in þe haly day.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 807 (MED) Stikkes to a fyre þai gadird fast.
?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) ii. xxi. f. 86v (MED) Þe mo stikkes arn leide to þe fiire, þe gretter is þe fire.
a1500 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (Hunterian) (1976) i. 277 (MED) A man wente in þe Sabat and þe halyday & gaderyd styckys.
1591 (?a1425) Abraham, Lot, & Melchysedeck (Huntington) in R. M. Lumiansky & D. Mill Chester Myst. Cycle (1974) I. 67 (MED) Isaack speakes to his father, taketh the bundell of stickes, and beareth after his father.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler xi[xvi]. 209 Come, Hostis,..lay a few more sticks on the fire. View more context for this quotation
1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. ii. 15 Such large-acred Men..Buy every stick of Wood that lends them heat.
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel II. 117 Seeking..her harmless sticks from hedges hung with rime.
1857 ‘G. Eliot’ Scenes Clerical Life (1858) II. 177 Sally, indeed, having been scolded by master for a too lavish use of sticks in lighting the kitchen fire.
1902 A. Symons Stud. Prose & Verse (1904) 251 Mr. Phillips has laid the paper, the sticks, and the coals neatly in the grate.
1990 J. McGill That Rubens Guy (1991) 199 That bastit McGlashen, rich as Carnegie and..wouldnae give ye a stick to kennle your fire.
2006 Sherbrooke (Quebec) Record (Nexis) 24 Feb. 7 The unpiled sticks of firewood in the basement served as her scratching posts.
†c. A piece of burning wood, esp. one used as a torch or to set something aflame. Frequently in stick of fire: a firebrand. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > material for igniting > [noun] > torch or brand
fire stickc1300
firebrandc1330
fire-blazea1500
firing?c1500
stick of firec1510
lunt1550
tede1562
fire-link1579
fire cane1644
brand1810
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > a fire > [noun] > fire-brand
brandc950
fire stickc1300
firebrandc1330
stick of firec1510
fire-link1579
fire cane1644
c1510 H. Watson tr. Gospelles of Dystaues sig. B.iii Yf a woman leue the tryuet, or the gyrdyron vpon the fyre without lyenge on a stycke [Fr. baston] or a fyre bronde..she shall waxe moche olde and wryncled in the face.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Torris, a stycke of fyre.
1607 T. Dekker & G. Wilkins Iests to make you Merie sig. F1 Your Glimerer, shees vp in the morning betweene 5 or 6 of the clock..& with a black brand in her hand... if she but perceiue a light..she desires to haue leaue to kindle her stick.
1665 W. Byam Exact Relation Execrable Attempts J. Allin 10 He then called to a Centinel to spare him a stick of fire to light his Pipe.
1740 Acts Assembly Montserrat 29 Slaves and Christians..passing through the Fields of Canes where are no common Paths,..with lighted Pipes of Tobacco, or Sticks of Fire in their Hands.
1813 J. M. Good et al. Pantologia at Meleager Atropos declared he should live as long as a firebrand then on the fire remained unconsumed. Althæa..snatched the stick from the fire, and kept it with the most jealous care.
2.
a. A small, thin piece of wood cut and shaped for a specific purpose.chopstick, cocktail stick, tooth-stick, etc.: see the first element.In quot. OE2 in compound teldsticca tent peg; cf. teld n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > made of wood
stickOE
cammockc1450
looder1714
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [noun] > short piece of wood
stickOE
stub1833
OE Prose Charm: Blessing for Crops (Vitell. E.xviii) in N. R. Ker Catal. MSS containing Anglo-Saxon (1957) 300 [Genim twegen] lange sticcan feðerecgede, and writ on ægðerne sticcan..ælcere ecge an pater noster oð ende.
OE Ælfric Old Test. Summary: Judges (Laud) iv. 22 in S. J. Crawford Old Eng. Version of Heptateuch (1922) 405 He geseah þa hwar Sisara læg, & se teldsticca sticode þurh his heafod.
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1625 Me mai upone smale sticke Me sette awude ine þe þicke [printed wicke].
a1350 Recipe Painting in Archæol. Jrnl. (1844) 1 65 (MED) Tac an houndus too[t]h ant vasne in a stikkes ende ant robbe uppon thi lettre.
a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 94 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 302 Clense not thi tethe at mete sittande, Withe knyfe ne stre, styk ne wande.
a1500 in Notes & Queries (1980) Feb. 22 (MED) The sowter..bequethyd to hys sone..Hys tranket and hys turnyng styk.
1591 J. Florio Second Frutes 61 I praie thee giue me a little stick, or a tooth picker.
1602 J. Brereton Briefe Relation Discouerie Virginia 10 They strike fire in this maner; euery one carrieth..a flat Emerie stone..tied fast to the end of a little sticke, [etc.].
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 258 The next Morning pluck out the Bung-stick or Plug.
1800 Repertory Arts & Manuf. 13 89 The whole through which the turning stick passes should be protected from the entrance of air, by a cloth wrapped round the stick.
1898 D. W. Carnegie Spinifex & Sand 333 They use flat carved sticks, some eight inches long, and of a pointed oval shape. Through a hole in one point they thread a string.
1944 E. Glantz Scrap Fun for Everyone cciv. 209 Sharpen one end of the lollypop stick... Stick the pointed end of the lollypop stick into the center of the bar of soap.
1990 S. Sturges Preston Sturges xvi. 88 She used to fascinate me by putting a black powder called kohl all around the rims of her eyes..with a little orangewood stick flattened at one end.
2011 Independent 26 Nov. (Mag.) 59/1 Chicken under-fillets..make great little snacks skewered on to sticks with an olive or two.
†b. A piece of wood used as a tally. Obsolete.Recorded earliest in white stick n. 2. See also nick-stick n.Often merely a contextual use of sense 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical instruments > [noun] > arithmetical instrument > tally or reckoning stick
stick?c1430
tallyc1440
score1565
nick-stick1658
tally-stick1830
?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 233 (MED) Lordis many tymes..taken pore mennus goodis & paien not þerfore but white stickis.
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) iv. xxxviii. 64 The kyng hath nought wherof to paye for his mete, but of white stikkes that no thyng auailen.
c1500 God spede Plough (Lansd.) l. 30 in W. W. Skeat Pierce Ploughman's Crede (1873) 70 And to the kyngis courte we moste it lede, And our payment shalbe a styk of A bough.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlviiv If he [sc. the husbandman] can nat write: let hym nicke the defautes vpon a sticke, and to shewe his bayly.
1664 Marquis of Newcastle in Duchess of Newcastle 211 Sociable Lett. To Author Each Tavern-token, Nick'd Sticks for Merchants [etc.].
a1689 A. Behn Widdow Ranter (1690) iii. i. 27 Your Warrants are like a Brewers Tally a Notch on a Stick.
1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace i. i. 84 To him who notches Sticks at Westminster.
1785 W. Cowper Tirocinium in Task 559 Th' indented stick, that loses day by day Notch after notch. View more context for this quotation
1829 W. Scott Antiquary (new ed.) I. xv. 205 (note) Each family had its own nick-stick, and for each loaf as delivered a notch was made on the stick.
1848 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 1st Ser. ix. 126 Wy, into Bellers's we notched the votes down on three sticks.
†c. Mining. English regional (chiefly northern). A marked wooden token placed on a full corf (corf n.1 2) to identify it as the work of a certain miner. Cf. motty n.2 1. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > mining equipment > [noun] > other mining equipment
dial1681
stick1708
motty1797
nail1839
spiking crib or curb1839
spile1841
bull1849
dag1863
ore bin1867
monitor1873
Billy Fairplay1876
snibble1883
brattice-cloth1885
breaker1885
steam point1895
picking belt1900
self-rescuer1924
rock duster1930
walking dragline1930
1708 J. C. Compl. Collier 14 in T. Nourse Mistery of Husbandry Discover'd (ed. 3) The..chief Banck's-Man..takes an Account of the Quantity of loaden Corves of Coals, which come to the Bank or out of the Pit every Day, by Sticks or Peices of Wood.
1797 J. Curr Coal Viewer 20 Nogs and boxes for mottys, or sticks, to distinguish the Corf, 0. 0. 6.
1899 E. W. Prevost Dickinson's Gloss. Words & Phrases Cumberland (new ed.) Stick, the wooden token whereon was branded the distinguishing number of the hewer in the coal pit.
3. A long and relatively slender piece of wood used as a tool and often cut or shaped for ease of handling.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [noun] > stick, twig, or rod
stickOE
wandc1175
rond?c1225
raddling1470
sway1630
halvelings1832
OE Ælfric Homily (Vitell. C.v) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 207 Ne furðon ænne sticcan ne ænne stæf we næfdon ne ane oflætan to urum mæssan gode gyf he us ne foresceawode him sylf þæt on ær.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale (Ellesmere) (1875) l. 1265 In his hand he bar An holwe stikke..In the ende of which an Ounce..Of siluer lemaille put was as bifore.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xiiiv And in his other hande he hath a forked sticke a yarde longe & with his forked sticke he putteth the wede from him.
1590 C. Lucar Lucarsolace i. iv. 11 Take vp your Geometricall table,..leauing an arrow or sticke set vpright in the point of grounde directly vnder B.
1612 J. Smith Map of Virginia 23 Insteed of oares, they vse paddles and sticks with which they will row faster then our Barges.
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ iii. i. §17 So in the sight of a stick, when under water, the representation of it by the sense to imagination is as crooked.
1751 Chambers's Cycl. (ed. 7) at Candle The workman..takes two sticks [1727 rods], or broches, at a time, strung with the proper number of wicks.
1785 W. Cowper Task i. 561 A Kettle, slung Between two poles upon a stick transverse.
1819 C. Grotz Art of making Fireworks 21 A long thin stick, with a bit of touch-paper at the end, which will easily communicate to the touch-paper of the fireworks.
1889 A. Conan Doyle Micah Clarke v. 34 Like the turnip on a stick at which we used to throw at the fairs.
1931 P. S. Buck Good Earth xix. 194 She beat the more steadily with her wooden stick upon the clothes spread over the stone.
1970 J. L. Briggs Never in Anger iii. 116 Saarak ran for the snowbeater, the wooden stick used to knock the dry snow out of clothes before it has time to thaw.
2007 New Yorker 4 June 72/1 He would work conscientiously for hours without a peep, emptying the latrine with a worm-infested bucket on a long stick.
4. A long thin piece of wood held or carried by a person.
a.
(a) A staff, club, or cudgel used to hit a person or animal.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > club or stick > [noun]
sowelc893
treec893
cudgelc897
stinga900
bat?c1225
sticka1275
clubc1275
truncheon14..
bourdonc1325
bastona1400
warderera1400
plantc1400
kibble1411
playloomc1440
hurlbatc1450
ploykc1450
rung1491
libberlac1500
waster1533
batonc1550
macana1555
libbet1562
bastinado1574
crab-tree comb1593
tomahawkc1612
billeta1616
wiper1622
batoon1637
gibbeta1640
crab-bat1647
kibbo1688
Indian club1694
batterdasher1696
crab-stick1703
bloodwipea1705
bludgeon1730
kierie1731
oaken towel1739
crab1740
shillelagh1772
knobstick1783
pogamogganc1788
whirlbat1791
nulla-nulla1798
waddy1800
kevel1807
supple1815
mere1820
hurlet1825
knobkerrie1826
blackthorn1829
bastera1833
twig1842
leangle1845
alpeen1847
banger1849
billy1856
thwack-stave1857
clump1868
cosh1869
nulla1878
sap1899
waddy1899
blunt instrument1923
a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 133 (MED) Þe lonke mon is leþe-bei..bi ford daȝes he is aferd of sticke & ston.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xii. l. 14 Al-þough þow stryke me with þi staffe with stikke or with ȝerde.
1547 A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. f. lxvv For the feuer lurden..take me a stycke or wane of a yerde of length and more..and with it anoynt the backe.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear ii. 285 She rapt vm ath coxcombs with a stick, and cryed downe wantons downe.
1664 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1904) II. 214 [If the] Whelps meddle with Sheepe, they must be..whipped soundly, but not beaten with Stickes.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Drub, to beat the Soles of the Feet with a Stick, a Punishment us'd in Turkey.
1758 O. Goldsmith tr. J. Marteilhe Mem. Protestant II. 10 Rascal! replied the Tyrant, give me the Stick; and taking it in his Hand..he laid on the unresisting Slave.
1847 W. C. L. Martin Ox 139/2 Contusions, and the blows of cattle-drivers, merciless in the use of their sticks about the heads of the poor beasts.
1850 A. McGilvray Poems 69 For he has laid, with their own sticks, The strongest watchmen down.
1880 A. W. Tourgée Bricks without Straw 116 He was pretty brash wid me, an 'llowed ter hit me wid a stick.
1971 G. H. Morris Hunter Seat Equitation vii. 113 When the rider is using a stick on approaching a fence, the horse has more time to run out.
2009 N.Y. Mag. 12 Oct. 24/3 Sami was beaten with sticks and cables, and whipped on the soles of his feet.
(b) With the, or as a mass noun: a beating with a stick; corporal punishment; physical violence. Also figurative, esp. when contrasted with carrot (see stick-and-carrot adj. at Compounds 2 and carrot n. 2a).See also to eat stick at eat v. 2d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > violent behaviour > [noun] > rough or violent treatment
rudessec1415
rudenessc1450
rudeshipc1450
foulnessa1470
roughness1542
pepper1820
pitch-and-tossa1839
stick1942
roughing1960
1832 J. Morier Zohrab II. xii. 272 Give him the stick! Stick you want, and stick you shall have!
1884 S. St. John Hayti iii. 81 The productiveness of the north was founded on the liberal application of the stick.
1886 ‘M. Gray’ Silence of Dean Maitland I. v. 125 He'll do what he is told now without the stick.
1942 E. Afr. Ann. 1941–2 115/1 The Italians nipped across from Diredawa, and, as the troops say, ‘gave us stick’.
1948 Economist 11 Dec. 957/2 The material shrinkage of rewards and the lightening of penalties, the whittling away of stick and carrot.
1988 M. Dibdin Ratking xii. 281 ‘Domestic altercation, Via Tasso.’ ‘Someone giving his wife a bit of stick.’
2004 K. Long Bad Mother's Handbk. (2005) iii. 77 Startin' work wasn't much of an improvement. You still got the stick—well, you did at our place anyroad, and across your legs too.
(c) British colloquial. Criticism, censure; (also) good-natured teasing or mockery. Frequently in to take (also get, come in for, etc.) (some) stick and variants: to be the recipient or subject of critical or teasing remarks. Similarly to give stick.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > [noun]
hokerOE
hethingc1175
scornc1175
gabbinga1225
bourd1320
scoffc1330
illusiona1382
mowinga1382
derisiona1400
mockery?a1439
alluding1535
dor1552
jerking1565
mock1569
frumpery1582
subsannation1587
floutage1600
ridiculous1605
ludibry1637
ridicule1675
razoo1888
stick1956
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > [noun]
telingeOE
chastiment?c1225
snapinga1300
snibbinga1300
reproving?1316
undernimminga1325
correctiona1340
threapening1340
admonishingc1350
reproofa1375
scourgingc1374
correptionc1380
repreyningc1390
reprehensiona1413
undertakingc1430
rebuke?a1439
admonition1440
correptingc1449
rebut?c1450
reprehendingc1450
redargution1483
reproval1493
increpation1502
prisec1540
tasking1543
check1588
improof1590
snubbing1600
threap1636
compellation1656
reprovement1675
reprimanding1698
rowing1812
lecturing1861
carpeting1888
eldering1912
woodshedding1940
stick1956
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > discernment, discrimination > criticism > [noun] > often unfavourable
commenting1597
criticism1607
censurea1616
judgementalism1950
stick1956
1956 People 13 May 14/8 As usual the Australians are getting plenty of stick from the armchair critics.
1977 J. Wainwright Nest of Rats iii. v. 205 We took some stick, and we gave some stick.
1991 New Scientist 11 May 13/3 People suddenly realised that peer review, which has come in for stick recently, is not so bad after all.
1998 Gay Times Aug. 91/2 Do you get a lot of stick from your mates about having gay fans and doing gay PAs?
2005 T. Adams in Granta Summer 113 When I first arrived they did give me some stick.
2007 Wisden Cricketer July 45/3 There was a lot of emotion about me returning to play against South Africa, and everybody knows about the stick I copped.
b. A walking stick; a cane.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > something to lean on > staff to lean on > walking stick
staffc725
yardc1000
bat?c1225
rodc1300
handstaffa1425
walking staffc1450
sceptre1526
walking stick1580
stick1620
nibbie1812
baton1860
waddy1974
1620 Horæ Subseciuæ 33 Some had rather bee lame..of a legge, then lose the grace of carrying a French sticke.
1679 Tryals R. Green, H. Berry, & L. Hill 36 Where was his Stick and Gloves?
1706 E. Baynard in J. Floyer Ψυχρολουσια (ed. 2) 87 A Gentleman..went into St. Mongah's with Crutches, and was in six or eight times Bathing so much reliev'd, as to walk with an underhand Stick.
1792 C. Smith Desmond II. 285 I tapped at the old, thick, carved door with my stick.
1844 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit xxxiii. 389 His face was almost as hard and knobby as his stick.
1892 H. R. Haggard Nada the Lily xviii. 145 We went on in silence, the king leaning on my shoulder as on a stick.
1932 ‘B. Ross’ Trag. of X iii. i. 203 Mr. Drury Lane strolled through Battery Park,..striking his stick vigorously against the walk.
1988 I. Colegate Deceits of Time (1990) 10 He talked to a group of nurses and a patient leaning on a stick.
2004 S. Hall Electric Michelangelo 294 An old woman walking past with her dog jabbed at him with her stick.
c. A rod or staff carried as a symbol of office, authority, or dignity; (also) an office-holder entitled to carry such a rod or staff. Cf. rod n.1 4a.gold stick, white stick: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > symbol of office or authority > [noun] > staff or rod
yardc1275
tipped stickc1386
bastona1400
mace?a1419
wandc1430
warderc1440
baculc1449
roda1450
verge1493
staff1535
tipstaff1541
verger1547
truncheon1573
vare1578
baton?1590
trunch1590
fasces1598
macer wanda1600
virge1610
batoona1652
stick1677
shaku1875
poker1905
1677 J. Phillips tr. J.-B. Tavernier Persian Trav. i. iii. 12 in tr. J.-B. Tavernier Six Voy. (1678) The Patriarch with a Stick [Fr. baston] like a Bishop's Crosier, march'd before, singing an Hymn.
1688 London Gaz. 22 Oct. 7 He had the Honour to be in Waiting upon the King with the Stick.
1735 S. Johnson tr. J. Lobo Voy. Abyssinia 11 Surrounded by his Courtiers who had each a Stick in his Hand, which is longer or shorter, according to the quality of the Person admitted into the King's Presence.
1833 T. Hood Public Dinner 14 Twelve sticks come attending A stick of a Chairman.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 25 June 4/1 One of the ‘Sticks’ now doing duty at Buckingham Palace.
1958 A. A. Opoku in H. Swanzy Voices of Ghana 30 The linguist stood up in the midst of the gathering, leaning upon his stick of office and said: ‘My father, this is what the Benevolent One says.’
1996 Daily Tel. 28 June 3/2 He also served as Silver Stick Usher at the thanksgiving service for the Queen's Silver Jubilee.
2002 B. Hoey Her Majesty xi. 174 Major Sir Michael Fitzalan Howard, who for some years was the Queen's Gold Stick in Waiting.
d. A conductor's baton.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > accessories > [noun] > conductor's baton
baton1785
stick1841
baguette1876
1841 Foreign Q. Rev. Jan. 260/2 The master of the music, (id est, the conductor) had an elbow chair and desk placed on the stage! where, with the score in one hand, and a stick in the other, he beat time on a table put there for that purpose, so loud that he made a greater noise than the whole band.
1856 M. C. Clarke tr. H. Berlioz Treat. Mod. Instrumentation 252/1 The first beat should be made down, as usual, and the stick carried to the left, for striking the chord upon the second beat.
1920 A. Boult Handbk. Technique Conducting 7 The conductor has, therefore, had to learn to show his ideas on the interpretation of a work by means of his stick and hand.
1955 Times 2 Feb. 6/3 There were moments when a loose movement of the stick gave away a little concentration in the quiet entries of the strings.
1978 Gramophone Feb. 1390/1 His mentor was band leader Joe Loss. ‘When Loss used a stick the bounce and freedom within a beat was masterly.’
2010 Daily Tel. 3 Sept. 29/7 Conductor Herbert Blomstedt has a curious almost ungainly stick technique, but he's clearly gained the absolute trust of these young players.
e. One of two thin poles used by a skier for balance, braking, and propulsion; = ski stick n. at ski n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > skiing > [noun] > other equipment
stick1893
ski stick1907
pole1920
ski pole1920
1893 Outing Feb. 341/1 The propelling and steering stick, or ‘stav’, as the Scandinavians call it, is of strong wood sharpened at one end.
1898 W. M. Conway With Ski & Sledge xi. 200 Racing skisters use two sticks, one in each hand, but for glissading the two have to be held together like a single staff.
1905 D. M. M. C. Somerville et al. Ski-running (ed. 2) 45 Shall the ski-runner use two sticks or one?
1972 ‘M. Yorke’ Silent Witness ii. 14 He stacked his skis and sticks in..the rack.
2006 Daily Tel. 16 Jan. 12/3 Skiers lined up in a row like marathon runners, with the more unscrupulous using their sticks with brutal effect.
5.
a. A branch or length of wood used in building or fencing; a stave, a stake. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [noun] > stick, twig, or rod > for fencing or walling
stickc1405
raddle1577
rab1833
rad1887
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 28 A yeerd she hadde, enclosed al aboute With stikkes.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 121 (MED) Þaire housez er made of stikkes [?a1425 Titus staves; Fr. bastons].
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 41v They vse a greater Sythe with a long Suath, and fenced with a crooked frame of stickes, wherwith with both their hands they cut downe the Corne, and laye it in Swathes.
1644 J. Vicars Jehovah-Jireh 196 Those two Regiments were the onely stick they now had left in their hedge.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World ii. 20 And lay there all night, upon our Barbecu's, or frames of Sticks, raised about 3 foot from the Ground.
1832 H. Williams Early Jrnls. 4 Jan. (1961) 212 They cut a few sticks,..tie them together with the flax plant, and thus form the frame of their shed.
1846 H. Weekes Jrnl. in J. Rutherford & W. H. Skinner Establishm. New Plymouth Settlem. (1940) 120 With native assistance a ‘Tíeupha’..fence was soon completed. This is made of stout sticks six feet high stuck in the ground perpendicularly [etc.].
1909 J. G. Frazer Psyche's Task iii. 23 Whoever steals sticks from the fence will have a swollen head.
1989 N.Y. Times 11 Nov. 3/2 They trampled a small stick fence in their enthusiasm to reach the polls.
2011 Higher Educ. 62 14 Their fence was built from sticks with exactly the same width.
b. A rod or cane stuck in the ground to support a climbing plant. Cf. stick v.2 2. bean-stick, pea stick, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > stake for plants
fork1389
incrementc1420
stakingc1440
stay1577
stick1577
bean-wood1584
pea stick1745
beanpole1798
stickings1800
bean-stick1823
pea-stake1840
flower-stick1881
pea-bough1885
trainer2004
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 33v There are two sortes of Pease, the one sort..runneth vp vppon stickes [L. palis].
1608 H. Plat Floraes Paradise Beautified 146 Winding the young stock about the stick..it will grow in a wreathed forme.
1687 Philos. Trans. 1686–7 (Royal Soc.) 16 288 These are divided..into such Legumes as climb, and run up sticks, or perches, as the Kidney Beans, Pease, Tares, Vetches, Lentills [etc.].
1741 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. at Phaseolus [The Scarlet Bean] being supported either with Sticks or Strings, grows up to a good Height.
1794 J. Wolcot Pindariana (1795) 177 The fragrant pea with blooms so thick, That curls her tendrils round a rotten stick.
1829 J. Hunter Hallamshire Gloss. 76 Rice, sticks used in gardens to support pease and beans or any deciduous plants.
1851 Birmingham & Midlands Gardeners' Mag. Aug. 134 Every description of soft-wooded plant should be tied to sticks as they grow.
1907 Gardening Illustr. 19 Jan. 643/1 Beans of this kind..naturally grow fast and tall, and may well be supported by sticks 7 feet to 8 feet in height.
1995 Independent 27 May 31/2 A tunnel of hazel sticks, supporting ‘Painted Lady’ runner beans.
2015 Grow All You can eat in 3 Square Feet 89/2 Try planting one or two sugar snap pea plants in a wide container after the last frost, and support them with sticks.
c. A thin rod protruding from the rear of a rocket (rocket n.5 1a) and serving to stabilize its flight.See also to rise like a rocket and fall like a stick at rocket n.5 Phrases 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > rocket > part of
stick1635
1635 J. Babington Pyrotechnia vi. 10 If you finde the stick be too heavy, cut it shorter,..for the sticke being too heavy, causes your rocket to slugge, and being too light, it makes a rocket fall before he is halfe up.
1696 R. Anderson Making of Rockets 12 The Stick of a Rocket ought to be seven times the length of the Rocket or more.
1740 G. Smith tr. Laboratory (rev. ed.) App. p. xlii There are..rockets made without sticks. Fix to the small ones..four wings, in the nature of arrow feathers.
1847 A. Smith Christopher Tadpole (1848) xxiv. 218 You'll go off like a regular rocket—all stars and no stick.
1886 Encycl. Brit. XX. 136/2 The stick of the sky-rocket serves the purpose of guiding and balancing it in its flight.
1904 Rep. Appellate Div. Supreme Court N.Y. 95 16 The stick from the exploded rocket struck the ground at a dangerous place and amidst a crowd of spectators.
2001 Code of Federal Regulations: 16: Commerc. Pract. (Office of Federal Register, U.S.) 534/2 Rockets with sticks (including sky-rockets and bottle rockets) shall utilize a straight and rigid stick to provide a direct and stable flight.
d. Basket-making. A thin, straight, rigid piece of wood used in the frame of a woven basket.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from other vegetable fibres > [noun] > randed work or basketry > foundation or skeleton > foundation rod
stick1885
1885 Ann. Rep. Board Regents Smithsonian Inst. 1884 298 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (48th Congr., 2nd Sess.: Senate Misc. Doc. 33 Pt. 1) II The Clallam Indians..make a carrying basket in this manner.., the frame (warp and woof) sticks being about one-eighth inch in diameter.
1907 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 11 Jan. 190/1 A dog or commander for straightening the sticks.
1910 Encycl. Brit. III. 482/1 Rods..known as ‘sticks’, are used to form the rigid framework of the bottoms and lids of square work.
1959 D. Wright Baskets & Basketry ii. 65 Sticks shall be thicker than weavers.
2014 L. M. Hurcombe Perishable Material Culture in Prehist. ii. 51 Others have stick and strand style basketwork, and have been made using a central set of sticks and weaving sets of material around these.
6. A long slender implement used in sports and games.
a.
(a) A long, thin implement with a curved, angled, or shaped head, used in any of various sports to strike or manoeuvre a ball or puck. Frequently colloquial.Recorded earliest in hockey stick at hockey n.2 1a.See also cat-stick n., trapstick n. hockey-stick, golf-stick, lacrosse stick, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > hockey > [noun] > stick
stick1527
bandy?1630
hockey stick1843
1527 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 402 in Parl. Papers 1884–5 (C. 4576-I) XLII. 1 The horlinge of the litill balle with hockie stickes or staves.
1780 T. Sheridan Gen. Dict. Eng. Lang. II Trapstick, a stick with which boys drive a wooden ball.
1812 Bk. Games i. 8 Each of them had a sort of hooked stick, with which they were beating a ball.
1857 H. B. Farnie Golfer's Man. v. 37 We shall, therefore, take the clubs seriatim..and explain, in each case, what constitutes a good stick.
1868 N.Y. Herald 4 Aug. 6/5 The Empire seemed out of practice with ‘the stick’.
1887 Cornhill Mag. Mar. 258 The ‘stick’, or ‘hurdle’,..consists of a piece of white ash.
1912 O. Stanage in How to play Baseball (1913) iii. 57 For the most part batting in the big leagues is a duel of cunning and wits between the man with the stick and the man on the slab.
1921 A. Kirkaldy Fifty Years Golf 51 My Son Darie put his sticks together to try his fortunes across the water.
1964 L. Watts Fine Art of Baseball i. i. 11 A pitcher who is a better hitter than two or three of his teammates, but not outstanding with the stick.
1979 Compl. Bk. Roller Skating v. 83 Roller hockey defensemen often wear ankle guards to protect themselves from low-flying pucks and sticks.
2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 22 June d7/1 A putter may be nicknamed the flat stick, but like a lot of nicknames, it's not very accurate.
(b) Hockey. In plural. A former rule prohibiting the raising of any part of the stick above the player's shoulders; a call by an umpire declaring a breach of this rule. Cf. high stick n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > hockey > [noun] > breach of rules
stick1897
high stick1926
1897 Rules of Hockey (Hockey Assoc.) (ed. 8) 30 Rule 14 applies to ‘sticks’. ‘Sticks’ should be given, if a player's stick is above his shoulder after hitting or missing the ball.
1926 Times 22 May 6/5 Marcon eventually sent the ball through, but the whistle had gone for ‘sticks’.
1967 J. Potter Foul Play (1968) xi. 113 The figure of a hockey player performing a golf stroke and doing sticks in the process.
2013 J. Butler & C. Robson in A. Ovens et al. Complexity Thinking in Physical Educ. ix. 110 Rules are changed in the interests of safety and sustainability—for instance, the removal of the ‘sticks’ rule in field hockey.
b. Billiards and Pool. A cue.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > billiards, pool, or snooker > [noun] > cue
billiard-stick1588
stick1611
tack1688
mace1727
mast1731
cue1749
billiard-mace1785
long butt1846
quarter butt1869
half-butt1896
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Billiard, a short and thicke trunchion, or cudgell: hence..the sticke wherewith we touch the ball at billyards.
1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester i. 28 When you strike a long stroke, hold your stick neatly between your two fore fingers and your thumb, then strike smartly.
1726 Whole Art & Myst. of Mod. Gaming 109 They had Drawers..made for each of them to put their Sticks into, in the Billiard Room.
1813 J. M. Good et al. Pantologia at Billiards He who throws his stick upon the table..makes it a foul stroke.
1886 Cornhill Mag. Aug. 180 In Cotton's time,..if a player's ball was close under the cushion, he might use the small end of his stick.
1922 Boston Post 10 Mar. 5/4 The police..raided the licensed poolroom.., and after seizing many pool sticks, a pool rack and 16 pool balls, arrested George Stone.
1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 30 June 8 d/1 (advt.) Briarwood Pool table, 6 mos. old. Cost: new $365, guaranteed. Includes sticks, balls & rack.
2001 C. Whitehead John Henry Days ii. 94 Someone would accidentally brush against them and the Angels would whup them with a pool stick.
c. A stave used for throwing in the game of Aunt Sally (see Aunt Sally n. 1). Also (in plural): †the game itself (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > place of amusement or entertainment > fairground or amusement park > [noun] > coconut shy, Aunt Sally, etc.
Jack-a-Lent1553
knock-'em-down1828
cockshy1833
stick1838
Aunt Sally1858
hoopla1909
1838 D. Jerrold Men of Char. II. xviii. 305 Next, he must have at least a pennyworth of sticks: he may knock down a tobacco-box.
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xx. 197 The splendid young dandies who were strolling about the course, and enjoying themselves at the noble diversion of Sticks.
1904 B. L. Farjeon Lucy & their Majesties xxii. 251 ‘A tourney—a tourney!’ he cried. ‘We challenge the boldest knight to a tilt of sticks 'gainst the nose of Mme. ma tante Sallie.’
1975 Games & Puzzles Apr. 12/1 The team bring their own sticks, six eighteen-inch ash batons to a set, rounded at each end.
2009 Oxford Mail (Nexis) 2 June Luke Andrews whipped off four dolls, before Manual knocked off the winning doll with his last stick.
7. A long piece of timber. Also: a tree or tree trunk intended for use as timber. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1601 in A. Palmer Tudor Churchwardens' Accts. (1985) 175 Paid for carrienge a stick to the sawepitt iii d.
1614 W. Bedwell De Numeris Geometricis v. 78 Admit a timber sticke to be measured were 4 inches square..; I demand, how much of that sticke in length, shall be required to make a foote of solid measure.
1681 W. Mather Very Useful Man. 28 Multiply the half of the thickness by half the compass in inches, and..divide by 1728, and the Quotient shews the number of feet in the stick of Timber.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson i. v. 54 The Carpenters were sent into the woods, to endeavour to find a stick proper for a fore-mast.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 220/2 Its timber..is obtainable in sticks, fifty feet long by fifteen inches square.
1878 R. Jefferies Gamekeeper at Home 38 The edge of a fir plantation where lies a fallen ‘stick’ of timber.
1923 G. Sturt Wheelwright's Shop xxxvi. 189 A neb was..a pair of wheels and not much else, chiefly used for shifting a heavy ‘stick’ or butt of timber out of an awkward place.
1977 W. J. Bursey Undaunted Pioneer 25 I had three hundred sticks of wood for my share then my brother and I must saw it into six thousand four hundred junks.
8. Nautical colloquial. An upright wooden beam or pole which supports a vessel's sails or rigging; a mast, spar, etc. Cf. to up sticks at Phrases 13.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > spar > [noun]
spar1640
stick1774
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > spar > [noun] > collectively
stick1774
1774 J. Schaw Jrnl. Lady of Quality (1921) i. 64 All our temporary repairs are destroyed, we have not a stick standing, nor a rag of sail to put up.
1796 Narr. Proc. His Majesty's Fleet 20 Captain Berkeley of the Marlborough..got on board two of the enemy's ships at the same moment, in which he dismasted them both, and was left in the Marlborough without a stick standing.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple III. viii. 104 A raking broadside..brought the sticks about their ears.
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 76 Topsail yards..are made in one stick.
1934 H. A. Calahan Learning to Race v. 42 By curve is meant a change in direction of the stick itself, not the way it is placed in the boat.
1974 P. Wright Lang. Brit. Industry xii. 101 In the Merchant Navy masts are sticks, though this flippant term would make many an old sea-dog turn in his grave.
1994 Times 1 Jan. 17/1 Doing 16 knots over 36 hours in a hurricane with just the stick.
9.
a. Cricket. One of the three stumps of a wicket. Chiefly in plural: the wicket. behind the sticks: playing as wicketkeeper; keeping wicket. Similarly in front of the sticks: batting; playing as a batter.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > equipment > [noun] > wicket
wicket1662
stick1829
timber1840
gate1851
castle1959
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [adverb]
with the bat1832
in front of the sticks1924
1829 Sheffield Independent 29 Aug. At one of Barker's best balls, Marsden played in his widest, and, consequently, his worst style, and lost his middle stick.
1840 J. C. W. in Sporting Mag. Aug. 333 (Cricketing Extraordinary) New stumps are wanted to the number of six, So, good Mr. Charon, pray lend us the sticks!
1862 Baily's Monthly Mag. Oct. 200 They were..ten hours between the sticks—averaging 1 hour at the wicket, and 50 runs per man.
1867 Sheffield & Rotherham Independent 25 June 8/5 The fielding of Surrey was good; Pooley being very effective behind the sticks.
1924 D. H. Lawrence & M. L. Skinner Boy in Bush ii. 22 I was captain of the first football eleven... And not bad in front of the sticks.
1979 D. Frith Ashes '79 xii. 177 Hogg..presenting a straight bat to anything on the sticks.
2015 Sunday Times (Nexis) 25 Oct. 19 Joe Root... defended wicketkeeper Jos Buttler after his nightmare day behind the sticks.
b. colloquial. In plural. In various team sports: the goalposts; (also) the goal. between the sticks: in the position of goalkeeper; keeping goal.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > characteristics of team ball games > [noun] > goal
goal1577
hail1843
net1856
stick1876
cage1885
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > [noun] > ground > goal-post or bar
goal1577
goalpost1842
crossbar1857
goal bar1862
side post1863
stick1876
bar1882
upright1910
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > association football > [adverb] > in goal
between the sticks1950
1876 T. P. Power Footballer 9 Let us suppose then the fray fairly begun by kicking off the ball toward the adversaries' sticks.
1891 Times of India 6 Oct. 5/5 Barton..made a beautiful long shot for the Golconda sticks, and succeeded in notching the first and only goal for his side.
1950 Sport 7 Apr. 14/3 Good news for Reading fans is that goalkeeper George Marks is expected to be back between the Elm Park sticks at the start of season 1950–1951.
1976 Wymondham & Attleborough Express 19 Nov. 23/4 Wortwell could not produce the form of recent weeks and crashed heavily to their hosts. David Loome took over between the ‘sticks’.
2008 Irish Times 15 Oct. (Sports section) 5/6 The skill involved to hit that ball from 50 metres out..and to hit it through the sticks—it's frightening.
10. Surfing. colloquial. A surfboard.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > water sports except racing > surfing > [noun] > surfboard
board1784
plank1784
surfboard1798
stick1961
1961 Surfer Q. Winter 34/2 Larry Stephens of Dana Point challenges anyone to produce a picture of a surf car with more boards than his. Total sticks on the roof: 9.
1980 D. Dragon et al. Somebody ripped my Stick (song) in Surf Punks My Beach (lyric sheet) Somebody ripped my stick. That guy must be a prique.
1991 N.Y. Times Mag. 30 June 41/1 Atop their ‘sticks’, longboard demigods like Phil Edwards..show a grace and spiritual centeredness that make surfing not so much a balancing act as a ballet.
2006 C. M. Green Baited i. 22 They were sitting in their half wet suits on the beach, their sticks—surfboards—abandoned right now even though the conditions offshore were perfect.
II. Something resembling in shape or quality, or originally made from, a long or thin piece of wood.
11. A tool, implement, or instrument.
†a. A spoon or stirrer. Obsolete.In quots. OE1, ?a1200 as a measure of quantity, a spoonful. In quot. OE2 denoting a utensil used for eating that has alternatively been interpreted as a skewer, i.e. a precursor of the fork. In quot. OE3 in the compound stōrsticca incense spoon (cf. stor n.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > cutlery > spoon
stickOE
spoonc1340
gob stick1691
feeder1811
OE Lacnunga (2001) I. xi. 8 Mæng..wið ðone tear, & pipera swiðe; nim ðry sticcan fulle on nihstig [perh. read on niht nihstig].
OE Monasteriales Indicia (1996) lvi. 32 Gyf þu sticcan behofige, þonne wege þu þine hand swilce þu mid sticcan etan wille.
OE Rec. Gifts of Bp. Leofric to Exeter Cathedral (Bodl.) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 226 & i silfren storcylle mid silfrenum storsticcan & viii læflas.
?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 23 Nim þanne godre butere tweȝen sticcan fulle and anne sticcan fulne huniȝes and wyll togadere.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 273 Þe an as þach hit were ber aletuarie. þe oðer of golt asticke. vre lefdi wið þe sticke nom & dude in þe anes muð of þe letuarie.
c1450 Med. Recipes (BL Add. 33996) in F. Heinrich Mittelengl. Medizinbuch (1896) 151 (MED) Boyle hem to geder & stere hem wyþ astykke tyl þy þynges ben wol relented.
?c1450 in G. Müller Aus Mittelengl. Medizintexten (1929) 125 (MED) Take ȝowre sklys or stycke þat ȝe steryn wyth and late it droppe vp-on a smothe bord.
b.
(a) A straight length of wood, usually with a shaped or padded head, used to strike a drum, dulcimer, or other percussion instrument; a drumstick, a mallet.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > drum > [noun] > drumstick
sticka1398
tabor-stick1486
drumstick1589
tapskin1605
drum stave1832
potato masher1835
baguette1876
wire brush1927
brush1955
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxxvi.-cxxxviii. 1391 The symphonye is an instrument of musik..ymade of holowȝ tre yclosed in leþer in eiþer syde. And mynstralles beþ it with stikkes [L. virgulis]..Tympanum..is ybete with a stykke riȝt as a tabour.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Pecten.., it is also the stickes wherewith a man stryketh doulcemers whan he doeth playe on them.
1618 B. Holyday Technogamia iii. v. sig. H2 His sticke does belabourThe head of his Tabour.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 2 And Pulpit, Drum Ecclesiastick, Was beat with fist, instead of a stick.
1708 J. Stevens tr. B. L. de Argensola Discov. Molucco & Philippine Islands ii. 55 in New Coll. Voy. & Trav. There hangs up the holy great flat Drum, which they beat with Sticks.
1795 C. R. Hopson tr. C. P. Thunberg Trav. IV. 58 The koto bears a strong resemblance to our dulcimers, having the number of strings, which are struck with sticks.
1827 Spirit of Eng. Mag. 15 July 318/2 Tell the drum-major to give him two hours additional practice with the sticks every day for a week.
1867 Proc. Royal Irish Acad. 1864–6 9 i. 116 Ordinary Drum and Little Drum. Both played by hand as accompaniment to the voice, or struck with a stick when in concert with pipes or loud instruments.
1926 Melody Maker Sept. 56 The tambourine is..played with the sticks.
1977 Gay News 24 Mar. 32/3 Drummer Rat Scabies (also 19) is very fast with the sticks.
2010 P. Myers Wizard, True Star xii. 157 I showed up to the session with just one pair of drumsticks and, during the run-through, I broke a stick.
(b) slang (originally British Navy). In plural. (A nickname for) a drummer.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > instrumentalist > percussion player > [noun] > drummer
drumslade1513
swash-man1533
drum?1535
drumsler1541
drummer1574
drumster1581
swasher1600
drum man1645
drum boy1758
stick1909
skin-beater1936
1909 J. R. Ware Passing Eng. Victorian Era 234/1 Sticks,..drummer.
1926 E. Ferber Show Boat v. 96 A snare drummer who was always called a ‘sticks’, and the bass drum, known as the bull.
1950 J. L. Kerr & D. James Wavy Navy 263 Sticks, the ship's drummer.
2002 Jazz Jrnl. Internat. Dec. 27/3 Hirshfield's drum breaks on Miss Ann are essentially melodic and he lives up to his reputation as a ‘sticks that plays the tune’.
†c. A utensil for sprinkling holy water; = aspergillum n. Obsolete.Recorded earliest in holy-water stick n. at holy water n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > implement (general) > aspergillum > [noun]
strinklec1175
sprinklea1382
springelc1390
sprentc1400
holy-water stick1413
stick1413
holy-water sprinklec1440
holy-water strinklec1440
dashel1502
sprink1566
asperges1570
sprinkler1577
aspergilluma1657
aspergoire1772
hyssop1838
mop1838
asperge1848
aspersoir1851
aspergill1864
aspersory1881
asperser1882
1413 Will of William Maydeston (P.R.O.: PROB. 11/2) f. 353 Vno holiewaterstykke argent.
c1450 in A. Macdonald & J. Dennistoun Misc. Maitland Club (1842) III. i. 203 Item ane haly wattyr fat of siluer with ane stik of the same for solemnit festis.
1543 in T. Thomson Coll. Inventories Royal Wardrobe (1815) 112 Item ane halie watter fate with the stik of silver.
1567 in J. Robertson Inventaires de la Reyne Decosse Douairiere de France (1863) App. p. cxlix Ane watter fat with ane watter stik gylt.
1725 T. Orem Descr. of Chanonry in Old Aberdeen (NLS Adv. MS 33.5.23​) 36 Item, a Holy Water Font, and a Stick all Silver.
d. A holder or support for a candle; a candlestick. Cf. earlier candlestick n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > support or holder for a candle > [noun] > candlestick
candlestickc970
candle-staffc1000
stander1325
chandelabrec1430
canstick1546
stick1547
candelabrum1876
torchère1910
1547–58 Inventory St. Stephen Westm. in Trans. London & Middlesex Archæol. Soc. (1873) 4 iii. 372 One styke of sylv' p'sell gilt for the holy candell.
1738 J. Bancks Misc. Wks. II. 41 The Stick, wherein he puts his Candle.
1811 tr. P. della Valle in J. Pinkerton Gen. Coll. Voy. IX. 65 A row of wax candles were disposed in gold and silver sticks.
1895 Church Q. Rev. Apr. 253 The candles standing straight in their sticks.
1927 Lariat Aug. 375/1 An orange candle in a pewter stick.
1987 P. Glanville Silver in Eng. iii. 72 A set of candelabra with two single sticks.
2010 L. Taylor Midnight Girls lviii. 565 On the shelf above the drawers were..two candles in silver sticks.
†e. A bow for a violin or fiddle. Cf. earlier fiddlestick n. 1. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > bowable instrument > [noun] > bow
fiddlestick14..
archon1480
stick?1570
bow1580
archet1640
arco1740
fiddle-bow1827
violin-bow1858
?1570 T. Preston Lamentable Trag. Cambises sig. E.iv They be at hand Sir with stick and fidle.
1592 J. Lyly Midas i. ii. sig. A3 Then they [sc. the two genders] agree like the fiddle and the stick.
a1625 J. Fletcher Womans Prize ii. vi, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ooooo2/1 Jaq. They have got a stick of Fiddles, and they firke it In wondrous waies.
1668 H. More Divine Dialogues ii. xviii. 284 As in a Musical Instrument whose Strings are good and the Stick good.
1830 S. Maunder Treasury of Knowl. i Fiddlestick, the stick or bow of a fiddle.
?1880 E. Howe Violin xi. 87 This implies such a command of the stick, that..its whole weight may at any moment be taken from the string by a slight pressure of the point of the little finger.
f. In plural. The thin pieces of ivory, bone, etc., which support the folding material of a fan.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > gas > air > fresh air > [noun] > supplying fresh air or ventilation > fan > hand-held or portable > stick(s) on which it is mounted
stake1640
stick1658
mounting1716
mount1735
1658 J. Evelyn tr. N. de Bonnefons French Gardiner 34 As the sticks [Fr. bastons] or ribs of a fan, never thwart one another, so nor should the branches of your trees.
?1690 Particular of Silks (single sheet) Lacquer'd Sticks for Fans.
1701 London Gaz. No. 3704/4 Lost.., an Italian Fan with Ivory painted Sticks.
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World I. 174 That old woman..who sits groaning behind the long sticks of a mourning fan.
1820 La Belle Assemblée Apr. 183/1 The sticks and mounting of these Patagonian fans were quite plain.
1879 Encycl. Brit. IX. 28/1 The sticks were made of mother-of-pearl or ivory, carved with extraordinary skill.
1936 G. Sitwell in F. Bamford Dear Miss Heber p. xv Five or six exquisite fans with sticks of mother of pearl, amber, tortoiseshell and ivory.
1989 Miller's Collectables Price Guide 1989–90 183/3 A French fan with elaborately carved ivory sticks.
2002 H. Alexander Fans 27 The sticks and guards..could be of the finest lacquer, carved ivory or cloisonné on gilded metal or silver.
g.
(a) Printing. A holder, usually of adjustable width, in which movable metal type is set; = composing-stick n. at composing n. Compounds.In early use also in stick of letter(s): metal type arranged in such a holder.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > composing equipment > [noun] > composing-stick
stick1683
composing-stick1686
setting-stick1875
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > composed type > [noun] > amount composing-stick will hold
stickful1683
stick of letter(s)1683
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 186 The whole Stick of Letters..are screwzed together.
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 332 With a Riglet fitted to the Stick, he presses the Letter to keep it straight in Line.
1710 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum II. at Printing As he Sets or composes this first stick of Letter, So he goes on till his page is out.
1755 J. Smith Printer's Gram. vi. 158 Putting an alphabet of Roman Lower-case letters into a Stick; and an alphabet of Italic upon that, to see..the difference [in length].
1820 T. Hodgson Ess. Stereotype Printing 106 (note) All types have one or more nicks in their body, to serve as a guide to the compositor when arranging them in his stick.
1867 Titusville (Pa.) Morning Herald 11 Oct. Trow's Type Setting and Distributing Machine, a piano-like instrument, that went to work and distributed a stick full of type with the celerity of an old ‘typo’.
1907 Smart Set July 117/1 A..boy of about twelve years laboriously clicked type into a stick.
1951 E. Paul Springtime in Paris (U.K. ed.) vi. 123 Squint-eyed old Prins was setting type, his nose four inches from his stick.
2003 M. Belson On the Press i. 18 Mr Bolton asked Slug to take me to the Top Store and teach me how to handset type into a stick.
(b) Journalism. A unit of measurement for newspaper and magazine copy, equal to about two column inches. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > parts and layout of journals > [noun] > measure of copy
stick1884
1884 Fun 30 Jan. 49/2 A ‘stick’ you couldn't beat a dog with.—A ‘stick’ of ‘copy’.
1898 Scribner's Mag. May 579/1 He said nothing he ought not to have said, but Linton got five sticks out of it (a half column).
1915 A. B. Reeve Gold of Gods viii. 88 No one would publish a line of his confidences. There wasn't a stick of copy in the whole thing.
1966 G. Greene in New Statesman 25 Feb. 254/1 The ceremony could not possibly rate more than a couple of sticks in tomorrow's paper.
h. slang. A firearm, esp. a pistol.See also shooting-stick n. (b) at shooting n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [noun] > pistol
pistolet1550
potguna1556
pistol?1560
snapper1587
pistoletto1647
pop1708
gun1744
cracker1751
stick1781
barking iron1785
barker1815
young gun1822
buffer1824
reporter1827
iron1828
flute1842
cannon1901
1781 G. Parker View Society & Manners II. 174 A highwayman will ding..his sticks.
1788 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 2) Sticks, pops or pistols. Stow your sticks; hide your pistols.
1834 W. H. Ainsworth Rookwood II. iii. v. 320 See how he flashes his sticks.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right II. xvi. 75 I always carry a brace of ‘shooting sticks’.
1925 L. O'Flaherty Informer iii. 46 Somebody would be sent into his little cell with a loaded stick to murder him in his sleep.
1969 L. Sanders Anderson Tapes (1970) 133 All right, you carry a stick. Just don't use it, that's all.
2009 N.Y. Times 16 Aug. (Week in Review section) 3/1 The secret service on her plane refer to their M-4 assault rifles as their ‘sticks’.
i. Criminals' slang. A crowbar, a jemmy.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > lever or crowbar > [noun]
lever1297
speke1366
crowa1400
gavelock1497
prisea1500
handspoke1513
porter1538
sway1545
handspike1559
heaver1598
coleweigh1600
handspeek1644
forcer1649
ringer1650
ripping-chisel1659
pinch1685
crow-spike1692
Betty1700
wringer1703
crowbar1748
spike1771
pry1803
jemmy1811
crow-iron1817
dog1825
pinchbar1837
jimmy1848
stick1848
pry bar1872
peiser1873
nail bar1929
cane1930
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > burglary > [noun] > instruments used by burglars
tricker1591
mill1607
iron1681
Betty1700
centre-bit1746
rook1788
jemmy1811
roundabout1811
James1819
jimmy1848
stick1848
Jack-in-the-box1850
Jack1862
alderman1872
cane1930
1848 Morning Chron. 15 Feb. 7/4 I refused to do so; and he took that stick (I should call it a crowbar), and struck me on the eye. I believe he intended to murder me.
1890 Daily News 14 July 2/8 Wilkins..took from his inside coat pocket a powerful jemmy, saying ‘I suppose you don't want my stick’.
1934 P. Savage Savage of Scotland Yard xxiii. 252 It's a fair cop. I'll go quiet, and here's my stick (jemmy).
1960 Observer 24 Jan. 5/5 Got yer stick (jemmy)? Got yer 'loid (celluloid strip for spring locks)?
1993 R. Murphy Smash & Grab 173/2 (Gloss.) Stick, jemmy.
†j. The melody pipe of a bagpipe; = chanter n.2 4. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > pipe > [noun] > bagpipe > chanter
chanter1615
treble1682
muse1782
stick1861
1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) III. 167/2 My old chanter has..lost its tone; for when a stick gets too sharp a sound, it's never no good.
1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) III. 167/2 My great grandfather played on this stick when Charley Stuart..came over to Scotland.
k. The control column of an aircraft. Cf. joystick n. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > controls and instruments > [noun] > controls > control column or lever
control column1902
yoke1904
joystick1913
stick1914
control stick1916
side stick1955
1914 H. Rosher Let. 11 Aug. in In Royal Naval Air Service (1916) 13 Mr. Stutt, our instructor.., controls the engine switch and covers your hand on the stick.
1946 A. H. Stevens How of Helicopter vi. 26 He pulls the stick backward. The nose comes up a little, the helicopter loses speed, and then it stops.
1977 R.A.F. Yearbk. 31/1 The Hawk is very docile in the stall and..control is immediately regained once the stick is moved forward.
2008 C. Stewart God of War xix. 103 He wanted to take the stick and maneuver the aircraft.
l. Chiefly North American. A lever used to engage or change gear in a motor vehicle; a gear stick. Hence: manual, as opposed to automatic, transmission; a motor vehicle having a manual transmission. In early use also more fully straight stick. Cf. earlier gear stick n. at gear n. Additions. Cf. stick shift n. at Compounds 2, to drive stick at Phrases 22.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > lever or mechanism for changing gear
gear-lever1904
shifter1910
gear-change1912
shift1914
gear stick1920
shift-lever1920
gear-shift1926
stick1952
shift-stick1968
1952 Logansport (Indiana) Pharos-Tribune 17 May 10/2 1949 Oldsmobile Convertible, Straight stick, Clean.
1956 Blue Island (Illinois) Sun-Standard 7 June 20/5 '55 Ford Convertible V8. Stick.
1958 Life 26 May 124/2 His car had to be a two-door and have a radio and a straight stick (manual gear shift).
1958 Pop. Sci. Aug. 80/1 Some drivers work through the full run of forward speeds, with the ‘stick’ set in low range, and then work back up from third in high range.
1967 Boys' Life Apr. 15/2 Stick or automatic? The old-timer will tell you that the former is cheaper to drive, to repair, or to replace.
1971 R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel iii. 42 She..moved the stick back to first.
1987 M. Dorris Yellow Raft in Blue Water (1988) xvi. 288 Rayona had graduated to learning a stick, and I talked Dayton into..leaving us the pickup to practice with.
2005 J. Gunnell Amer. Cars of 1960s ii. 79/1 AMC was careful to offer it with stick or automatic.
2007 Fyne Times May 42/2 Slip that stick down one slot into S for sport or across into manual paddle shift mode and all hell breaks loose.
12.
a. A piece of a substance moulded or formed into a long, thin shape. Usually with of or modifying word specifying the substance.candy-stick, cinnamon stick, crab stick, fish stick, liquorice stick, peppermint stick, sugar stick, etc.: see the first element.See also Compounds 1a and stick of rock at rock n.1 5d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > [noun] > long, narrow and straight object
sticka1475
wand1508
spill1594
rod1820
the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [noun] > cinnamon or cassia > rolled cinnamon stick
sticka1475
cinnamon stick1616
quill1754
society > communication > indication > marking > imprinting > sealing > [noun] > sealing wax
wax971
sealing-wax13..
hard wax1603
stick1662
seal-wax1741
kiss1829
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > glass and glass-like materials > [noun] > glass > long slender piece
cane1430
stick1665
range1726
a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 126 Looke þat your stikkes of synamome be thyn.
1526 Treasure of Pore Men f. xxi Styckes of Lycoryce scraped & softe brosed.
1623 J. Webster Deuils Law-case ii. i. sig. C4 You are a meere sticke of Sugar Candy, a man may looke quite thorow you.
1653 C. Mauger True Advancem. of French Tongue 143/2 Go buy me a stick of Spanish wax.
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 27 in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors The Indians give it [sc. lacque] what colour they please, black, red, green, yellow, &c. And make it into sticks to seal Letters withall.
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 40 Take a stick of Glass of a considerable length, and fit it so between the two ends or screws of a Lath.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Lycium The Dutch..form it into twisted sticks, which they sell to the painters in water colours.
1754 E. Burt Lett. N. Scotl. II. xx. 126 Ice..is accumulated by Drippings from the Springs above, and so by little and little form'd into Knobs, like a Stick of Sugar-candy.
1830 R. Dolby Cook's Dict. 169/1 Soak a quarter of a pound of the best cinnamon in sticks, for twelve hours in water.
1836 J. F. Davis Chinese II. 135 The extreme carelessness with which burning paper and lighted sticks of incense are left about their combustible dwellings.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1097 In forming the round sticks of sealing-wax..[the pieces are] rolled out upon a warm marble slab... The oval sticks..are cast in moulds.
1844 G. Fownes Man. Elem. Chem. 131 A stick of phosphorus held in the air always appears to emit a whitish smoke.
1862 W. M. Thackeray Adventures of Philip II. xii. 268 She bought pink sticks of barley-sugar for the young ones.
1879 Encycl. Brit. IX. 348/2 A young girl sits by a jet of flame, holding in her hand a stick of prepared glass.
1881 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (ed. 4) 162 Dissolve a stick of nitrate of silver in..water.
1882 W. J. Christy Pract. Treat. Joints 184 A stick of the metal [sc. solder] must be fused at the same time and allowed to drop upon them.
1891 Pall Mall Gaz. 21 Dec. 1/3 ‘It is a kind of grease that we keep in sticks.’ (Aside, to an attendant: ‘Just go and get a stick of paint.’).
1913 Little Bk. Confect. 39 Cocoa Sticks... Cut into three inch sticks and bake.
1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Carbon pencil,..a small stick of carbon or charcoal containing a little niter, used, on being lighted, for cracking glass.
1972 P. Buck China Past & Present 9 The stick of dried ink made of lampblack, soot, or some other substance.
1986 M. R. Shulman Spice Vegetarian Cooking (1991) 16 Whole sticks of cinnamon are used to flavor Indian pilafs and are removed after cooking.
1988 L. Dhingra Amritvela viii. 30 As he speaks he..pulls out a stick of red sealing wax and matches.
2003 N. Slater Toast 75 Sherbet Fountains—those tubes of acidic white powder wrapped in red-and-yellow paper with a stick of liquorice poked down the centre.
2013 New Yorker 22 July 12/1 In one picture, a smoker lights his cigarette with a few blazing sticks of dynamite.
b. A long, flat rectangle of chewing gum, usually individually wrapped.
ΚΠ
1860 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Daily Sentinel 3 Dec. One stick of chewing gum, which helps to keep the jaws in motion.
1864 Yale Literary Mag. 29 293 Chewing gum, cent a stick.
1919 J. Thurber Let. 31 May (2002) 43 Martha... enclosed six or eight sticks of gum, the famous Spearmint and the equally renowned, if somewhat differently flavored Juicy Fruit.
1971 Guardian 18 Aug. 4/3 Fruit-drops, lollipops, a stick of chewing-gum.
2011 Atlantic Monthly Oct. 17/1 Peña Nieto puts a stick of gum in his mouth and slathers sunscreen on his face.
c. A long, thin, cylindrical loaf of bread. Also: a long, thin, crisp piece of baked dough.bread-stick, French stick: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > loaf > [noun] > stick
French loafc1350
grissino1853
baton1858
stick1872
breadstick1887
stick loaf1923
French stick1955
1872 A. Trafton Amer. Girl Abroad viii. 103 Cutting slices from the long, melancholy stick of bread.
1886 Kitchen Garden Nov. 3/1 Be careful to have the sticks small enough not to be above the tops of the fluted pans when risen; as the sticks should have a crust all around them.
1943 A. L. Simon Conc. Encycl. Gastron. IV. 59/2 (heading) Grissini or salt sticks.
1972 House & Garden Feb. 98/2 Swiss fondue... Sesame seed sticks..make a happy accompaniment.
2015 Knox Student (Nexis) 18 Dec. 1 Transporting a three-foot stick of bread from the heart of the city to my friend's apartment on the outskirts..is too great a challenge for this American novice.
d. U.S. A rectangular block of butter, margarine, etc., weighing a quarter of a pound.
ΚΠ
1927 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. 30 Aug. 4/1 The quarter-pound stick of butter.
1942 F. M. Farmer Boston Cooking-School Cook Bk. 4 Butter wrapped in quarter-pound sticks is convenient for measuring.
1988 Los Angeles Times 10 Mar. viii. 35/5 People who love to get that stick of butter or margarine out of the refrigerator for a little dab of fat calories here and there.
1997 S. Grafton M is for Malice xx. 338 I could see the ingredients for a baking project laid out on the counter: two sticks of butter with the paper removed..and a quart container of whole milk.
13.
a. colloquial. With preceding adjective. A person having a specified trait or character; (in early use) spec. a stubborn or inflexible person. Also †crooked stick (Scottish. †thrawn stick): an obstinate, intransigent, or perverse person. Now rare except in old stick n. at old adj. Compounds 5a(b).Originally a figurative use of sense 1a or 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > [noun] > as having character or qualities
thingc1225
headc1300
vesselc1384
soul1498
sprite?1507
spirit1559
stick1682
character1749
fish1751
hand1756
subject1797
person1807
good1809
specimen1817
a (bad, good, etc.) sortc1869
proposition1894
cookie1913
type1922
city1946
the mind > will > decision > obstinacy or stubbornness > [noun] > perverseness > person
frowarda1529
haggard1576
pig-sconcea1640
wronghead1729
crooked stick1848
pig-head1874
thrawn stick1893
1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin ii. 164 That tough stick of Wood, Boirude the Sexton [Fr. du sacristain Boirude].
1785 Span. Rivals 8 He's a queer stick to make a thivel on.
1848 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 1st Ser. ix. 124 So, ez I aint a crooked stick,..I'll go back to my plough.
1893 S. R. Crockett Stickit Minister 30 Tammas Carlyle, thrawn stick as he was.
1897 W. Dyke Craiktrees ii He's nobbit twenty-two—young—a verra young stick.
1976 B. Emecheta Bride Price (1978) iv. 47 I don't know where that dry stick Ezebona is going to get children from.
2004 S. Crabtree Terror from Beyond Middle Eng. xiii. 108 These old sticks you see going into their nineties are just pushing up the average age.
b. A dull or awkward person, one who lacks geniality or liveliness. Also: a person who is unskilled or inept at something; (Theatre) an unconvincing or wooden actor.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [noun] > want of or incapacity for emotion > person
thickskin1582
insensiblea1618
unnaturalist1623
non-sensitive1628
apathist1640
stick1801
soulless1824
zombie1936
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > discourtesy > [noun] > lack of affability > person
stick1801
poker1812
mauvais coucheur1857
partan1896
chip1929
peckerhead1945
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > actor > [noun] > actor by manner of performance
tear-mouth1616
tear-throat1620
spouter1750
stick1801
gagger1871
facialist1877
fake1880
hamfatter1880
ham1882
mugger1892
ham-bone1893
upstager1933
rhubarber1953
1801 M. Edgeworth Belinda II. xx. 267 And you, out of patience,..will go and marry..some stick of a rival.
1820 Ld. Byron Blues i. 89 Tracy. In Prose My talent is decent, as far as it goes; But in rhyme——. Inkel. You're a terrible stick, to be sure.
1873 Punch 15 Nov. 202/1 Charles Kemble was rather a stick at first, and was made a great artist by..close study.
1935 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (U.K. ed.) v. 153 It wasn't long before it became very, very easy to think of him as a stick, a stuffed shirt.
1975 N.Y. Times 19 Jan. 10/1 ‘A bunch of sticks,’ commented an officer of the Cunard Line's Adventurer. ‘No one dancing in the Skyroom after midnight, no one in the casino... All they do is talk, talk, talk.’
2001 E. Mordden Open New Window (2002) ii. 26 Though a wonderful singer, he was too wooden an actor—but, after all, all the show's characters do say that Lancelot is something of a stick.
c. U.S. slang. An accomplice in a confidence scheme, rigged game, or other scam, esp. one who poses as an enthusiastic or successful participant to draw in others; = shill n. Cf. earlier stickman n.2 and perhaps also stick slinger n. at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [noun] > decoy, etc.
woodpecker1608
puff1722
flasher1731
squib1731
stool-pigeon1830
roper1840
shill1916
stick1926
1926 G. H. Maines & B. Grant Wise-crack Dict. 14/1 Stick, a confederate who wins or loses at dealer's will.
1931 G. Irwin Amer. Tramp & Underworld Slang 182 The cash the ‘stick’ wins is handed back to the operator of the game..and the stick never has enough of his employer's money to make it worth his while to decamp.
1966 ‘E. V. Cunningham’ Helen (1967) ix. 129 A shill is also called a stick, and the role of the shill or stick is to make the customer relax and feel at ease.
1992 Crime Beat Jan. 20/1 Without the help of confederates, or ‘sticks’, who shill for the game, even the best cheats are usually ignored.
2005 L. M. Salinger Encycl. White-collar & Corporate Crime I. 383/1 Men..enticing the marks into a carefully scripted play, organized by the insidemen and the shills or ‘sticks’, the supporting cast of players known collectively as the boost.
d. A very thin person (cf. stick-thin adj. at Compounds 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [noun] > person having
slip1703
stick1945
superwaif1972
waif1980
1945 ‘M. Roane’ Years before Flood xxxi. 263 Magdelone had begun to put on a little more weight since her thirteenth birthday; she was not an absolute stick any more.
1967 Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe 12 Nov. 10/4 It was difficult to imagine from the evidence presented that she had ever been a scrawny stick of a girl.
1999 A. Cunningham in A. Cunningham & G. Friesen Red Dust & Broadsides iv. 93 I was tall and weighed ninety-five pounds. And that's thin. I had no figure; I was a stick.
2009 K. Griffin Official Bk. Club Select. (2010) xx. 323 It was me next to..Paris Hilton, who is a complete stick. How could it not bring up my [weight] issues?
14. coarse slang. The penis, esp. when erect. Cf. pole n.1 1f.In earliest examples often punning on some other type of stick, as a violin bow, a drumstick, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > sex organs > male sex organs > [noun] > penis > erect
Priapusc1487
Priap1561
Priapian1598
polec1600
Jack1604
maypole1607
stalk1609
rod1641
bone1654
stick1707
ramrod1768
horn1785
phallus1807
phallos1885
ithyphallus1889
boner1960
stiff1980
stonker1987
1707 in H. Playford Wit & Mirth (new ed.) II. 93 The string of his Viol she put to the Trial, Till she had the full length of the Stick.
1748 Spy on Mother Midnight 24 Mrs Notable, I think you were just now saying that six or seven inches would do as well, as a stick that would reach 'twixt here and Lambeth.
?1836 Frisky Vocalist 4 He came upon them in the nick, and found her having the drummer's stick.
1935 ‘B. Jackson’ in P. Oliver Screening Blues (1968) vi. 231 Now your nuts hangs down like a damn bell-clapper, And your stick stands up like a steeple.
1973 F. I. Gwaltney Destiny's Chickens 149 No matter whut kind a stick you got in your paints, my husband'll make you look like a boy.
2010 S. Stephens Nature of Man v. 73 He rested his head against the headboard as I massaged his enormous stick up and down.
15. An edible stem, stalk, or root from any of various culinary plants, as stick of celery, stick of rhubarb, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > [noun] > stem of vegetable
eddoes1685
stick1727
1727 R. Bradley Country Housewife 33 A Stick of Horse-radish sliced.
1797 T. Williams Accomplished Housekeeper 154 Put them into a stewpan, with..a stick of horse-radish.
1823 M. Eaton Cook & Housekeeper's Dict. 308/1 Put four dozen clean sticks of rhubarb into a stewpan, with the peel of a lemon.
1882 W. Earley Garden Farmer 95 A bundle of celery, from eight to sixteen sticks.
1959 Home Encycl. 124 To put the well-scrubbed sticks of horse-radish through a mincing-machine saves much time and trouble.
1993 Observer 11 July 24/5 I saw what I thought was a stick of rhubarb, it turned out to be a four-leaf clover.
2015 Irish Times (Nexis) 19 Dec. 24 Mix all the ingredients together in a jug, season to your taste, pour into glasses, add ice and a stick of celery to garnish.
16. Chiefly in plural. A piece of furniture. Frequently in sticks of furniture.See also Phrases 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [noun] > of a house
attirec1325
harness1340
gearc1380
household1420
stuff1438
household stuff1445
standard?1474
utensil1484
inspreith1488
utensilies1496
household goods1501
insight1522
wardrobe stuff?a1527
housewifery1552
plenishing1561
householdry1570
supellectile1584
household effects1762
sticks of furniture1777
house furnishing1827
houseware1827
ingear1835
supellex1849
household appliance1853
homeware1868
home1887
décor1926
1777 J. Savage Let. 17 Nov. in Case Major J. Savage (1785) 8 I..was obliged to advance my own money to a considerable amount, so as to spend my entire fortune for Government, even to the last stick of my furniture.
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang (at cited word) I lost all my sticks by that 'ere fire at Stepney.
1864 R. D. Blackmore Clara Vaughan I. ii. viii. 211 Her..strange biographies of every table, chair, and cushion—her ‘sticks’, as she delighted to call them.
1909 Harper's Mag. June 20/2 Ellery has got his home furnished all complete—oak chamber sets an' I dun'no' what all. There wouldn't be no room for my old sticks.
1970 J. Finney Time & Again (1974) xxi. 378 She covered it by examining my davenport and few sticks of furnished apartment furniture.
1991 ‘B. Vine’ King Solomon's Carpet iv. 28 A borrowed beat-up Ford van, its roofrack loaded with launderette bags of clothes and its inside with her sticks of furniture (sticks was the word).
17. colloquial. In plural. A person's legs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > leg > [noun]
shanka900
legc1300
grainsa1400
limbc1400
foot?a1425
stumpa1500
pin?1515
pestlea1529
boughc1550
stamp1567
understander1583
pile1584
supporters1601
walker?1611
trestle1612
fetlock1645
pedestal1695
drumstick1770
gam1785
timber1807
tram1808–18
fork1812
prop1817
nethers1822
forkals1828
understanding1828
stick1830
nether person1835
locomotive1836
nether man1846
underpinning1848
bender1849
Scotch peg1857
Scotch1859
under-pinner1859
stem1860
Coryate's compasses1864
peg1891
wheel1927
shaft1935
1830 F. Marryat King's Own II. vi. 96 He was so weak that he couldn't get up on his sticks again.
2001 ‘RuPaul’ in M. J. Smith & D. Bennett Sepia Dreams 182 I just capitalized on the fact that I had a great pair of sticks.
2002 R. Campbell Darkest Part of Woods (2004) xiv. 115 Once breakfast was finished Margo stood up. ‘I'd better stir my old sticks. I want to go by Jessica's before she sells all the Sunday papers.’
18. colloquial. The propeller of an aircraft. rare.Cf. dead stick n. at dead adj., n., and adv. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > means of propulsion > [noun] > aircraft engine > propeller
airscrew1675
air wheel1832
propeller1842
aeroscrew1902
prop1914
stick1917
1917 Editor 21 Apr. 358 The propeller itself is generally known as the ‘prop’ or ‘stick’.
2013 L. J. Poteet & M. J. Stone Push me pull You 249 Stick, 1. the prop. 2. the joystick (see also yoke).
19. Chiefly colloquial. A cigarette or cigar; spec. a marijuana cigarette.Recorded earliest in dope-stick n. at dope n. Compounds 2.cancer stick, Thai stick: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a) narcotic drug(s) > marijuana or cannabis > cigarette
weed1917
stick1918
spliff1929
weed1929
reefer1931
joint1935
muggler1935
ju-ju1940
mezzroll1944
panatela1946
bomber1952
charge1957
bomb1960
number1963
doobie1967
smoke1967
cheeba1971
Thai stick1976
blunt1988
bifter1989
1918 N.Z. at Front 1918 132 Cigarettes! smokes, fags, weeds, dope-sticks—they are known by many strange names.
1919 W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 17 Consumption stick, a cigarette.
1940 R. Chandler Farewell, my Lovely xiv. 68 Evidence of what? That a man occasionally smoked a stick of tea.
1965 W. Soyinka Road 24 Say Tokyo reaches out a stick of weed to him which he accepts behind his back.
1980 M. Thelwell Harder they Come xviii. 368 Until you bring dat raas bwai to me, not an ounce of ganja coming in this town. Not a wrap, not a leaf, not a stick.
2003 N.Y. Times 2 Feb. i. 3/4 British American Tobacco has found its Uganda cigarette sales—about a billion sticks a year—on the decline.
III. Senses denoting a measure or quantity.Cf. also senses 11a, 11g(b).
20. A measure of quantity for eels, usually comprising around 25 eels. Now historical.In quot. OE with reference to a food-rent paid from fenland areas.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > seafood > [noun] > fish > quantity of fish
stickOE
mease1332
warp1436
bind1477
wisp1521
cast1587
strikea1690
turna1690
cran1797
toss1851
swill1894
OE Farm Accounts, Ely in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 256 Þis is þæs fænnes hyre æt Fordham [&] æt Hyllingyge... [Þi]s synd xxvi ðusend & xi sticcan.
1256 Close Rolls Henry III (1931) IX. 445 xxv. stykes anguillarum que dicuntur scoftling.
1390–1 in L. T. Smith Exped. Prussia & Holy Land Earl Derby (1894) 20 Et per manus Thome Fyssher pro xlviij styks anguillarum.
1390–1 in L. T. Smith Exped. Prussia & Holy Land Earl Derby (1894) 29 Pro j styke di. anguillarum, xiiij d.
1481 in J. P. Collier Househ. Bks. John Duke of Norfolk & Thomas Earl of Surrey (1844) 143 For vj. stekes of smale elle xxvj. to the steke ij.s. vj.d.
a1500 Tracts Eng. Weights & Meas. 17 in Camden Misc. (1929) XV (MED) Elys by the Stike and the Gwyde. Also Elys be sold by the stike, that ys xxv elys; and x styckys make a gwyde.
1510–11 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1901) III. 661 Preter 12 lupos aquaticos et duos stickes anguillarum.
1664 H. Spelman Glossarium at Brochus A stick of Eels.
1715 Counterpart of Lease (Brasenose Coll. Oxf. Archives) 1 Oct. (Hurst Cal. of Munim. 10, Genning's Court 18) Tenant to have the yearly dues of days of work, sticks of eeles, eggs, hens, Cocks,..and plowsheards.
a1728 W. Kennett MS Coll. Provinc. Words (Lansd. 1033) A Bind of eels..consisted of ten sticks, and every stick of twenty five eels.
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes II. 294 A stich or stick of Eels was twenty-five.
1857 J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths III. 591 A stick of eels cost 4s. in 1285.
1957 D. M. P. Stenton Eng. Woman in Hist. 78 The monks agreed to pay a yearly rent of 12 pence or six ‘sticks’ of eels.
1994 Past & Present Nov. 44 A mixture of cash and kind, the most common being the valuations of cash accompanied by so many ‘sticks’ of eels from the millpond.
2009 M. Redfern Flint i. 5 Peter Long was nabbed one night with at least two sticks of eels filched from the Abbot's own fishery. Not an easy matter, hiding fifty writhing eels.
†21. A measure of land (not identified), perhaps in the form of a narrow strip. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [noun] > a system or process of measuring land > other units of land measure
wandalec1150
wista1200
landc1400
ridge1439
peck1442
scrophec1450
buttc1460
rig1485
mark1488
stick1531
farthingdeal1543
plough-gang1548
quarterland1563
ploughgate1565
last1576
wand1596
ox-skin1610
garbred1621
plank1631
nooka1634
buttal1635
farthinga1640
rick1641
familia1676
rhandir1688
setiera1690
worthine1701
fierding1768
whip-land1811
rai1933
1531 Will of Robert Rande in E. Hailstone Hist. & Antiq. Parish Bottisham (1873) 146 To my son Tho. a cotage in Longmeadow Street and a sticke of land joyning to it.
1664 Terrier of Westborne, Sussex (MS.) One other Plott..which James Sowter renteth of him..conteyneth about half a Stick of Land. Item one other Plott of Land..conteyneth about a quarter of a Stick of ground.
22. Candle-making. A batch of candles made by hanging a number of wicks from a stick and dipping them into heated wax or tallow. Now historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for making other articles > [noun] > candle-making equipment
candle-mould1566
wax-moulda1679
stick1711
hot closet1798
port1839
broach1875
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > [noun] > candles made at one time
course1552
stick1711
1711 Act 10 Anne c. 19 §109 in Statutes of Realm (1963) IX. 669 Every Chandler..shall..declare..the Number of Sticks which he designs to make..and also the Sizes of the Candles whereof each Stick is to consist.
1740 Proc. Old Bailey 16 Apr. 117/2 The Excise-Man came to take an Account of the Candles; and told me he missed 2 Sticks.
1832 Excise Seizures, Scotl. & Ireland 8/2 in Parl. Papers 1831–2 (H.C. 149) XXXIV. 45 Having more sticks of candles than in declaration.
1863 Reliquary 4 103 The ordinary devices of the Tallow Chandlers are..a stick of candles within a half-moon; or one or more candles.
1918 Boston Sunday Post 7 July Good candles may be made by..suffering each stick of candles to cool a little between dip and dip.
1989 Numismatic Chron. 149 275 Chandlery was a respected trade and the man with his stick of candles is a common sight on tokens.
†23. A sermon. Obsolete. rare.Only in the writings of Jonathan Boucher.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > preaching > [noun] > instance of
lorespellc1000
sermona1200
predicationa1325
preachingc1350
collation1417
preachmentc1460
postils1483
preacha1550
exercise1597
sermocination1645
pronea1670
stick1759
1759 J. Boucher Let. 7 Aug. in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1912) 7 7 Which Matter of a new Stick, vamp them one for next Sunday.
1762 J. Boucher Let. 5 Aug. in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1912) 7 153 At sea, I drew up I believe ½ a doz: sticks—Originals.
24. A quantity of spirits or hard liquor added to a drink. Frequently in with a stick in it. Now somewhat rare (U.S. and Australian in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > [adjective] > with alcohol added
spiritful1608
sprightful1615
spirituous1646
spirited1648
with a stick in it1808
well-laced1826
brandied1833
brandified1841
whiskied1850
spiked1909
needled1929
alcoholic1989
1808 R. Anderson et al. Ballads in Cumberland Dial. (new ed.) 175 A quart o' het yell, and a stick in't.
1887 O. Weil Victor iii. 45 Nice cool ginger beer! Two sous a glass, plain; three with a stick in it!
1929 H. L. Mencken Let. 26 May in H. L. Mencken & S. Haardt Mencken & Sara (1987) 409 Don't forget to ask the professors..if you can have a stick of rye in milk at night.
1975 D. Stuart Walk, trot, canter & Die vii. 57 I got another drop of tea, John, and a stick of rum in it.
2007 D. Wondrich Imbibe! iv. 119 Horse's Neck, which was simply ginger ale with a long, long lemon twist—although many liked theirs with a ‘stick’ of rye or gin in it.
25. Military.
a. A number of bombs (usually five or six) dropped from an aircraft in quick succession.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > [noun] > air operation > bombing raid > dropping of bombs > number or distribution of bombs
straddle1915
stick1940
salvo1942
blanket1944
carpet1944
pattern1944
1940 Aeroplane 13 Sept. 296/1 A German five-seater came over and dropped a stick of bombs.
1940 Times 6 Dec. 4/1 Seeing a convoy in the road, we dropped a stick plumb in the centre of it.
1975 T. Allbeury Special Coll. iv. 18 There were dull thuds as another stick of bombs was dropped.
2014 P. Schrijvers Those who hold Bastogne v. 119 The flares were followed almost immediately by piercing shrieks, as sticks of bombs hurtled towards the illuminated target.
b. A group of airborne troops parachuting from an aircraft in quick succession.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > people who fly in aircraft or spacecraft > [noun] > parachutist > group jumping in quick succession
stick1941
1941 Aeroplane 31 Oct. 481/2 A single Whitley III..dropped ten men in a ‘stick’ and released a supply container.
1955 J. Thomas No Banners xiv. 127 The despatcher yelled hysterically: ‘Now, a nice stick of three!’
1982 Times 5 June 4/6 The 15 marines in our ‘stick’ jumped through the [helicopter] door..with weapons ready.
2013 B. Brown & T. Poyser Fighting Fox Company 32 As they accumulated jumps and progressed in training, exiting an entire stick of men in a matter of seconds became routine.
c. A small group of soldiers assigned to a particular duty.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > group with special function or duty > [noun]
conreyc1330
partyc1330
stalec1350
stuff1412
crew1455
working party1744
draft1756
draught1780
commando1791
detail1862
otriad1916
taskforce1927
stick1953
1953 Mars & Minerva Aug. 17/2 The ‘Stick’ was formed with the object of having a section in the Regiment which could be trained to lead on rock, snow and ice.
1985 Times 3 July 12/2 A Toyota Land Cruiser with a stick of heavily armed guards.
1996 P. Godwin Mukiwa xii. 236 Everyone had gone back..except..a stick of black police reserve guards.
2008 P. Williams Soldier Blue xii. 242 A stick of soldiers had trooped in to report that a gang of terrorists had been sighted.

Phrases

P1. In similative and comparative phrases, as the type of something thin, dry, hard, stiff, etc.
ΚΠ
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. iii. 1114 Here bodyes beþ colde and druye, as it were a stykke.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 144 (MED) Myn handys power is now all lorn, Styff as a stykke.
1571 J. Bridges Serm. Paules Crosse 125 A wafer [sc. the host]..as thinne as a paper,..as muche taste as a stycke, and as deade as a dore nayle.
1656 A. L. Fox tr. F. Würtz Exper. Treat. Surg. xiii. 254 The lips of the wound grow as hard as a stick.
1760 T. Gray Let. 29 June in Corr. (1971) II. 685 It was dry as a stick..and cold as a cucumber.
1770 J. Hall-Stevenson Fables for Grown Gentlemen for 1770 xx. 43 A hungry crow, lean as a stick.
1893 V. Bailey Prairie Ground Squirrels 32 Standing upright on its hind feet, straight and motionless as a stick.
1945 Commentary Dec. 46/1 A wife thin as a stick.
1983 W. Percy Lost in Cosmos 147 There sits the poor writer, rigid as a stick, pencil poised.
2003 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 9 Mar. 11 Her father..seems to have been drier than a stick and rather less pliable.
P2.
a. every (also †ilk, †ilka) stick: all the parts or materials of a thing, esp. a building or other structure; the whole of a thing. Also used adverbially: totally, completely. Often in the context of total destruction or ruin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > completely [phrase]
high and low1397
every (also ilk, ilka) stick?a1400
root and rind?a1400
hair and hide?c1450
stout and routc1450
bane and routc1480
overthwart and endlonga1500
(in) hide and hairc1575
right out1578
horse and footc1600
flesh and fella1616
root and branch1640
stab and stow1680
stoop and roop1728
stick, stock, stone dead1796
rump and stump1824
stump and rump1825
rump and rig1843
good and1885
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) ii. 2749 Carro, Lodelow toun,..Dunford, & Maltoun, Steuen wan þam ilk a stik.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 1311 Þus..þe strenth [of Alexander's towers] ilk stike was in a stounde wasted.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxx. 743 They fell a flinging of fire upon the lodgings and sheds.., they were all at once on a light fire, and burnt every stick downe to the ground.
1628 W. Bedell Let. 5 Mar. in R. Parr Life J. Usher (1686) Coll. cxxxv. 403 In the mean while the Scholars..have pulled it [sc. the Inclosure at the Colledg-Gate] all down, every Stick, and brought it away into the Colledg to several Chambers.
1660 Z. Crofton Αναληψις Ανεληϕθη 33 I knew a man passing through an old rotten house, got a knock on his pate, and in his passion, sware he would pull it down and burn it every stick.
1738 Common Sense (1739) 17 June II. 118 I saw their Nest intirely demolished, and every Stick of it removed.
1751 J. Arbuthnot Hist. John Bull iii. xv, in Misc. Wks. II. 78 He..fell unawares on Philip's Boats..and sunk, burnt, and took every Stick of them.
1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. ix. x. 522 Two villages, Fuhrenheim and Sandhausen, it swam away, every stick of them.
1993 V. Milan From Depths xviii. 199 I will blast every stick of your military equipment that's bigger than a rifle into slag.
b. (every) stick and stone (also stower, stock, etc.) and variants: all the parts or materials of a thing, esp. a building or other structure; the whole of a thing. Also used adverbially: totally, completely. Cf. stower n.1 1, stock and block at stock n.1 1e.
ΚΠ
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 7177 (MED) Þe place was brynt, styk and stoure, Abbay and house.
?1459 Will of John Fastolf in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 90 That thanne the said John Paston shulde doo poule doun the said mansion and euery stone and stikke therof.
a1500 (c1437) Brut (Lamb.) 583 Þe Calisers..bare lxiii clene away, Euery stikke & stone, & lafte not ther one log.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 232v [He] to declare hym selfe [free from the assumption of kingly power], was fain to pul down his hous sticke and stone euen to ye plain grounde.
1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne ix. ix. 161 Godfrey meane-while to ruin sticke and stone Of this faire towne, with battrie sore, assaies.
1662 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) III. 612 We putt it into the fyre, That it mey be brunt both stik and stowre.
a1771 J. Gill Coll. Serm. & Tracts (1778) I. xxx. 501 Sin is like the spreading leprosy in the house, which could not be cleansed of it, without pulling down every stick and stone.
1786 R. Burns Poems 216 Folk thought them ruin'd stick-an-stowe.
1829 Melodist 4 375 Old streets now it hard to trace is..; Swallow-street, so long well known, sir, Is swallow'd up both stick and stone.
1880 S. Baring-Gould Mehalah I. xii. 240 Cousin Charles is not the man to see his relatives sold up stick and stock.
1914 D. H. Lawrence Let. 22 Aug. (2002) II. 209 Germany is a queer country... I alternate between hating it thoroughly, stick stock and stone, and yearning over it fit to break my heart.
1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 292/2 A went in an' it'd all went! Ivvry bloody stick an' stow on it!
2015 A. B. Harp Sooner Story 20/2 Every faculty member, every student, every custom, every stick and stone on the campus, was there because of him.
c. not a stick and variants: absolutely nothing; no piece or part of a thing, esp. a building or other structure. Often in the context of total destruction or eradication.
ΚΠ
?1571 in A. Jenkinson et al. Early Voy. Russia & Persia (1886) II. 339 One of ye dukes howses..was consomed with fyer & not one stick left.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 13 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) Of all Townes, Castles, Forts, Bridges, and Habitations, they left not any sticke standing.
1625 in W. Foster Eng. Factories India 1624–9 (1909) 80 The Sultan suffaringe not a sticke to bee puld downe out of aney house.
1680 Acct. Prodigious Storms London-Derry (single sheet) (verso) The River..brought with it an infinite deal of Timber, Sticks, Straw and Rubbish, which gathering together at the side of our New Bridge, and having no vent it overthrew, and there is not one stick left, and so the prettiest Bridge in Ireland is lost.
1700 G. Booth tr. Diodorus Siculus Hist. Libr. xiv. vii. 384 Imilco demolish'd Messina, and commanded his Soldiers to pull down the Houses to the ground, so as not one stick should be left standing.
1756 M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) vi. 151 Planted with fine trees till you come to Tirlemont, where the French have not left a stick.
1817 G. Soane Falls of Clyde i. i. 6 Ken. Let all these hovels—all—be instantly demolished!.. Mal. Leave not a stick standing—leave not an ember burning!
1893 A. Conan Doyle Refugees xxxv. 322 ‘And the fort burned?’ ‘Not a stick was left standing.’
1915 J. Buchan Salute to Adventurers iii. 40 I began to fancy that Muckle John's true place was with the Mussulmans, for he left not a stick of Christianity behind him.
1965 N.Y. Times 11 Aug. 10/4 Not a stick remains of the stately Victorian homes that dotted the island before the war.
2012 J. Lockett Discov. of Weather vi. 176 Fish houses were carried away, and not a stick was left standing where the wharves had been.
P3. it is easy to find a stick to beat a dog and variants: if a person wishes to take offence, pick a fight, etc., it is easy to find an excuse or reason to do so. Hence allusively a stick to beat a dog: an expedient reason to do something.
ΚΠ
1587 J. Bridges Def. Govt. Church of Eng. xv. 1294 Loe, how easie a matter it is to finde a sticke to beate a dogge; to picke a quarrell at euery small offence, when one is disposed to cauill.
1683 Whip for Devil 2 Now though it be a thing well known that the Devil is generally hated, and as true that it is an easie thing to find a stick to beat a dog, yet is it not so easie to find a Rod to whip the Devil.
1782 F. Hopkinson in Pennsylvania Gaz. 21 Aug. 2/1 A proverb..naturally occurs on this occasion: It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog.
?1846 J. R. Planché Queen Mary's Bower i. i. 7 Orm. Why, how have you offended him?.. Hec. When you want to beat a dog it's easy to find a stick.
1884 Nineteenth Cent. Aug. 197 Any stick is good enough to beat a dog with. Any excuse seems sufficient to satisfy the Peers in destroying a Reform Bill.
1933 Harper's Mag. Sept. 482/1 When the Armory Show of 1913 was at the Chicago Art Institute a campaign was waged against it on the grounds of indecency... (Any stick will do to beat a dog with).
1987 Washington Times 30 Apr. 11 a/2 When you want to beat a dog, any stick will do.
2014 Guardian (Nexis) 20 Aug. 24 There has been great sport to be had poking fun at the business secretary... But there is a danger of picking up any stick to beat a dog.
P4. a stick to beat (a person, etc.) with and variants: a fact, situation, argument, etc., which can be used to criticize or damage (a person, group, or cause).
ΚΠ
1653 D. Osborne Lett. to Sir W. Temple (2002) 111 What reason have I to furnish you with a stick to beat my selfe withall.
a1740 A. Pope Minor Poems (1954) 196 Parnell..Will venture it now—you have no Stick to beat him.
1882 Sat. Rev. 2 Sept. 298/2 They want a stick with which to beat the Church.
1928 D. H. Lawrence in Evening News 8 May 8/4 The last stupid stick with which the old can beat the young.
1962 Listener 5 Apr. 597/2 Israel has sometimes been just another stick with which the Arabs beat each other.
2016 Cape Argus (Nexis) 16 Jan. 20 Some politicians are already seeking to use these unlooked for privileges as a stick with which to beat people.
P5. to play a good stick: to play a violin, fiddle, etc., well (cf. sense 11e). Later, with various other verbs, as to shoot a good stick: to do well or be skilled at an activity, esp. one which involves the use of a stick (in various senses).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > there is much success [phrase] > play one's part well or badly
to play a good stick1741
to be on one's game1920
1741 R. Goadby tr. M. de Cervantes Two Humorous Novels ii. 168 You are admiring the Broom, she plays a good Stick, Musick sooner made, and with less Trouble, nor cheaper was never invented in the World.
?1790 Road to Hymen 24 I plays a good stick on the fiddle, and can dance buttered pease, Margery Cree, and old Roger of Coverley featly.
1824 W. Irving Bold Dragoon in Tales of Traveller I. i. 52 He could swear a good stick himself.
1843 F. Bellew Mem. Griffin II. iv. 79 The captain..fired a capital good stick nevertheless, and knocked the black partridges about, right and left, in great style.
1892 E. Waugh Tufts of Heather 1st Ser. I. 188 The hungry travellers sat down. For about half-an-hour every man of the three ‘played a good stick’, as the old saying goes.
1974 ‘D. Gober’ Black Cop (1993) 149 ‘Man, you shoot a good stick.’.. Rhodes knew that he couldn't spend all his time shooting pool and drinking brew.
2009 J. Amato Once Engineer iv. 47 My old man can shoot a good stick, especially eight ball.
P6.
a.
(a) to get (also have) the wrong end of the stick and variants.
(i) To do poorly or end up at a disadvantage in a bargain, deal, or contest. Cf. to get the worse end of the staff at staff n.1 Phrases 7. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > be disadvantageous [verb (intransitive)] > have disadvantage
to have (also get) the worsec1275
to have (also get, etc.) the better (or worse) end of the staff1542
disprofit1561
the worst end of the bargain (also stick, staff, etc.)1564
to have the wrong end of the stick?1793
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > mistake [phrase]
to miss the cushiona1529
to get, have, or take the (or a) wrong (or right) sow by the ear1546
to pray without one's beads1641
to have the wrong end of the stick?1793
to bark up the wrong tree1832
the boot (is) on the wrong leg or foot1834
to have another think coming1896
you have another guess coming1935
to be off the beam1941
blow1943
?1793 ‘Yorick’ Dr—yt—n Rev. 67 This Yorick is surely in League with Old Nick, We Saints have sure got the Wrong End of the Stick.
1825 Portfolio 8 Jan. 277/1 Mr. W. the wrong end of the stick in the affair.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 249 If you happen to have the arrangement of a bargain..with the rural Australian, you will rarely find that the apparently impassive countryman has ‘got the wrong end of the stick’.
1919 Times of India 4 Sept. 6/3 It reminds one of the appeal made to the Government last year by some of the magnates who had found themselves at the wrong end of the stick in their huge cotton speculations.
1987 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 12 May 14 Why do motorcyclists always seem to end up on the wrong end of the stick; is it collective punishment for the misdeeds of the few?
(ii) British. To misunderstand a situation, fact, etc.; to be incorrect.
ΚΠ
1820 Morning Post 29 July You are constantly getting hold of the wrong end of the stick.
1893 Brit. Chess Mag. June 253 A more fatuous gripping of the wrong end of the stick is not easily imagined.
1939 ‘G. Orwell’ Coming up for Air iv. vii. 283 Listen, Hilda. You've got hold of the wrong end of the stick about this business.
1951 N. Mitford Blessing i. xiii. 135 I'm afraid, old man, you've got the wrong end of the stick there.
1968 Listener 12 Sept. 340/2 I am afraid my old friend and colleague has got hold of the wrong end of a very large number of sticks.
1994 Independent on Sunday 18 Sept. 23/2 Kay Barwick..believes many would-be asserters have got the wrong end of the stick. ‘It's a common myth that assertiveness equals aggression,’ she insists.
2002 S. Brett Torso in Town (2003) xxxiii. 268 She'd got the wrong end of the stick about Carole and Jude's relationship.
(b) to get (also have) the mucky (also rough, bad, crappy, etc.) end of the stick: to end up in a comparatively unfavourable or unpleasant position. Cf. the dirty end (of the stick) at dirty adj. 1e, the thick end of the stick at thick adj. 3b.
ΚΠ
1846 ‘Lord Chief Baron’ Swell's Night Guide (new ed.) 49 Which of us had hold of the crappy..end of the stick?
1882 Vanity Fair 3 June 309/2 We have known a great many promoters who got nothing for themselves except, perhaps, the rough end of the stick.
1919 Manch. Guardian 12 July 10/1 She could not think of divorce, because she would have to bring the action against her husband, and whenever she did anything of that sort she always got the bad end of the stick.
1932 W. S. Maugham Narrow Corner vi. 25 Dr. Saunders was inclined to believe that..Fred Blake would get the thin end of the stick.
1959 ‘M. Cronin’ Dead & Done With iv. 61 I've had the rough end of the stick ever since I got here.
1977 P. Scott Staying On (1978) i. 14 Always..I have the mucky end of the stick. But then I am only part of the fixtures and fittings.
2014 Liverpool Echo (Nexis) 13 June 14 It's a huge victory for the little man who all too often gets the mucky end of the stick but has no idea what to do about it.
(c) Originally North American. to get (also have) the short end of the stick and variants: to end up at a disadvantage or in a comparatively unfavourable position in a situation, outcome, arrangement, etc.; cf. short end n. (d) at short adj., n., and adv. Compounds 6a, and also to get the wrong end of the stick at Phrases 6a(a), to get the mucky end of the stick at Phrases 6a(b). [Apparently a conflation of to get (also have) the wrong end of the stick at Phrases 6a(a) with to draw the short straw (see straw n.1 5h).]
ΚΠ
1885 Boston Daily Globe 7 Jan. (Suppl.) The old system of life insurance..was a game in which the insured bought the short end of the stick.
1921 Washington Post 28 Dec. 2 Taxpayers in the United States are getting decidedly the short end of the stick on payments for the expenses of the armies.
1973 R. V. Fitzgerald Conjoint Marital Therapy iv. 69 It seemed to her as though girls were always getting the short end of the stick.
2006 D. Trussoni Falling through Earth (2007) iv. 60 At Roscoe's, if you hadn't had the short end of the stick most of your life..there was surely something wrong with you.
b. to get (also have) the right end of the stick and variants: to correctly understand, interpret, or respond to a fact, situation, etc.; to be correct. Also occasionally: to come off best in a bargain or contest.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery, superiority, or advantage [verb (intransitive)]
risec1175
to have the higher handa1225
to have the besta1393
bettera1400
vaila1400
to win or achieve a checka1400
surmount1400
prevaila1425
to have (also get) the better handa1470
to go away with it1489
to have the besta1500
to have (also get, etc.) the better (or worse) end of the staff1542
to have ita1616
to have (also get) the laugh on one's side1672
top1718
beat1744
to get (also have) the right end of the stick1817
to have the best of1846
to go one better1856
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > speak truly [verb (intransitive)] > be right
to have reasonc1475
to get (also have) the right end of the stick1817
hit1874
to be on the beam1941
1817 Star 22 Aug. He had not, to use an old observation, taken the right end of the stick. He had attempted reformation at the top, instead of beginning at the bottom.
1838 J. B. Fraser Winter's Journey I. ii. 52 There was no help for it: I scolded, protested, and looked big; but my friend had the right end of the stick, and he kept it.
1897 W. Beatty Secretar xiii. 100 I was more convinced than ever..that I had the right end of the stick.
1934 C. Day Lewis Hope for Poetry vii. 42 Although Lewis's analysis convinces us..as being correct in detail, we are compelled to feel that Lawrence rather than Lewis had got hold of the right end of the stick.
1977 Guardian 29 Mar. 8/1 The French critics have got the right end of the stick: Providence is indeed a masterpiece.
2010 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 12 July 13 The subject of voting seems to make it particularly difficult for politicians to say what they really mean, in case the electorate might get the right end of the stick.
P7.
a. stick, stock, stone dead: completely or unquestionably dead. Cf. stone-dead adj. at stone n. Compounds 3a(a). Now somewhat rare.In later use frequently in nursery rhymes and in retellings of the fairy tale ‘The Rose Tree’ (see quot. 1865).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > completely [phrase]
high and low1397
every (also ilk, ilka) stick?a1400
root and rind?a1400
hair and hide?c1450
stout and routc1450
bane and routc1480
overthwart and endlonga1500
(in) hide and hairc1575
right out1578
horse and footc1600
flesh and fella1616
root and branch1640
stab and stow1680
stoop and roop1728
stick, stock, stone dead1796
rump and stump1824
stump and rump1825
rump and rig1843
good and1885
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > utter or absolute
shirea1225
purec1300
properc1380
plainc1395
cleana1400
fine?a1400
entirec1400
veryc1400
starka1425
utterc1430
utterlyc1440
merec1443
absolute1531
outright1532
cleara1535
bloodyc1540
unproachable1544
flat1553
downright1577
sheer1583
right-down?1586
single1590
peremptory1601
perfecta1616
downa1625
implicit1625
every way1628
blank1637
out-and-outa1642
errant1644
inaccessional1651
thorough-paced1651
even down1654
dead1660
double-dyed1667
through stitch1681
through-stitched1682
total1702
thoroughgoing1719
thorough-sped1730
regular1740
plumb1748
hollow1751
unextenuated1765
unmitigated1783
stick, stock, stone dead1796
positive1802
rank1809
heart-whole1823
skire1825
solid1830
fair1835
teetotal1840
bodacious1845
raw1856
literal1857
resounding1873
roaring1884
all out1893
fucking1893
pink1896
twenty-four carat1900
grand slam1915
stone1928
diabolical1933
fricking1937
righteous1940
fecking1952
raving1954
1796 Sun 18 Mar. Then droop'd his head, stick, stock, stone dead.
1810 Gammer Gurton's Garland iii. 31 One-ery, two-ery, Ziccary zan; Hollow bone, crack a bone, Ninery ten:..Stick, stock, stone dead, Blind man can't see, Every knave, will have a slave, You or I must be He.
1865 Notes & Queries 29 July 83/2 My wicked mother slew me, My dear father ate me, My little brother whom I love Sits below, and I sing up above. Stick, stock, stone dead.
1948 West Virginia Folklore 7 13 Counting-out Rhymes... Stick, stock, stone dead. Sit him up, sit him down, Sit him in the old man's crown.
1988 J. K. Keefer Constellations 41 The dreams I once had are stick, stock, stone dead.
b. stick, stark, staring mad and variants: completely or unquestionably insane. Cf. stark staring mad at stark adv. 2b. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1833 T. Hood Lost Heir in Mirror Lit., Amusem., & Instr. Suppl. No. 637. 390/1 I shall go stick stark staring wild!
1880 T. Tharp Sword of Damocles I. xx. 262 ‘Holy pokers! just look!’ ejaculated Gore, as they rose to leave; ‘why, the giant's gone stick, stark, staring mad!’
1908 Amer. Mag. Dec. 186/1 Now he had gone stick, stark, staring, raving, biting mad.
1933 S. Clark Germany on Fifty Dollars xxi. 227 Ludwig's castles are ‘stick stark staring mad’—and they are beautiful.
P8. the sticks of fate: a set of marked sticks used in various Chinese methods of divination; one of these methods of divination. Cf. I Ching n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by symbols, letters, figures, etc. > [noun] > Chinese manual for > apparatus used in
the sticks of fate1804
1804 J. Barrow Trav. China ix. 499 An elderly lady was very busily employed in throwing the sticks of fate, in order to obtain a lucky number.
1860 R. Cobbold Pict. Chinese ii. 14 You seldom enter a Buddhist temple without seeing some anxious face watching till one of the ‘sticks of fate’ falls out of the shaken box.
1880 Boys of Eng. 20 Jan. 195/3 Others were busy in throwing ‘sticks of fate’, which consist of two hollow pieces of bamboo, and must be thrown three times (the true mystic number), before an answer can be obtained.
1903 A. B. Tulloch Recoll. Forty Years' Service v. 72 There are vases on the Buddhist altar which do not yet appear even in our most advanced ritualistic buildings—viz., those containing the sticks of fate.
1983 Burlington Mag. 125 256/2 (caption) Devotee consulting the Sticks of Fate.
2001 S. Karcher Kuan Yin Oracle (2003) 67 The Sticks of Fate is the traditional way. This method involves a tall narrow cup..filled with a hundred thin bamboo slats.
†P9. to hold the sticks to: to compete with on equal terms; to have a fair chance against. Similarly to hold sticks with. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > make equal [verb (transitive)] > equal, match, or rival
matchc1400
to hold, rarely have, tack with (to)1412
equalize15..
mate1509
touch1530
to hold (a person, etc.) tack (to tack)1555
equal1590
egall1591
countermatch1600
to weigh with (also even with)1600
emulate1602
side1605
compeer1608
pair1619
mount1628
amate1642
to hold weight witha1643
to be (also prove oneself) a match for1712
peel1726
to hold the sticks toa1817
to bear or stand comparison with1845
see1861
tie1888
society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > compete with [verb (transitive)] > compete on equal terms with
to hold the sticks toa1817
a1817 W. Muir Poems (1818) 58 Nae kitten, fam'd for fun an' tricks, Can to the weasel ha'd the sticks.
1859 C. Reade Love me Little I. viii. 232 If I began by despising my business..how should I ever hold sticks with my able competitors?
†P10. slang. to be high up the stick: to be high-ranking in one's work or profession. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > working > career > have career [verb (intransitive)] > stand high in profession
to be high up the stick1819
1819 C. Morgan Let. in Lady Morgan Passages from Autobiogr. (1859) 295 All my acquaintance among the doctors are so high up the stick, they have no time to spare to answer inquiries.
P11. to beat (also knock) all to sticks: to surpass completely; to defeat decisively. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (transitive)] > surpass or beat
whip1571
overmaster1627
to give (one) fifteen and a bisque1664
to beat (all) to nothing1768
beatc1800
bang1808
to beat (also knock) all to sticks1820
floga1841
to beat (a person, a thing) into fits1841
to beat a person at his (also her, etc.) own game1849
to knock (the) spots off1850
lick1890
biff1895
to give a stone and a beating to1906
to knock into a cocked hat1965
1820 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 8 85 Which in the west country beats our stot-beef here all to sticks.
1840 W. M. Thackeray Barber Cox in Comic Almanack 16 When I came to know his game, I used to knock him all to sticks; or, at least, win six games to his four.
1889 Sc. Notes & Queries 3 75/2 The game is all very well as a craze—indeed, it beats the wheelbarrow craze all to sticks.
1923 Humorist 29 Sept. 226/2 ‘Beats motoring all to sticks,’ I told him, for nobody can afford more thoroughly to despise motors than the man who can't buy one.
1945 in J. Fletcher-Cooke Emperor's Guest (2013) App. iii. 314 We somehow feel a sort of pleasure at hearing Premier Churchill and his party were beaten all to sticks by the Labour Party headed by Attlee at the recent general election.
P12. to go (all) to sticks and variants: to be ruined; to be rendered worthless or penniless through a decline in quality, value, wealth, etc. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1824 S. E. Ferrier Inheritance I. ix. 95 She married a Highland drover, or tacksman, I can't tell which, and they went all to sticks and staves.
1894 Cultivator & Country Gentleman 15 Feb. 132/3 While this cheap herd may have started right, with a few injudicious crosses and bad care,..it ‘may have gone all to sticks’.
1920 L. G. Long Farmer Hiram on World's War xxxv. 246 The Sultan's Grand Army had gone all to sticks.
1933 Creston (Iowa) News Advertiser 3 Apr. 1/1 Thousands of institutions..have gone to sticks because they were trying to make a dividend on the amount of money paid for their stocks.
1947 Creston (Iowa) News Advertiser 14 Oct. 2/3 Production declined; business went to sticks.
P13. to up sticks (also to up stick).
a. Nautical. To set up a boat's mast in preparation to sail or depart a place. Cf. sense 8. Now historical and rare.
ΚΠ
1832 United Service Jrnl. Mar. 385 When I up stick for the Strates after my last, I haddent no oppertoonity to lett you know as I was off.
1837 M. H. Barker in Bentley's Misc. Mar. 278 There was a nice little breeze, and so we ups stick..to run down and overhaul the strangers.
1888 W. C. Russell Death Ship I. 286 To have nothing to do with her or me, but to bear a hand and ‘up sticks’.
1920 C. A. W. Monckton Some Exper. New Guinea Resident Magistr. xxii. 262 Up sticks and away for Port Moresby and Sir Francis Winter.
1930 Motorboating Nov. 25/2 After discharging our case oil into dhows..we had all kinds of weather going around to Madras for orders..and up-stick for Calcutta.
1945 J. C. Colcord Sea Lang. comes Ashore 179 ‘Up stick and cut it’, refers to stepping the mast of a small boat, and getting out of there pronto!
b. To leave a place and move elsewhere; to end one's ties to a place in preparation for moving a significant distance. Cf. to pull up stakes at stake n.1 1e.
ΚΠ
1839 Knickerbocker 14 141 Why, in the name of common sense, do you not up sticks and off?
1877 Harper's Mag. Jan. 213/2 If any man tries hard words with me, I knocks him down, up sticks, and makes tracks.
1958 P. Scott Mark of Warrior ii. 168 0700 we up sticks here and get well under cover a mile into the jungle.
1972 G. Green Great Moments in Sport: Soccer i. 28 Neil Franklin..upped sticks..and departed to Bogotá.
2015 Psychologies (U.K. ed.) May 46/1 Not long after Zoë left, two others from our school ‘gang’ upped sticks—Megan to Nairobi and Christine for a new life in Spain.
†P14. Shooting. to shoot for the stick: to shoot game in order to achieve a high number of kills rather than for the pleasure of the activity. Cf. sense 2b. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > shooting > shoot [verb (intransitive)] > manner or type of
grousec1798
to set up1824
to shoot for the stick1834
to go to rode1838
to fire into the brown (of them)1845
set1859
hold ahead1881
hold on1881
rough-shoot1937
1834 New Monthly Mag. July 288 In a battue..the shooting is for the stick, as it is technically phrased—not for the pleasure, but the pride of the murderer of hecatombs.
P15. sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me and variants: used, esp. by children, to express or encourage an attitude of indifference to taunts, insults, or other verbal abuse. In later use also shortened to sticks and stones and esp. used attributively to designate an attitude, behaviour, or action characterized by indifference to taunts, insults, or other verbal abuse.
ΚΠ
1862 Christian Recorder 22 Mar. Remember the old adage, ‘Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me’. True courage consists in doing what is right, despite the jeers and sneers of our companions.
1894 G. F. Northall Folk-phrases 23 Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me! Said by one youngster to another calling names.
1946 Ladies' Home Jrnl. May 153 ‘We'll get you in the yard tomorrow and bite it out of you.’ ‘Sticks and stones,’ he said, with a yawn.
1952 Dept. State Bull. 19 May 781/1 To back out, taking the ‘sticks and stones’ attitude, would doom freedom everywhere to destruction.
1970 Globe Mag. (Toronto) 26 Sept. 2/1 A don't care sticks and stones defiance in his eyes.
1995 Harper's Mag. Apr. 49/2 Sticks and stones, my friend. That kind of confrontational attitude does nothing but make me feel a lack of respect for you.
2003 M. Haddon Curious Incident of Dog in Night-time 56 I don't listen to what other people say and only sticks and stones can break my bones and I have my Swiss Army Knife if they hit me.
P16. stick and groove: a method of producing fire using friction generated by rubbing a stick vigorously along a groove in a piece of wood; the pieces of wood used in this process. Cf. fire-plough n. at fire n. and int. Compounds 2a.
ΚΠ
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind ix. 236 One of the simplest machines for producing fire is that which may be called the ‘stick-and-groove’. A blunt-pointed stick is run along a groove of its own making in a piece of wood lying on the ground.
1928 Man 28 13 The local method of fire-making is by the stick and groove.
1931 Oceania 2 143 A hole is dug and in it a fire is kindled by the stick and groove method.
1971 R. A. Tsanoff Civilization & Progress Epil. 359 The stick-and-groove or fire-saw or fire-plow, where a strip of bamboo or other readily inflammable wood is rubbed briskly across another.
2005 A. Delbanco Melville (2006) iii. 82 ‘Civilized’ man channels his libidinal energy..into tools far advanced over the native's stick and groove.
P17. Horse Racing. over the sticks: in a race or races involving jumps. Opposed to on the flat (see flat n.3 1c).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [adverb] > in steeplechasing or hurdling
over the sticks1869
1869 Bell's Life in London 6 Feb. 5/2 The Hurdle Race followed, and all on the card but Charlie went out to try their luck over the sticks.
1898 T. Haydon Sporting Reminisc. 67 The quality of the competitors, both in flat races and ‘over the sticks’ was of the highest class.
a1944 K. Douglas Alamein to Zem Zem (1979) 102 Tom had progressed to riding professionally over the sticks.
1993 Tatler July 123/2 She keeps a John Fowler-trained hurdler, Opera Hat , which won a £10,000 race this season and is her first venture over the sticks.
2002 B. Hoey Her Majesty xv. 251 It is often said that the Queen races only on the Flat to avoid being in competition with her mother, whose horses race mainly ‘over the sticks’.
†P18. to keep (a person) at (the) stick's end: to keep (a person) at a distance; to treat (someone) with reserve or suspicion. Cf. at arm's end at arm n.1 Phrases 2b. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > discourtesy > treat discourteously [verb (transitive)] > treat with lack of affability
to show the cold shoulder1816
cold-shoulder1843
to keep (a person) at (the) stick's end1884
1884 Mag. of Art 7 227/2 They [sc. the shopmen] kept us at the stick's end, frowned us down, snatched each play out of our hand ere we were trusted with another.
1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped viii. 70 The captain, though he kept me at the stick's end the most part of the time, would sometimes unbuckle a bit, and tell me of the fine countries he had visited.
1903 S. R. Crockett Adventurer in Spain v. 131 His mother spoils him, and yet he will not go near her... I keep young Don Rascal at the stick's end, and, lo! I cannot be rid of him from morning to night!
1923 Young India 26 July 251/1 Is the Prince a man of advanced views? Does he... keep British officials and exploiters at stick's end?
P19. stick and rag: plasterwork consisting of plaster on a canvas and wood backing. Frequently attributive. Cf. stud and mud at stud n.1 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > surfacing or cladding > [noun] > bricklaying and plastering > plastering > plaster on specific surface
stick and rag1894
1894 C. F. Mitchell & G. A. Mitchell Building Constr. i. 31 Fibrous Plaster, or stick and rag work as it is termed, is a preparation of plaster of Paris on canvas, or canvas and wood backing.
1911 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 786/1 Fibrous plaster is given by plasterers the suggestive name ‘stick and rag’,..for it is composed of plaster laid upon a backing of canvas stretched on wood.
1986 in M. F. Wakelin Southwest of Eng. 113 Do all the stick-and-rag, all the fancy mouldings..and things like that style.
2013 K. Sears Boy from Treacle Bumstead xviii. 265 Mr Cheater showed me how to do stick and rag moulding on a bench.., and I also learned to make up stick and rag coving for ceilings.
P20. slang (originally U.S.). the sticks: a remote, thinly populated, or rural area; the backwoods; the country. Chiefly in prepositional phrases, esp. from the sticks, (out) in the sticks.Sometimes with connotations of provincialism or lack of sophistication.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [noun] > remote or outlying area
nookc1480
out-country1639
outland1645
remoteness1694
backwoods1709
back county1775
remote1838
Mountains of the Moon1852
nowhere1871
the sticks1899
way back1901
downstate1905
back o' Bourke1918
far-back1926
woop woop1926
boohai?1946
bundu1946
Dogpatch1946
outback1954
toolies1961
upstate1965
Watford1973
1899 Williamson County Sun (Georgetown, Texas) 17 Aug. Miss Zula Hall, after a vacation of several weeks rusticating in the ‘sticks’, has resumed her position.
1914 R. Lardner in Sat. Evening Post 7 Mar. 8/1 I will have to slip you back to the sticks [i.e. the minor baseball leagues].
1937 F. Loesser Meany, Miny, Moe in R. Kimball & S. Nelson Compl. Lyrics F. Loesser (2003) 21/1 Just three monkeys from the sticks, Nothing more than jungle hicks.
1941 W. C. Handy Father of Blues ix. 126 I continued..playing for dances, touring on the road and through the sticks and giving concerts.
1958 C. Koch Boys in Island 101 What can y' expect, way out here in the sticks? You would pick on a dame from back of beyond.
1977 Daily Express 29 Jan. 39/2 Most people regard us as a bunch of farmers from out in the sticks.
1990 P. Wilson Skvorecky's Miracle Game iii. v. 70 You think I'm stupid because I'm from the sticks?
2008 Independent 23 July (Property section) 5 Even in the sticks, noisy neighbours can spoil the serenity of your pastoral paradise.
P21. slang (British and Australian). up the stick: pregnant. Cf. to put (also stick) up the pole at pole n.1 Phrases 1f.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > pregnancy or gestation > [adjective]
greatc1175
with childc1175
with childc1300
baggeda1400
bounda1400
pregnant?a1425
quicka1450
greaterc1480
heavyc1480
teeming1530
great-bellied1533
big1535
boundenc1540
impregnate1540
great-wombeda1550
young with child1566
gravid1598
pregnate1598
pagled1599
enceinte1602
child-great1605
conceived1637
big-bellieda1646
brooding1667
in the (also a) family way1688
in the (also that) way1741
undelivered1799
ensient1818
enwombeda1822
in a delicate condition1827
gestant1851
in pod1890
up the (also a) pole1918
in a particular condition1922
preg?1927
in the spud line1937
up the spout1937
preggy1938
up the stick1941
preggers1942
in pig1945
primigravid1949
preggo1951
in a certain condition1958
gestating1961
up the creek1961
in the (pudding) cluba1966
gravidated-
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 71 Stick, up the: (of a girl or woman) to be pregnant.
1958 A. Sillitoe Sat. Night & Sunday Morning v. 69 Brenda on the tub, up the stick, with a bun in the oven.
1968 R. Lait Chance to Kill i. 10 Mary up the stick; funny how everyone counts the months.
1976 J. I. M. Stewart Memorial Service ix. 160 Do you know what it's like, Cyril, to be a decent and penniless young man who isn't sure he hasn't got his girl up the stick?
2008 M. Billingham In Dark (2009) xxv. 269 But you didn't need to be Einstein to work out it would have been around the time when she got herself up the stick.
P22. North American colloquial. to drive stick: to drive a car with a manual, as opposed to automatic, transmission (see sense 11l). [Probably originally short for to drive stick shift, to drive a stick shift; compare quot. 1966 and stick shift n. (a) at Compounds 2.]
ΚΠ
1966 Yachting May 53 ‘Can I help it if I don't know how to drive stick shift?’]
1972 Oak Leaves (Oak Park, Illinois) 23 Feb. 14 c/5 (advt.) Volkswagen 1969 Bug, Like new... Wife won't drive stick.
1976 Christopher Street 1 28 I couldn't drive stick. Even though I was gonna take this car and go to Portugal. I couldn't drive stick.
1989 Frederick (Maryland) Post 14 Apr. e9/4 Mustang 78, 4 spd... Owner can't drive stick..Must sell.
2016 A. Z. Khan Lang. of Secrets 281 Rachel could drive stick like a race car driver.
P23. colloquial. to pee (also wee, piss) on a stick: to take a pregnancy test of a type involving urinating on a disposable plastic stick which immediately indicates the result; (also more generally) to take any of various other diagnostic tests of this type.
ΚΠ
1995 Madison (Wisconsin) State Jrnl. 12 Feb. 3 b/3 Tonight's plot involves birth control and contains such lines as ‘I'm peeing on a stick’.
1996 H. Fielding Bridget Jones's Diary (1997) 118 It was his responsibility too and he wasn't having to spend £8.95 and hide in the toilets trying to wee on a stick.
1996 B. Greene & O. Winfrey Make Connection 4 Eat all the fat..you want, just don't eat any carbohydrates, and be sure to pee on a stick to make sure your body isn't completely breaking down.
2001 L. A. Blum You're not from around here, are You? 125 All I had to do was piss on a stick. Before I knew what I was doing, I had one in my hand. ‘I'm getting it’.
2012 www.mumsnet.com 3 July (forum post, accessed 12 June 2017) I knew before I peed on a stick that I was pregnant.
P24. to have a stick up one's ass: see ass n.2 Phrases 17; to cut one's stick: see cut v. 44; more than you can shake a stick at: see shake v. 5b; tarred with the same stick: see tar v.1 c.

Compounds

C1.
a. attributive. Designating a substance or product sold or stored in the form of long, thin pieces. Cf. sense 12a. See also stick phosphorus n. at Compounds 2.
stick cinnamon n.
ΚΠ
1668 G. Hartman tr. K. Digby Choice Receipts 15 5 pennyworth of stick Cinnamon.
1832 L. M. Child Frugal Housewife 87 The milk should be boiled and cooled..and bits of stick-cinnamon and bits of lemon-peel boiled in it.
1938 News (Frederick, Maryland) 14 Feb. 9/7 Stick cinnamon is used with certain gums to make an incense and an air freshener.
2002 G. Patent Baking in Amer. 332 The layers are filled with a..cream custard flavored with vanilla and stick cinnamon.
stick liquorice n. now rare
ΚΠ
1728 Bird Fancier's Recreation 22 You may put a little Bit of Stick-Liquorice, and a Blade of Saffron in his Water.
1826 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life (ed. 11) II. 312 Some long-forgotten bonbon of your boyhood..stick-liquorice,..&c.
1941 Jrnl. Polynesian Soc. 50 103 The root is tuberous and very large, when baked on heated stones it tastes like stick-liquorice.
stick metal n.
ΚΠ
1883 Bazaar, Exchange & Mart 12 Oct. 402/1 Supposing, however, that the amateur has the neck piece, whether cast from a pattern or turned from stick metal.
1943 Times 12 Jan. 1/4 (advt.) Stocks of Chill Cast Phosphor Bronze, Stick Metal for Bushes, Bearings, &c.
1983 Minerals Yearbk. 1982 (U.S. Bureau of Mines) I. 945/1 The addition of..tellurium, usually in the form of stick metal, improves the machinability of metals.
stick pomatum n. now historical and rare
ΚΠ
1827 Augusta (Georgia) Chron. 21 Dec. Fine Pot and Stick Pomatum.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Bandoline, a kind of stick pomatum.
1972 R. Corson Fashions in Makeup (ed. 3) xi. 241 Ordinary hair powder was a shilling a pound, stick pomatum a shilling.
b. Instrumental, objective, and similative.
stick blow n.
ΚΠ
1841 A. Owen tr. Venedotian Code ii. vi, in Anc. Laws & Inst. Wales 57/2 He is himself to receive the first stick-blow [W. effonnaut], if there be fighting.
1927 Times of India 11 Feb. 5/1 One of the..victims was grievously wounded as a result of stick blows.
2013 G. Oliver & R. Kamchen Don't call me Goon iv. 110 Williams seemed to come from another era,..when players routinely brawled and exchanged stick blows.
stick-cutting n.
ΚΠ
1847 C. Thomson Autobiogr. Artisan viii. 348 Mr. H. then expressed a desire to have a walking stick cut from old Sherwood;..the present was not time for stick-cutting.
1883 F. M. Peard Contradictions xviii Leaving Gina to watch the progress of Jim's stick-cutting.
1996 L. Gowan Stickmaking Tales v. 18 I met him..not long after I had finished stick-cutting for the season.
stick-shaped adj.
ΚΠ
1838 C. R. Goring & A. Pritchard Microsc. Illustr. (new ed.) vi. 142 The investigation of long stick-shaped bodies.
1857 A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. 586 A kind of minute stick-shaped corpuscle.
1925 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 14 Nov. 907/1 Spirochaetes are, by definition, corkscrew-shaped organisms, and bacteria stick-shaped.
2014 Jamestown (N. Dakota) Sun (Nexis) 15 July He likes to play with sticks, and anything stick-shaped, like brooms, pens and markers, too.
C2.
stick-and-carrot adj. that combines a threat of punishment with an offer of reward. [Compare the figurative uses discussed at sense 4a(b) and at carrot n. 2a.]
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society > authority > punishment > [adjective] > relating to sanctions
sanctionativec1832
sanctionary1845
stick-and-carrot1955
sanctional-
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > reward or a reward > [adjective] > and threat of punishment
stick-and-carrot1955
1955 World Politics 7 518 Communist China..must proceed under the stick-and-carrot technique of Communism in power.
1977 ‘J. le Carré’ Honourable Schoolboy vi. 136 It's a stick and carrot job. If you don't play, the comic will blow the whistle on you... That's the bad news... The good news is five hundred US into your hot little hand.
2003 J. Seigenthaler James K. Polk vi. 143 Somewhere in Polk's mind was the idea that a stick-and-carrot approach would bring an early end to hostilities.
stick-back adj. having a back formed by upright rods or sticks; chiefly in stick-back chair (cf. Windsor chair n. (b) at Windsor n. 1d).
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > chair > [adjective] > types of chair
caned1696
rush-bottomed1696
rush-bottom1729
roundabout chair1741
leather-bottomed1783
stick-back1783
poker-backed1830
flag-bottomed1840
claw-footed1858
seatless1871
cane-bottomed1877
cane-seated1881
sag-seated1890
sit-up1891
slat-back1891
sag-bottomed1893
spindle-back1896
shield-back1897
Carver1902
basket-bodied1903
panel-back1904
Cromwellian1905
hooped-back1906
saddle-backed1910
hard-arsed1933
sling-back1948
X-frame1955
hard-arse1964
1783 in Narrangansett Hist. Reg. (1884) II. 314 Three good large Windsor or Stickback Chairs.
1830 Augusta (Georgia) Chron. 16 June Stolen from the subscriber's stable door,..a black stick back sulkey, without a top, or cushion, or Door to the box.
1923 Heal & Son Catal.: Kitchen Furnit. 2 Unpolished Stickback Windsor Small Chair..12/6.
1974 S. Walrond Encycl. Driving 238 A light gig with a curved open stick-back seat which is suspended by iron stays.
2014 L. Francis-Sharma 'Til Well Runs Dry v. 75 She pointed to a white stick-back chair across from her.
stick bean n. any of several cultivated varieties of bean which twine round stakes for support, esp. Phaseolus coccineus and P. vulgaris; (also) the pods or seeds of such a plant.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > pulses or plants producing pulses > [noun] > bean > other types of bean
white bean1542
penny bean?1550
black bean1569
garence1610
mung1611
calavance1620
red bean1658
lablab1670
Cajan1693
dal1698
bonavist1700
tick-bean1744
tick1765
toker1786
mash1801
Lima beana1818
stick bean1823
Canavalia1828
moth1840
cow-pea1846
Lima1856
asparagus pea1859
towcok1866
Java bean1868
wall1884
Rangoon bean1903
Madagascar bean1909
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > pulse > [noun] > bean > other beans
bean1548
black bean1569
calavance1620
red bean1658
seven-year bean1666
lablab1670
Cajan1693
dal1698
adzuki1727
tick-bean1744
tick1765
toker1786
mash1801
Congo pea1812
stick bean1823
moog1840
moth1840
Lima1856
feijão1857
asparagus pea1859
mung1866
wall1884
Rangoon bean1903
1823 J. P. Cobbett Jrnl. Ride France in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 1 Nov. 309 Stick-beans (haricot, the French call them) are cultivated here, for the table.
1906 Dial. Notes 3 158 Stick bean,..pole bean.
1980 J. Gardam Sidmouth Lett. 134 D'you want some beans?.. Stick beans?
2007 Hort. Week 30 Aug. 64/3 The farm had 1.8ha of early stick beans, grown under polythene. A further 6ha crop of late stick beans was in the open.
stick bug n. U.S. (a) a stick insect, esp. Diapheromera femorata (family Diapheromeridae); †(b) an assassin bug, Emesaya brevipennis (family Reduviidae), having an elongated body resembling a twig (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Phasmida > family Phasmidae
walking stick1760
leaf insect1795
spectre1798
stick insect1826
spectrum1838
phasmid1864
stick bug1868
twig insect1882
witch's horse1894
1868 Amer. Entomologist 1 58/1 The long-bodied, long-legged, slender, slow-moving, greenish-brown insects, about three inches in length, exclusive of their long, slender legs, which measure each of them nearly as many inches more, are the common Stick-bug (Spectrum femoratum, Say).
1890 Cent. Dict. Stick-bug,..a predaceous reduvioid bug of the United States, Emesa longipes, with a long slender brown body and long spider-like legs, the front pair of which are raptorial.
1928 Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis 25 215 Locust nymph. This visitor was found as prey of the stick-bug, Emesa brevipennis.
1995 J. Shreeve Neandertal Enigma (1996) xi. 293 Deception is rife in the natural world. Stick bugs pretend to be sticks.
2015 S. Engel Hungry Mind ix. 172 A day didn't go by without her pointing out an interesting leaf, or bringing a stick bug inside to see what it would do if placed on the table.
stick-built adj. (a) gen. made of sticks; (b) North American Building (of a house or similar structure) having a wooden frame which is constructed piece by piece on site from individual timbers, rather than from prefabricated units, steel framing, concrete, etc.; (of a building system) that uses this traditional technique.
ΚΠ
1730 D. Lewis et al. Misc. Poems 286 The Bird's weak Cittadel, Straw or Stick-built, or of what Stuff soe'er They choose.
1841 Penny Cycl. XX. 148/2 The stick-built nest contains four..eggs.
1948 W. W. Robinson Land in Calif. vii. 74 Their villages or rancherías of stick-built huts.
1969 Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Mass.) 24 May 6/7 (advt.) Don't be fooled..and think that..sound construction..[and]..well-insulated..buildings will cost more than stick built buildings.
1986 Family Handyman Nov. 60/1 The old stick-built floor framing system called for joists on 16-in. centers.
2002 J. Truini Building Shed 41 It's no mystery why carpenters prefer stick-built construction: It's the fastest, easiest, and most affordable way to frame walls.
stick caterpillar n. (a) a caterpillar of a geometrid moth (family Geometridae), which resembles a stick or twig and typically holds itself erect and motionless on its prolegs when disturbed; (b) †a stick insect (family Phasmida) (obsolete).Stick caterpillars are also called inchworm, looper, and measuring-worm.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > larva > resembling stick
stick caterpillar1842
1842 Gardeners' Chron. 26 Nov. 788/1 These..stick-caterpillars cling so fast, by their anal feet, to the stalks and twigs, that it is scarcely possible to dislodge them by shaking or beating the branches.
1850 L. M. Budgen Episodes Insect Life 2nd Ser. Contents p. xv. On the left, another stick caterpillar—that of the Swallow-tail Moth (Ourapterix sambucaria), is attached to a branch of elder.
1898 E. E. Morris Austral Eng. 349 The various species [of the family Phasmidæ] are known as Leaf-insects, Walking-leaves, Stick-caterpillars [etc.].
1952 Behaviour 4 230 Some Jays are able, once they have found a stick caterpillar, to distinguish the insect from twigs.
2013 J. Diamond & A. B. Bond Concealing Coloration Animals ix. 127 The camouflage of stick caterpillars goes well beyond coloration.
stick chair n. (a) a chair with a back (and sometimes also legs) made from plain upright rods or sticks; a Windsor chair; †(b) a sedan chair (obsolete rare).
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > conveyance carried by person or animal > [noun] > carrying-chair > sedan chair
bearing-chair1352
seat1588
sedge1615
chair1634
man-litter1640
sedan1640
chair-volant1667
street-chaira1712
sedan chair1750
stick chair1800
tonjonc1804
jampan1828
1800 T. Jefferson Let. 9 July in Papers (2005) XXXII. 46 A half dozen stick chairs should have come with the other articles.
1833 Mechanics' Mag. 16 Nov. 108/1 The outside passengers, who are so comfortably seated on stick chairs or benches on the roof.
1908 M. Johnston Lewis Rand i. 11 Coach and chaise, curricle and stick-chair, were encountered.
1990 Woodworker July 709 (caption) John Brown's Welsh stick chairs are in a rural tradition.
2003 M. F. Moran Country Antiques (ed. 2) 105/3 Windsors, sometimes crudely referred to as stick chairs, have a light, airy appearance.
stick chimney n. U.S. a chimney made of sticks or logs, usually stacked horizontally and plastered with mud or clay.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > that which or one who heats > [noun] > a device for heating or warming > devices for heating buildings, rooms, etc. > chimney > log-house chimney
stick chimney1824
1824 Adsonville viii. 251 Many a stripling..climbing on the roof and introducing some foreign article into the stick chimney.
1846 C. M. Kirkland Western Clearings (new ed.) 7 The house was..of the roughest;..its stick chimney, so like its owner's hat, open at the top, and jammed in at the sides.
1950 M. F. McKeown Them was Days iv. 74 It was the only way to put out a fire once one of them stick chimneys caught on fire inside.
2012 W. R. Swagerty Indianization of Lewis & Clark I. x. 543 The early Swedish log cabin..often with its mud-lined stick chimney built external to the structure.
† stick cover n. Fox-hunting Obsolete a fox cover (fox-cover at cover n.1 4a) made of sticks; = stick covert n.
ΚΠ
1839 Sporting Rev. June 442 We found in the second cover we drew, in what is here called a stick cover (Meltonicé faggot); and..the hounds settled well to their fox.
1869 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 674 North Kilworth was a stick cover, and so was Vanderplank, close to Long Buckby. There is generally a litter in Vanderplank's.
1904 Illustr. Sporting & Dramatic News 16 Jan. 827/3 A second fox was almost immediately found in the Stick Cover.
stick covert n. Fox-hunting (now rare) a covert (covert n. 3) consisting of sticks, and often artificially created; = stick cover n.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting area > [noun] > covert > artificial
stick covert1848
stick heap1863
stick pile1883
1848 Era 5 Nov. 4/4 Having partaken of wine and biscuits at the hall, the field made a move for the stick covert, an almost never-failing find.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 296 Stick-covert, a plat of ground stuck with thorns to make a fox-cover.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 550/1 Foxes..found in gorse and stick coverts are often short runners.
1937 Times 29 Nov. 7/4 Going back to the stick covert they changed foxes, but later they fresh found their hunted one and killed him.
stick dam n. a dam built of sticks, esp. one constructed by beavers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [noun] > artificially confined water > contrivance for impounding water > dam > dam made by beavers
beaver-dam1638
stint1792
stick dam1868
1868 All Year Round 1 Aug. 179/2 On a stream issuing from Lake Diamond, a stick dam is to be seen two hundred and sixty feet ten inches long, and two inches high.
1884 Evangelical Mag. May 214 The other kind of [beaver's] dam is the ‘stick-dam’, consisting of sticks and poles.
1946 Amer. Anthropologist 48 608 Remnants of the old stick-dam which Jochelson photographed in 1912 still remained in 1937.
2009 Bangor (Maine) Daily News (Nexis) 23 Nov. c6 All I heard for some moments was water trickling out through the stick dam and across rocks into the gulley.
stick dance n. any of various folk dances in which a dancer carries one or two sticks and (in some dances) strikes the sticks of other dancers.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > other dances > [noun]
dance of Macabre?c1430
springc1450
lege de moya1529
bobc1550
lusty gallant1569
duret1613
fading1613
huckler1617
ground-measure1621
entry1631
slatter de pouchc1640
ballo1651
Irish trot1651
omnium gatheruma1652
clutterdepouch1652
upspring1654
passacaglia1659
shuffle1659
passacaille1667
flip-flap1676
chaconne1685
charmer1702
Cheshire-round1706
Louvre1729
stick dance1730
white joke1730
baby dance1744
Nancy Dawson1766
fricassee1775
bumpkin1785
Totentanz1789
Flora('s) dance1790
goombay1790
egg-dance1801
supper dance1820
Congo dance1823
slip-jig1829
bran-dance1833
roly-poly1833
Congo1835
mazy1841
furry1848
bull-dance1855
stampede1856
double-shuffling1859
frog dance1863
hokee-pokee1873
plait dance1876
slow dancing1884
snake dance1895
beast dance1900
soft-shoe1900
cakewalk1902
floral dance1911
snake dance1911
apache dance1912
grizzly bear1912
jazz dance1917
jazz dancing1917
jazz1919
wine-dance1920
camel-walk1921
furry dance1928
snake-dance1931
pas d'action1936
trance dancing1956
touch dance1965
hokey-cokey1966
moonwalk1969
moonwalking1983
Crip Walk1989
mapantsula1990
1730 Daily Post 15 Aug. The Wooden-Shoe Dance and the Stick Dance by Mons. St. Luce.
1899 R. Kipling From Sea to Sea II. xxv. 12 A Zanzibar stick-dance, such as you see at Aden on the coal boats.
1982 N. Painting Reluctant Archer vii. 113 I was also roped in..to play the piano for rehearsals of the stick dance which David Raeburn had introduced into his production of The Shoemaker's Holiday.
1999 S. Broughton et al. World Music: Rough Guide I. i. 227/1 The dança dos paulitos, a stick dance for men only, which like several Iberian dances is strongly reminiscent of an English morris-dance.
stick dice n. marked sticks of wood, bone, etc., used, esp. by North American Indians, in gambling and other games of chance; (also) a game in which such sticks are used.
ΚΠ
1879 Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 497 Stick-dice numbered on the four long sides are thrown, these Indian dice being in England replaced by our common cubical ones.
1898 S. Culin in Rep. U.S. National Mus. 1896 825 Osborne states that in North German, Holstein, and Danish finds these stick-dice also appear.
1917 Jrnl. Biblical Lit. 36 84 The gambling game of the North American Indians, played with sticks bearing different marks, is called stick-dice.
1944 Amer. Anthropologist 46 519 Each piece is advanced in accordance with the score made by throwing four stick dice.
2004 Jrnl. Southwest 46 728 Stick dice is a gambling game with at least a distant relation to the Mesoamerican ball game.
stick dice game n. any of various gambling games originating among North American Indians, in which marked sticks of wood or bone are thrown.
ΚΠ
1903 Amer. Anthropologist Jan. 60 A comparative study of the stick-dice game.
1967 Kiva 32 162 Tribes which played a form of the stick dice game include the Pueblos, Navajo, Apache, [etc.].
2015 E. Cottam Hubbell Trading Post iii. 70 His Mexican and Anglo employees often joining the Navajos in the gambling hogan for a game of poker or rummy, or a stick dice or shoe game.
stick dresser n. British a person who makes walking sticks or (now usually) shepherd's crooks.
ΚΠ
1818 Poll Bk. City & Liberty Westminster 110/3 Haynes, Thomas. 6, Round court. Stick dresser.
1890 Daily News 22 Oct. 7/7 A stick-dresser was committed for trial on a charge of wounding [etc.].
1977 Summit Autumn (Austin Reed Mag.) 6/2 Any stick-dresser who can't make a Plain, but only dresses Fancies, isn't really considered a proper craftsman.
2000 Daily Tel. 6 Apr. 16/8 These stick dressers boil the horns for four hours before they make them into a shepherd's crook or whatever it may be.
stick dressing n. British the art of making walking sticks or (now usually) shepherd's crooks.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > making of other specific articles or materials > [noun] > others
heading1390
saddleryc1449
stiling1509
wax-making?1544
pin-makinga1711
pipe-making1721
keeve-work1776
kelp-making1810
handrailing1814
kelping1822
pin-heading1835
blanket-making1857
safe making1867
stick dressing1891
1891 C. Booth Labour & Life People London II. App. 26 A working-class population employed in..umbrella making, stick dressing, chair making, [etc.].
1965 in P. Jennings Living Village (1968) 187 Stick-dressing..is the making of shepherds' crooks. A stick is dressed down, a ram's horn is put on top of it and the whole thing is polished.
2014 E. Lothian News (Nexis) 3 July In the stick dressing competition, John Starr..scooped a first, second, third and highly commended in the novice section, having only taken up the art of making shepherd's crooks as a hobby 10 months ago.
stick eel n. a small eel.
ΚΠ
1343 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 39 (MED) In 260 Stykell et anguill. grossis, 3 s. 6 d.
1417 in C. M. Woolgar Househ. Accts. Medieval Eng. (1992) II. 519 Et xx stykkis de stykhele recentibus emptis hoc anno.
1889 Fishing Gaz. 16 Feb. 90 Eels four or five to the pound go by the name Stick-Eels.
1939 Proc. Bristol Naturalists's Soc. 4th Ser. 9 216 We have stick eels which are small forms descending with the first freshes in August.
stick fight n. a fight or contest in which sticks are used as weapons; an instance of stick fighting.
ΚΠ
1838 W. G. Simms Richard Hurdis I. xxiv. 214 Let him loose as he asks you, and try a hickory—I know you're famous at a stick fight.
1925 A. L. Kroeber Handbk. Indians Calif. 745 The victors met them, and a stick fight, chetmana'ak.
2002 Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) (Nexis) 8 July Once you have thrown your hat in the political ring, or to use a stick-fighting equivalent, the ‘gayelle’ or stick-fight arena, you never leave it.
stick fighter n. a person who engages in stick fighting. [With use with reference to Caribbean fighting styles (compare quot. 1956) compare Caribbean French batonyé, batonnier (mid 20th cent. or earlier).]
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > fencing > fencing or exercise with sticks or cudgels > [noun] > practitioner
back-swordman1600
back-sword1656
cudgel-player1711
cudgeller1811
stick player1828
stick fighter1845
stickman1908
1845 Simmonds's Colonial Mag. 6 296 They were attacked by the lotials or stick-fighters from the villages to which the factory servants belonged.
1956 Caribbean Q. 4 194 Later this aristocrat's masque was adopted by batonyé or stick fighters.
1968 E. Lovelace Schoolmaster i. 12 ‘Who say that?’ Miguel asked hotly, growing angry, and moving up and down like a stickfighter in a rage.
2003 Daily Disp. (E. London, S. Afr.) 18 July 15/2 He was extremely clever and a strong and cunning stick fighter.
stick fighting n. combat using a stick or cudgel; (also) any of various martial arts and fighting styles characterized by the use of one or more sticks.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > fencing > fencing or exercise with sticks or cudgels > [noun]
waster1519
wastership1575
single billeta1625
cudgels1630
quarterstaff1631
cudgel-playa1635
back-sword1699
cudgel-playing1717
hurlbatting1744
single-stick1771
short-staff1775
cudgelling1787
stick fighting1845
stick play1849
back-swording1857
kendo1921
1845 O. Connellan tr. Ann. Irel. 1171–1616 42/1 Gearrmaide, a name of some chiefs,..might signify the chief of the short cudgel: the first probably who obtained this was distinguished for his stick-fighting.
1934 Times of India 30 Jan. 5/3 (caption) Two famous Oriental champions met in a ‘stick-fighting’ contest at a London sporting club.
1974 Trinidad Guardian 2 Nov. 5/2 (advt.) African culture in all forms. Dance, Stick-fighting, Drumming, Calypso, [etc.].
2010 N.Y. Times 8 June a8/4 ‘If you are angry, you can't think properly, and the other boys will really beat you up,’ he said of his days learning stick fighting with other Zulu boys.
stick fire n. a fire fuelled by sticks.
ΚΠ
1809 E. Sleath Bristol Heiress IV. i. 12 Dame Jenkinson was sitting by the blaze of a stick fire.
1959 F. Manfred Conquering Horse iv. iii. 336 Moon Dreamer sat across the lodge from him, legs crossed, looking at his small stick fire.
2015 Runner's World Aug. 61/2 The poverty is such that everything is cooked on stick fires or gas in the evening and gets a token reheat during the day.
stick-fixed adj. and adv. Aeronautics (a) adj. of or relating to flight during which the control column is held in a fixed position (cf. sense 11k, stick-free adj.2); (b) adv. with the control column of an aircraft held in a fixed position.
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society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > specific flying operations or procedures > [noun] > control column operations or states
stick force1920
stick-fixed1939
hoick1946
1939 Flight 12 Jan. 46/1 The flight condition probably lay between the stick-fixed and stick-free conditions.
1939 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 43 364 This could be done stick free or stick fixed.
1956 Jrnl. Aeronaut. Sci. 23 263/2 Actual flight data obtained by allowing the helicopter to fly stick fixed showed this mode to have a period of 14.5 sec.
1961 A. W. Babister Aircraft Stability & Control iii. 63 The stick fixed static margin is related to the elevator movement (or stick movement) to trim the aircraft.
2004 W. F. Phillips Mech. Flight vi. 537 The stick-fixed maneuver point for an airplane is that CG location for which the elevator angle per g goes to zero.
† stick-flour n. Obsolete a type of flour made in Brazil, usually from ground cassava.
ΚΠ
1810 R. Southey Hist. Brazil I. viii. 233 When the mandioc failed, what they called stick-flour (in Portugueze farinha de pao) was made from the wood of the Urucuri-Iba.
1887 Overland Monthly July 81/2 The manioc, otherwise cassava root,... is first baked, and then ground.., into a coarse fibrous powder, and this—called ‘farinha de pao’ literally, stick-flour—is served up in small plates.
stick force n. Aeronautics the force or effort needed to move the control column of an aircraft or hold it in position (cf. sense 11k).
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society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > specific flying operations or procedures > [noun] > control column operations or states
stick force1920
stick-fixed1939
hoick1946
1920 Aerial Age Weekly 25 Oct. 203/2 The stick forces required to balance the weights of the elevators are substantially equal (within 1 lb.) on the DH4 and LePere.
1942 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) 2 85 The stick force needed, say, to take violent avoiding action may be much too great.
1961 A. W. Babister Aircraft Stability & Control iii. 63 We shall now derive the relation between the stick force the pilot has to apply to hold the aircraft in a glide and the stick free static margin.
2007 D. G. Hull Fund. Airplane Flight Mech. p. viii A simple control system is analyzed to introduce the concepts of hinge moment, stick force, stick force gradient, and handling qualities.
stick grenade n. (also stick hand-grenade) a grenade with a protruding handle to facilitate throwing; cf. stick-bomb n.1 [Compare German Stielhandgranate, lit. ‘handled hand grenade’ (1916 or earlier; the weapon was designed in 1915).]
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > [noun] > grenade
trombe1562
grenade1591
grenado1611
granata1637
hand grenade1637
bag-granado1638
shell1647
glass-grenade1664
globe1672
flask1769
petrol bomb1903
rifle grenade1909
hairbrush1916
Mills1916
pineapple bomb1916
stick grenade1917
fragmentation bomb1918
pineapple1918
potato-masher grenade1925
spitball1925
Molotov cocktail1940
sticky bomb1940
stick-bomb1941
red devila1944
stun grenade1977
flash-bang1982
1917 Collier's 25 Aug. 11/2 (caption) German stick grenade; Mills grenade; Newton rifle grenade; improvised hair-brush bomb.
1917 G. M. Ainslie Hand Grenades 1 Attached to all stick hand grenades are tapes or streamers.
1923 R. Kipling Irish Guards in Great War I. 75 The ‘stick’ hand-grenade of the hair-brush type.
1979 O. Sela Petrograd Consignment 53 Boris..took out two stick grenades and a Mills bomb.
2009 G. L. Rottman N. Vietnamese Army Soldier 1958–75 31 Stick grenades were preferred by the small-statured Vietnamese as they could be thrown slightly farther than conventional grenades.
stick heap n. Fox-hunting a covert (covert n. 3) consisting of sticks and often artificially created; cf. stick cover n.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting area > [noun] > covert > artificial
stick covert1848
stick heap1863
stick pile1883
1863 Bell's Life in London 15 Feb. 3/5 We then drew the famous ‘Stick Heap’ at Arras, and away went as gallant a fox as ever ran before a pack of hounds.
1898 Westm. Gaz. 28 Sept. 4/3 Stick heaps..when judiciously placed..seldom fail to hold foxes.
1996 D. W. Macdonald & P. J. Johnson in V. J. Taylor & N. Dunstone Exploitation Mammal Pop. xi. 193 The creation of log piles and stick heaps, within which foxes may shelter.
stick-helmet n. rare a mask with additional guards for the forehead and head, used in fencing and stick fighting.
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1885 E. Castle Schools & Masters of Fence xv. 246 The heavy ‘stick helmet’ used in sabre or stick-play seems to have been invented in Germany during the last century.
1936 C. V. Sholl Humanitome 89/2 Stick-helmet (for singlestick fencing).
stick holder n. a holder for a stick or sticks (in various senses).
ΚΠ
1859 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 13 May 452/1 A modified Composing Stick is adjusted to the Stick Holder, in which it is made to slide longitudinally.
1901 E. A. Pratt Notable Masters of Men 44 [Josiah Mason] also did a large business in making cedar-wood pen-holders, or ‘stick-holders’.
1988 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 5 Mar. 702/1 Attachments such as ashtrays, tables, crutch and stick holders, side pockets and footrests..can be of great benefit for many disabled people.
Stick Indian n. Canadian colloquial (now rare) a member of a North American Indian people inhabiting the forests of British Columbia and the Yukon. [After Chinook Jargon stick siwash, used by the inhabitants of the coast to denote those of the interior ( < stick tree ( < English stick n.1) + siwash Siwash n.).]
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the world > people > ethnicities > North American peoples > peoples of British Columbia, Alberta, and Alaska > [noun]
Slave1789
beaver1801
Carrier1801
Musqueam1808
Nootkian1811
Okanagan1814
Takulli1820
Dogrib1823
Nanaimo1827
Loucheux1828
Bella Coola1834
Nootkan1835
Chilkat1836
Nootka1846
Squamish1846
Siwash1847
Kwakiutl1848
Nitinaht1848
Sitkan1848
Sitka1853
Makah1855
Stick Indian1857
Songhees1860
Stoney1861
Mattole1864
Tlingit1865
Nisga'a1874
Hoochinoo1878
Nimpkish1885
Tsimshian1888
Gitksan1889
Nuxalk1910
Snohomish1910
Nuu-chah-nulth1983
Ditidaht1988
'Namgis1994
1857 E. C. Fitzhugh Let. 18 June in Rep. Commissioner Indian Affairs 1857 617 In our immediate vicinity, directly interior, we have part of two tribes called the Neuk-wers and Sia-man-mas; these we call Stick Indians.
1885 F. Schwatka Rep. Mil. Reconn. Alaska 1883 76 The so-called ‘Stick’ Indians of the interior are seen in the villages near the trading stores.
1963 R. D. Symons Many Trails vii. 72 Snowshoes are known only as a strange accoutrement of the ‘Stick Indians’.
stick insect n. any of various insects of the order Phasmida having elongated bodies resembling twigs or pieces of plant stem; also figurative; cf. walking stick n. 2.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Phasmida > family Phasmidae
walking stick1760
leaf insect1795
spectre1798
stick insect1826
spectrum1838
phasmid1864
stick bug1868
twig insect1882
witch's horse1894
1826 Asiatic Jrnl. & Monthly Reg. July 65 Specimen of the stick insect, from Prince of Wales Island.
1854 A. Adams et al. Man. Nat. Hist. 210 Stick-Insects (Phasmidæ).
1882 Cassell's Nat. Hist. VI. 130 Most of them resemble sticks, either green, growing twigs, or brown and withered branches, and hence the names of Stick-insects and Walking-sticks.
1935 Proc. Royal Soc. London B. 119 46 Experiments with the stick-insects (Carausius morosus)..have shown that the offspring of each subsequent generation accepted the ivy more readily than did their parents.
1995 Guardian 28 Nov. i. 11/3 For the past 10 years, clubwear, with its tiny pieces of Lycra and satin, tummy-revealing trousers and bra tops, has been designed for stick insects.
2012 A. Moore Lighthouse xiii. 149 He misses his stick insects, the smell of their vivarium.
stick legs n. (a) extremely thin legs (cf. stick-thin adj.); (b) furniture legs consisting of plain rods of wood (cf. stick-back adj.).
ΚΠ
1884 Cleveland (Ohio) Herald 13 Apr. 4/6 They open their small shell beaks to peep and dart away from their anxious mothers on their tiny stick legs.
1890 Chambers's Jrnl. 19 Apr. 248/2 Round about were ranged all available seats from chairs to milking-stools and slab benches with stick legs.
1985 J. T. Butler Field Guide to Amer. Antique Furnit. (1986) 44 Windsor chairs are characterized by stick legs and spindles driven into a plank seat.
2006 N.Y. Times 21 May ix. 6/2 The male gymbots with their proud bosoms and stick legs.
stick loaf n. a long, thin, cylindrical loaf of bread, a baguette; cf. French stick n. at French adj. and n. Compounds 1b.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > loaf > [noun] > stick
French loafc1350
grissino1853
baton1858
stick1872
breadstick1887
stick loaf1923
French stick1955
1923 Rep. Common Bread & Flour relating to City of Paris in Hearings before Comm. on Agric. on H.R. 4533 (1924) (68th Congr., 1st Sess.: House of Representatives Serial M) 42 ‘Stick’ loaf, 300 grams.
1980 Times 15 Dec. 1/8 Britons returned home with..wines, stick loaves and under-ripe Camemberts.
2009 M. Mizell-Nelson in S. Tucker New Orleans Cuisine 41 The much longer ‘stick loaf’, or baguette, is depicted by some researchers as a fairly recent development.
stick maker n. †(a) a maker of gun-sticks or ramrods (obsolete); (b) a maker of walking sticks.
ΚΠ
1747 London Mag. Feb. 99/2 The Gun-Makers Business..was now divided into 21 different Branches, and looked upon as so many distinct Trades, viz. Barrel-Forger, Breech-Forger,..Stick-Maker, Flint-Maker and Mounter.
1774 Poll City & Liberty Westminster 113 Clarke, John, Denmark court, Stick maker.
1803 Censor 1 Apr. 39 Mr. Huntsmill, the stick maker of Whitechapel.
2009 G. Hinson & W. Ferris New Encycl. Southern Culture XIV. 378/2 A 95-year-old African American stick maker presented candidate Barack Obama with a carved walking stick.
stick microphone n. a hand-held microphone with a cylindrical housing or body, and often a rounded head.
ΚΠ
1954 IRE Trans. Audio 2 46/1 The choice of an omnidirectional unit was in conformity with present day trends in stick microphone design.
1961 C. Willock Death in Covert xii. 212 The interviewer from ITN..was holding a stick microphone.
2015 M. Zumoff & M. Negin Total Sportscasting vi. 99 If you're doing interviews with a ‘stick microphone’, be sure not to place it too close to your mouth or to that of your subject.
stick mike n. a hand-held microphone with a cylindrical housing or body, and often a rounded head.
ΚΠ
1954 IRE Trans. Audio 2 45/1 The stick mike could readily be handed from one person to another, or it could be placed in a microphone stand and used conventionally.
1961 Listener 19 Oct. 622/3 Uncle Dimbleby is seated (with stick mike) among a ‘representative cross-section’ of the British public.
2006 New Yorker 8 May 15/1 Blondie's Deborah Harry..belts into her stick mike, strolling among the smooth dancers.
† stick mounter n. Obsolete a person employed to attach mounts (mount n.2 5b) to walking sticks.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > producer > makers of other articles > [noun] > of part of finished article > of other specific parts
point-taggera1652
stick mounter1780
shanker?1881
veiner?1881
1780 Public Advertiser 13 Dec. Monday was married at St. Botolph's, Aldersgate, Mr. Joseph Miller, Broker,..to Mrs. Wood, Cane and Stick Mounter.
1895 Daily Chron. 28 Aug. 8/4 Stick Mounters wanted.
1927 Scotsman 20 Sept. 9/2 The mysterious disappearance of Edwin Arthur Corbell, an unemployed stick mounter, and his two children.
stick movement n. Aeronautics movement of the control column of an aircraft; an instance of this (cf. sense 11k).
ΚΠ
1925 O. Stewart Strategy & Tactics Air Fighting xix. 177 The quickest turn is initiated by a very gentle movement of the stick; but immediately after the initiation the stick movement is accelerated.
1961 A. W. Babister Aircraft Stability & Control iii. 63 The stick fixed static margin is related to the elevator movement (or stick movement) to trim the aircraft.
2008 Flying Oct. 51/2 The sensation of flying the 7X is immediately natural with the airplane responding smoothly, and exactly as I expected, to stick movement.
stick net n. †(a) perhaps: a type of netted bag (obsolete); (b) a net for catching fish or butterflies, consisting of a net attached to a ring at the end of a stick.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > net > [noun] > net on pole
pout net1443
sleeching-net1665
stick net1678
scoop-net1792
shoulder net1793
skimming net1806
stoop-net1806
dip-net1858
pole net1858
scoop1865
dipping-net1867
1678 in M. Cash Devon Inventories 16th & 17th Cent. (1966) 145 Canvis Baggs and a sticknett.
1862 W. B. Carpenter Microscope (ed. 3) xv. 640 Among other animals captured by the stick-net, the marine Zoologist will be not unlikely to meet with..the Tomopteris.
2012 G. S. Cuhaj Standard Catalog World Paper Money: Mod. Issues, 1961–Present (ed. 18) 1127/1 Men fishing with stick nets at left.
stick play n. (a) combat using a stick or cudgel; = stick fighting n.; (b) play involving a stick or sticks.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > fencing > fencing or exercise with sticks or cudgels > [noun]
waster1519
wastership1575
single billeta1625
cudgels1630
quarterstaff1631
cudgel-playa1635
back-sword1699
cudgel-playing1717
hurlbatting1744
single-stick1771
short-staff1775
cudgelling1787
stick fighting1845
stick play1849
back-swording1857
kendo1921
1849 Illustr. London News 30 June 444/3 The exhibition comprised swordsmanship, stick-play, sparring, and other amusements.
1904 Boy's Own Paper 28 May 551/1 He had found Flanagan's praise of the French boy particularly trying, for he rather fancied his own stick play.
1999 R. Epstein & G. Laptosky in Encycl. Creativity 183/1 After just three days of stick play, each of the chimps was able to solve a variety of novel problems.
2010 T. A. Green & J. R. Svinth Martial Arts of World I. 3 At present, it seems that stick play has an assured future in the Canary Islands.
2014 J. Johnson & D. Dinger Let's Play xiii. 54 Stick play offers children the opportunity to practice being careful.
stick player n. a person who engages in stick fighting.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > fencing > fencing or exercise with sticks or cudgels > [noun] > practitioner
back-swordman1600
back-sword1656
cudgel-player1711
cudgeller1811
stick player1828
stick fighter1845
stickman1908
1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham II. xi. 99 Calton is the best stick-player I ever knew.
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 29 Dec. 2/2 The professional boxer, wrestler, or stick-player.
1993 K. Bardhan tr. A. Mallabarmaṇa River Called Titash 139 That time when during Muharrem stick players performed in the marketplace of Gokanghat.
stick pot n. a lobster pot constructed from narrow strips of wood.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > fish-trap > [noun] > for lobsters or crabs
lobster-pot1765
crab-pot1793
trap-creel1795
trunk1835
lobster-creel1853
lobster-trap1865
stick pot1887
partan cage1899
1887 G. B. Goode Fisheries U.S.: Hist. & Methods II. 666 Other names by which they [sc. lobster traps] are known to the fishermen are..‘stick-pots’, and ‘lath-coops’.
1987 R. S. Brown & C. J. Dibden Re-examination Methods used handling Undersize Western Rock Lobster (Rep. No. 78 Fisheries Dept. W. Austral.) 3 Beehive or stick pots were emptied (‘skinned’) by hand. The fishermen pulled lobsters out through the neck of the pot.
stick phosphorus n. Chemistry (now chiefly historical) white phosphorus shaped into sticks and stored in water to prevent reaction with the air.
ΚΠ
1734 Philos. Trans. 1733–4 (Royal Soc.) 38 55 He [sc. Sigismund August Frobenius] then shewed a very extraordinary Process with Phosphorus glacialis Urinæ, or Stick Phosphorus, of Mr. Ambrose Godfrey Hanckewitz.
1849 D. Campbell Pract. Text-bk. Inorg. Chem. 21 The sixth part of an inch of stick phosphorus.
1997 J. A. Lukas Big Trouble vii. 297 According to the confession, George Pettibone manufactured a particularly potent explosive concocted of stick phosphorus, bisulfide of carbon, alcohol, benzine, and spirits of turpentine.
† stick rhubarb n. Obsolete the dried rootstock of a variety of rhubarb, Rheum palmatum (family Polygonaceae), used medicinally as a purgative and astringent; (also) the long, fleshy, typically pale-red leaf-stalks of garden rhubarb, R. rhabarbarum, which are cooked and eaten; cf. rhubarb n. I. R. palmatum is also called Chinese rhubarb.
ΚΠ
1837 London Med. Gaz. 21 Jan. 605/1 Stick rhubarb,..in the drug trade it is believed to be procured from the young roots of the same species as that yielding the dressed rhubarb.
1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 451/1 Stick rhubarb is sold in the herb shops, and is in long pieces.
1871 Riddell's Indian Domest. Econ. & Receipt Bk. (ed. 7) xxvi. 413 In England, green gooseberries, apples, stick rhubarb and other acid fruits may be substituted.
1906 A. J. Rice-Oxley tr. A. Gautier Diet & Dietetics 429 Invalids..must abstain from incompletely developed vegetables, or those rich in oxalic acid: green haricots in the pod, sorrel, spinach, stick rhubarb.
1929 Chemist & Druggist 13 July 75/2 The slender ends of the roots, air dried, [are sold] as ‘stick rhubarb’.
stick-rubbing n. the action of rubbing sticks together in order to kindle a fire.
ΚΠ
1853 Yale Lit. Mag. 18 6 Make a fire if you have matches; but if not, don't wear your patience and your fingers in stick-rubbing.
1889 Young Eng. Nov. 525/1 One nation..still uses..the stick-rubbing process for the purpose of kindling fire.
1912 Contemp. Rev. June 900 Fire was obtained by stick-rubbing.
2007 A. D. Foster Patrimony vii. 116 The spark was more than hot enough to ignite the pile of powder that had resulted from his heretofore futile stick-rubbing.
stick shaker n. Aeronautics colloquial a warning device which causes the control column to vibrate when an aircraft is close to stalling.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > controls and instruments > [noun] > warning devices
turn indicator1919
stick shaker1949
1949 Skyways Dec. 8/3 For high-speed fighter planes, the stick-shaker is considered more desirable.
1962 Flight Internat. 81 330/1 At 70 kt the stick shaker rattled again, but there was still plenty of aileron control.
2009 Hoosier Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 15 Feb. (Herald-Times ed.) e1/5 A ‘stick shaker’ and ‘stick pusher’ mechanism had activated to warn Capt. Marvin Renslow the plane was about to lose aerodynamic lift.
stick shift n. North American (a) a motor vehicle having a manual, as opposed to automatic, transmission; (b) a lever used to engage or change gear in a motor vehicle; a gear stick.Cf. sense 11l.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > transmission > manual
stick shift1952
1952 Pop. Sci. Dec. 188/1 Stick shift, usually signifies a car with a steering-column or floor shift lever, as differentiated from one with an automatic transmission.
1963 Washington Post 16 June b14/1 (advt.) Dual carburetors, 4-speed stickshift, crunchproof syncomesh gearbox, and 55 galloping horsepower.
1967 Sunday Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio) 12 Feb. 9 d/5 (advt.) To the sports car minded young miss who cannot drive a stick shift, but has always wanted a Corvette Convertible.
1976 ‘E. McBain’ Guns (1977) vii. 200 Bucket seats in beige leather, stick shift on the floor.
1993 New Pittsburgh Courier 4 Sept. 1/1 She recalled how her father..took her to the airport, rented a stickshift, gave her instructions and then, ‘wished me luck’.
2006 H. O'Neill Lullabies for Little Criminals 172 The car had turned over and..the stick shift had hit me in the eye.
stick sling n. chiefly historical a catapult or sling in the form of a forked stick, with the stone to be thrown placed in the fork.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > [noun] > sling
litherc725
slinga1387
staff-slingc1386
slacky1653
stick sling1824
1824 W. H. Ireland Mem. Jeanne d'Arc I. 9 The English..arranged all things, such as cannon, cross-bows, stick-slings, culverins, stones, and other implements of war, necessary for their defence, in case they were assailed.
1872 J. Evans Anc. Stone Implements xviii. 375 This flat lenticular form [of stone] is better adapted for the stick-sling than a natural pebble.
1996 B. H. Kaye Golf Balls, Boomerangs & Asteroids iv. 114 The slinger..would use what was known as a stick sling to launch a much larger missile at the soldier from close quarters.
† stick slinger n. Obsolete slang a thief who robs in the company of prostitutes; cf. bludger n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > [noun] > who works in company with women
stick slinger1851
1851 H. Mayhew 1851 iv. 43 The several descriptions of London thieves are—cracksmen, or housebreakers; rampsmen, or footpads; bludgers and stick-slingers, or those who go out plundering with women; [etc.].
1882 Sydney Slang Dict. 1/2 Bludgers, or Stick Slingers—Plunderers in company with prostitutes.
stick-tail n. U.S. (now rare) a small stiff-tailed duck, Oxyura jamaicensis (family Anatidae); = ruddy duck n. (b) at ruddy adj., n., and adv. Compounds 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > erismatura rubida (ruddy duck)
pintail1674
saltwater or brown diving teal1678
ruddy goose1785
ruddy duck1800
dun diver1844
stick-tail1844
pin-tailed duck1851
ruddy1877
rudder duck1884
fool duck1888
hardhead1888
paddy1888
paddywhack1888
steel-head1888
hardhead1893
rudder bird1894
1844 J. P. Giraud Birds Long Island 394 Duck,Stick-tail.
1890 Cent. Dict. (at cited word) Sticktail, the ruddy duck, Erismatura rubida.
1901 G. B. Grinnell Amer. Duck Shooting 222 From its tail it is called stiff-tail, spine-tail,..heavy-tailed duck, stick-tail and dip-tail diver.
1956 Kingbird Oct. 80 Ruddy duck..stick-tail.
stick-thin adj. (esp. of a person's limbs or figure) angular and sharply defined; very skinny.
ΚΠ
1939 Asia July 393/1 The young men began to shout and wave stick-thin arms.
1993 D. S. Olson Confessions Aubrey Beardsley (1994) xi. 243 There I would be, larval white, with stooped shoulders, stick-thin limbs.
2014 S. Callis Prediction ii. 7 She is one of those very annoying women who are stick thin but still insist on saying they are fat.

Derivatives

stick-like adj.
ΚΠ
1659 C. Clobery Divine Glimpses 155 Their wither'd skin cleaves fast unto the bone: It's stick-like 'come.
1831 E. J. Trelawny Adventures Younger Son III. xlii. 292 A stoical apathy of look, that..the most stick-like lords..would have envied.
1905 C. F. Holder Half Hours with Lower Animals xxii. 188 They have no biting claws, merely long antennæ, a long, sticklike body, and straight-jointed, sticklike legs.
2002 N. Lebrecht Song of Names v. 108 He..wore charity handouts that never quite covered the ends of his stick-like limbs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

† stickn.2

Forms: Middle English styc, Middle English styk, Middle English styke, 1500s styck, 1500s–1700s stick, 1600s sticke; Scottish pre-1700 steake, pre-1700 steck, pre-1700 steek, pre-1700 steick, pre-1700 steik, pre-1700 steike, pre-1700 stek, pre-1700 steke, pre-1700 steyk, pre-1700 stic, pre-1700 stick, pre-1700 stik, pre-1700 stikk, pre-1700 styk.
Origin: A borrowing from Dutch. Etymon: Dutch stuc.
Etymology: < Middle Dutch stuc, stic piece, fragment, item, piece or length of cloth, type of large wine cask, coin, important matter (Dutch stuk , regional (chiefly Flemish) stik : see stitch n.2).With use with reference to coins (see sense 1c) compare Old English stycce piece, coin (see stitch n.2 and compare styca n.). With use with reference to textiles (see sense 2) compare post-classical Latin stika , steka (1340, 1466 in British sources). In use with reference to barrels of herring (see sense 5) apparently short for sea-stick n. at sea n. Compounds 6a, itself after Dutch zeestuk barrel of herring packed at sea, shipload of a traded commodity (16th cent.).
Obsolete.
1. Scottish.
a. A cask of wine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > [noun] > large for liquor > for wine
wine-barrelc950
wine-bottlec950
wine-bowlc950
wine boxc950
wine-buttc950
wine-canc950
wine-caskc950
wine-cupc950
wine-decanterc950
wine-flaskc950
wine-jarc950
wine jugc950
wine-tunc950
wine-vesselc950
pipe1314
lake1382
ampullaa1398
wine-pot14..
butt1418
stick1433
vinagerc1440
rumneya1475
fust1481
pece1594
sack-butt1599
fudder1679
Shaftesbury1699
wine glass1709
quarter pipe?1763
leaguer1773
porron1845
solera1863
octave1864
wine fountain1889
yu1904
lei1929
papsak1999
1433–4 Council, Bailie & Guild Court Bk. (Aberdeen) MS ACA CR4 IV. 3 in Dict. Older Sc Tongue at Stek(e A bott of malmsye with twa uthir stikkis of wyne.
1468 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1869) I. 23 Of Rynche wyne becaus of greitt steikes of ilk crowne ijd.
1545–6 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1871) II. 120 The Burdealx wyne xxxviij li. the twn, the Romany xix li. the steik.
1546 in R. K. Hannay Acts Lords of Council Public Affairs (1932) 547 Four stikkis of Romany wyne.
1603 in Evid. Commissioners Univ. Scotl. (1837) I. App. 19 Of Rence wyne, becavs of the greit steikis of ilk Scottis pund worth, foure penneis.
b. An item or single piece of a commodity. Also: a small number or quantity of a commodity, esp. the quantity of a commodity belonging to one merchant. Cf. masterstick n.
ΚΠ
a1434 Sc. Merchandise in Sc. Hist. Rev. (1971) 40 117 The stic at xxj mitis The C at j nobil di. The stic at j gr. j mitis.
1443 Council, Bailie & Guild Court Bk. (Aberdeen) MS ACA CR4 IV. 316 in Dict. Older Sc Tongue at Stek(e Alisand Taitt..askit a stik of gude to borch the quhilk John Wod..had gert be arestit.
1498 A. Halyburton Ledger (1867) 160 The pillaris off bras, 24 stekis weand vcxij li.,..2 throwys..ilk stek cost 7 li...Item..3 blak hattis, ilk stek cost a croun of gold.
1539 in T. Thomson Coll. Inventories Royal Wardrobe (1815) 51 Item vii stikkis of tapessarie of antik werk of the histories of Venus Pallas..viii stikkis of the historie of Salomon..viii stikkis of poecie.
1550 in J. M. Thomson Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1886) IV. 105/1 6 lie steikkis de wanscott.
1585 Edinb. Test. XIV. f. 253v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Stek(e Twa litill steikis watt confetouris weyand viij pund and vj vnce.
1615 Edinb. Test. XLVIII. 182 in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Stek(e Ane steik of Raeseines price xx merkis.
1632 Brechin Test. V. 124 in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Stek(e The guidis and geir subsequent beinge within the said schip of the stick and pack thairin perteninge to the said vmquhill Alexander.
c. A coin, usually of specified value.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > Scottish coins > [noun] > other Scottish coins
sterling1387
plack1473
sture1493
stick1494
bawbee1542
hardhead1559
nonsunt1559
liona1572
atchison1600
turner1631
turnover1640
bodle1650
forty penny piece1681
rigmariea1682
cross-daggera1690
mark1762
1494–5 A. Halyburton Ledger (1867) 51 Thir ar the steykkis of gold at John of Carkatill..hed in his purs,..xxxi ducatis.
1573 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxxix. 207 Sum gat thair handfull of thir half mark steikis.
1583 Burgh Court Perth 2 Aug. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Stek(e The said Villiam ressauit fra the said James ane half merk stik in part of payment.
1615 Edinb. Test. XLVIII. 275 in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Stek(e Of reddie money fourtie aucht auld halff merk steikis.
1689–90 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Glasgow (1905) III. 516 In the which money there is four light cobbs ane goodline steick for ane rex daller.
2. A measure of length for cloth, esp. for cloth imported from Flanders, equal to approximately three-quarters of a yard. Cf. ell n.1 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > units in measuring cloth
piece1389
nail1394
stick1466
goad1467
1466 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 360 (MED) Item, my mastyr paid to Kateryn of Bruges for iij stykkes and halffe of blak chamelet, prise the styk, iiij s.; summa, xv s. ix d.
1493 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) 1493/5/99 A stik of grene sating contenand xxvj elne.
a1500 Tracts Eng. Weights & Meas. 15 in Camden Misc. (1929) XV (MED) The yerd conteynythe iiij qrs., the Ynglysshe ell..v qrs. of the yard, and the styke, wiche is called the Flemmysche ell..iij qrs. of the yerd.
1513 Inventory Henry VIII in Archaeologia 66 346 A Counterpoint of Verdure cont. xxx. flemisshe stickes.
1565–6 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 430 Ane half stik of say, four half stekis of lynning Holand clayth.
1614 in Archaeologia (1869) 42 359 Fowre shorte carpettes of verdure..at ij s. vj d. the sticke.
1670 in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 15 Courser [hangings] then theise..Your Honour may be served with from Flanders, att 18s. per stick.
1704 Dealer's Directory iii, in W. Lilly tr. ‘E. Pater’ Bk. Knowl. 130 A Dutch Ell, or Stick is three Quarters of a Yard.
1785 Dromgoole Day Bk. (Currituck, N. Carolina) 2–3 Nov. in N. E. Eliason Tarheel Talk (1956) 297 1 stick mohair, 1 stick Twist.
3. Scottish. A matter or affair concerning a specified party.
ΚΠ
1554 Dundee Burgh Court Bks. II. 356v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Stek(e The baillies dischargis thare [handis] thare of & ordanis the parties to pas effore the dane of gild becaus it wes fund ane merchand stik.
1588 in A. J. Warden Dundee Burgh Laws (1872) 126 Whatsomever action of merchandize..tending to ane merchand steik ony manner of way, the samen sall only be perseued befor the Deane of Gild.
4. Scottish. stick of work: an undertaking, esp. an onerous or difficult one.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > [noun] > an undertaking > difficult
stick of work1581
challenge1954
1581 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xliv. 15 That maisters of ane euil steik of vark Sould ay detest the godlie, vpricht lyf.
1660 A. Hay Diary (1901) 253 We found the Laird very unfixed, and feared that we should have a stick of work with him.
5. A barrel of herrings packed at sea. Cf. sea-stick n. at sea n. Compounds 6a, steak n. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > seafood > [noun] > fish > quantity of fish > container for
cade1337
swill1352
stick1615
cran1797
machine1883
trunk1883
1615 E. Sharpe Britaines Busse sig. C3 This Yagar..comes to the sayde Busse..and buyes all such Herrings as she hath barrelled (which barrels vppon the first packing, are called Sticks). And in part of payment for her saide Herring Stickes, deliuers..Salt [etc.].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

stickn.3

Brit. /stɪk/, U.S. /stɪk/
Forms: see stick v.1
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: stick v.1
Etymology: < stick v.1With sense 1 compare slightly earlier stick-free n. With use with reference to a strike (see sense 3) compare later to stick out 3b at stick v.1 Phrasal verbs 1 and stick v.1 22. With use with reference to a batsman in cricket (see sense 5) compare earlier uses of the verb in similar contexts, e.g. quot. 1844 at stick v.1 16a.
1. A stab or thrust with a knife, sword, needle, or other pointed object. Cf. stick-free n. and adj.1 Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > [noun] > by boring, piercing, or perforating > with sharp-pointed instrument > an act of
stick1637
probe1827
1637 J. Shirley Young Admirall iv. sig. G2 No circumstance must be forgot, To make him free from sticke and shot.
1848 Morning Post 29 Aug. 8/1 Another blow, which was returned with a stick of a knife.
1917 Alton (Illinois) Evening Tel. 11 July 3/2 A sharp pain through my kidneys that felt like the stick of a knife.
1973 Jrnl. Amer. Inst. Hypnosis 14 139/1 What we are doing with multiple injections is deconditioning patients to pain with each stick of the needle.
2013 C. Davis Corner xii. 50 [He] felt the stick of the needle.
†2.
a. A thing which causes a hindrance or delay; an impediment; a difficulty. Obsolete (archaic in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > [noun] > one who or that which hinders > a hindrance, impediment, or obstacle
hinderc1200
withsetting1340
obstaclec1385
traversea1393
mara1400
bayc1440
stoppagec1450
barrace1480
blocka1500
objecta1500
clog1526
stumbling-stone1526
bar1530
(to cast) a trump in (one's) way1548
stumbling-stock1548
hindrance1576
a log in one's way1579
crossbar1582
log1589
rub1589
threshold1600
scotch1601
dam1602
remora1604
obex1611
obstructiona1616
stumbling-blocka1616
fence1639
affront1642
retardance1645
stick1645
balk1660
obstruent1669
blockade1683
sprun1684
spoke1689
cross cause1696
uncomplaisance1707
barrier1712
obstruct1747
dike1770
abatis1808
underbrush1888
bunker1900
bump1909
sprag1914
hurdle1924
headwind1927
mudhole1933
monkey wrench1937
roadblock1945
1645 J. Caryl Arraignm. of Unbelief 38 Why do we beleeve least when dangers are greatest? in little dangers we beleeve God is willing; why not in greater dangers? surely, because then a greater power is required; so that the stick is at the power of God, though usually his will be pretended.
1657 O. Cromwell Speech 21 Apr. in Writings & Speeches (1947) (modernized text) IV. 484 I think you very well remember what the issue was of the last conference..and what the stick was then.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona ii. 16 It would be ill for me to find a conveyance, but that should be no stick to you.
b. A temporary stoppage; a pause or halt; a hitch in proceedings. Frequently in at a stick: at a standstill. Obsolete (Scottish in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > [noun] > a check or rebuff > temporary or minor
hocket1276
stick1647
hitch1748
contretemps1809
technical hitch1877
glitch1962
hiccup1965
1647 R. Baillie Anabaptism v. 139 But the greatest stick is upon the antecedent, Baptismes succession to Circumcision.
1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. 104 When we came at the Hill Difficulty, he made no stick at that, nor did he much fear the Lyons. View more context for this quotation
1889 R. L. Stevenson Master of Ballantrae viii. 196 It is a strange thing that I should be at a stick for a date.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona iv. 43 The Advocate appeared for a moment at a stick, sitting with pursed lips.
1901 ‘G. Douglas’ House with Green Shutters xii. 121 His mind was at a stick.
†3. Chiefly English regional (northern). A strike by colliers or keelmen; = steek n.2 Cf. stick v.1 22. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1764 London Chron. 5 Oct. 342/3 10,000 men.., which we reckon one half of the number laid idle by the stick (as it is called) made by our pitmen.
1769 Ann. Reg. 1768 92/2 The keelmen of Sunderland made a stick, refusing to work.
1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Stick, or Strike, a stand or combination among workmen.
1852 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 87/2 A ‘turn out’, or a ‘stick’, or ‘steek’, as the colliers style it.
4.
a. The property of adhering to a surface or causing a thing to adhere; stickiness, adhesiveness. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > attachment > [noun] > adhesion > adhesive quality
stickiness1689
adhesiveness1721
stick1853
tack1876
tackiness1883
clinginess1899
1853 J. R. Lowell in Putnam's Monthly Mag. Nov. 461/1 But these surveyors' names have no natural stick in them. They remind one of the epithets of poetasters, which peel off like a badly gummed postage-stamp.
1892 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads 17 We'd climb up the side of a sign-board an' trust to the stick o' the paint.
1987 Sun (Lowell, Mass.) 21 Jan. 39/1 Like a band-aid..One that doesn't have much stick left.
2012 @OXMedical 10 Apr. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) You can use a glue spray to increase the stick of the tape.
b. A viscous sticky substance, esp. one produced from an industrial process; (also) = stickwater n. at stick v.1 Compounds 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > adhesive > [noun]
gluea1382
size1530
cement1562
solder1582
cementum1617
gluten1639
binder1678
conglutinatora1728
glutin1825
cheese cement1839
agglutinant1844
adhesive1849
stickum1877
stickall1880
stick1891
binding agent1933
tackifier1942
bonding1958
agglomerator1975
1891 U.S. Patent 453,750 1/1 This solution while still hot is then evaporated to at least 22° Baumé. The product is what is known as ‘stick’, and is viscid and deliquescent.
1898 Engin. Mag. 16 128/1 The liquor..is reduced to the consistency of thick syrup and is called ‘stick’.
1972 M. O. North Commerc. Chicken Prod. Man. xv. 225 The wet processing procedure of producing fish meal leaves a water byproduct, known as stick.
1992 J. Trollope Men & Girls (1993) iii. 53 He began to clear the table. Everything seemed coated with stick, even the rush mats.
†5. Cricket. A batter who remains a long time at the wicket; one who is difficult to dismiss. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > batsman > types of batsman
sticker1832
short runner1833
punisher1846
slogger1850
blocker1851
cutter1851
swiper1853
top scorer1860
stick1863
left-hander1864
smiter1878
centurion1886
driver1888
pad-player1888
poker1888
spectacle-maker1893
back-player1897
hooker1900
under-runner1903
puller1911
square cutter1920
straight driver1925
stroke-maker1927
goose-gamer1928
stroke-player1935
flasher1936
sweeper1961
tonker1977
1863 Frederick Lillywhite's Cricket Scores & Biogr. Cricketers III. 242 Mr. Haygarth (always a great ‘stick’) in his first innings was in three hours.
1901 R. H. Lyttelton Out-door Games vi. 121 One of the curses of the present day is the stick who, by restraining every impulse to hit, cannot be got out on these perfect modern wickets.
6. British Stock Market. A quantity of unsold shares; spec. the quantity or proportion of unsold shares which must be taken up by underwriters after an unsuccessful issue. Cf. sticky adj.2 5a.
ΚΠ
1982 Observer 21 Nov. 17/3 The underwriters..now have to take up over £400 million worth of shares—the biggest ‘stick’ in Stock Exchange history.
1988 Sunday Times 15 May d5/1 It..was left with ‘the stick’—City terminology for a tranche of unwanted stock.
1999 Irish Times 29 Sept. 6/2 The bank has been left with an underwriting stick.
2008 Independent (Nexis) 23 July 36 Morgan Stanley itself shorted the shares knowing full well the positions would be covered by the underwriters' stick.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

Stickn.4

Brit. /stɪk/, U.S. /stɪk/, Irish English /stɪk/
Forms: also with lower-case initial.
Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: Stickie n.
Etymology: Shortened < Stickie n.
slang.
A member of the Official IRA; = Stickie n. Cf. Provo n.3
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > Irish politics > [noun] > parties > member of Sinn Fein
Sinn Feiner1907
Shinner1921
Stickie1972
Stick1975
1975 Guardian 31 Mar. 4 The Officials are universally known in Belfast patois as ‘stickies’ or ‘sticks’.
1979 An Phoblacht 29 Sept. 3/5 In a typical pro-British statement..the Sticks' chairman in South Antrim, Kevin Smyth, accused the IRA of ‘gross sectarianism’ in bombing the Lisburn premises.
1997 Irish Times 17 July 11/4 If the IRA were brought in from south Armagh they could deal with the Sticks but the local Provos would be hard-pressed to bring them to heel.
2013 J. Sweeney N. Korea Undercover (2014) xv. 253 The Koreans thought that back home the Sticks had a full-scale army.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

stickv.1

Brit. /stɪk/, U.S. /stɪk/
Inflections: Past tense and past participle stuck /stʌk/;
Forms: 1. Present stem Old English stician, Old English stikian (rare), Old English stycian (rare), early Middle English stikie (southern), Middle English stic, Middle English–1500s stikke, Middle English–1500s stycke, Middle English–1500s styk, Middle English–1500s styke, Middle English–1500s stykke, Middle English–1600s sticke, Middle English–1600s stik, Middle English–1600s stike, Middle English–1600s styck, Middle English– stick; Scottish pre-1700 sticke, pre-1700 stik, pre-1700 stike, pre-1700 stikke, pre-1700 styk, pre-1700 styke, pre-1700 1700s– stick, 1900s– stikk (Shetland). 2. Past tense.

α. Old English sticade, Old English sticede, Old English sticode, Old English stikode (in prefixed forms), Old English stycode, early Middle English sticat, early Middle English stike (transmission error), Middle English stickede, Middle English stickid, Middle English stickyd, Middle English stikede, Middle English stikid, Middle English stikide, Middle English stikked, Middle English stikyd, Middle English stykede, Middle English stykked, Middle English–1500s stiked, Middle English–1500s stycked, Middle English–1500s styked, Middle English– sticked (now regional and nonstandard), 1500s stickte, 1500s stikt, 1500s styckyd, 1500s stykkyd, 1500s–1600s stickt, 1600s stickd; also Scottish pre-1700 stiket, pre-1700 stikit, pre-1700 stikkit, pre-1700 stikkyt, pre-1700 stykkit, pre-1700 1700s–1800s sticket, pre-1700 1700s– stickit; N.E.D. (1916) also records a form late Middle English stikt.

β. Middle English–1500s stoke, 1500s–1600s stucke, 1500s– stuck, 1600s stooke, 1800s– stucked (regional and nonstandard).

γ. Scottish pre-1700 stokkit.

3. Past participle.

α. early Old English stiocod (Kentish), Old English gesticod, Old English sticod, Middle English istiked, Middle English stikid, Middle English stikked, Middle English stikyd, Middle English styckyd, Middle English stydkyt, Middle English stykkid, Middle English stykyd, Middle English ystickit, Middle English ystiked, Middle English ystikit, Middle English ystikked, Middle English ystikyd, Middle English ystycked, Middle English ystyked, Middle English ystykyd, Middle English–1500s stiked, Middle English–1500s stikkyd, Middle English–1500s stikt, Middle English–1500s styked, Middle English–1600s stycked, Middle English– sticked (now regional and nonstandard), 1500s stickte, 1500s stickyd, 1500s stykked, 1500s–1600s stickt; also Scottish pre-1700 stikit, pre-1700 stikkat, pre-1700 stykkyt, pre-1700 1700s– sticket, pre-1700 1700s– stickit, pre-1700 (1800s Shetland) stikkit, 1800s stickid, 1800s stikkid (Shetland); N.E.D. (1916) also records a form Middle English stickid.

β. Middle English istoke, Middle English stokyn, Middle English–1500s stoken, late Middle English–1500s stoke, 1500s–1600s stucke, 1500s– stuck, 1600s (1800s English regional) stucken, 1800s steuke (English regional (Northumberland)), 1800s stoocken (English regional), 1800s stook (English regional); Scottish pre-1700 stokin, pre-1700 stokyn, pre-1700 stucke, pre-1700 stuckne, pre-1700 stuikin, pre-1700 stukne, pre-1700 1700s– stuck, pre-1700 1800s– stucken, pre-1700 1900s– stuckin, 1900s– stuckin', 1900s– stukken.

γ. late Middle English stoked (Oxfordshire), 1500s (1800s– regional and nonstandard) stucked, 1800s–1900s stugged (English regional (south-western)); Scottish pre-1700 stokit, pre-1700 stokkit, 1700s stuked.

δ. Scottish pre-1700 sticken, pre-1700 stikin, pre-1700 stikkin, pre-1700 stykin, 1900s stickin'; English regional 1800s sticken; N.E.D. (1916) also records a form Middle English stiken.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old High German stehhōn to stab (to death), to incite < a Germanic base with the sense ‘to pierce, to be sharp’ (seen also in stick n.1, stitch n.1 and, with dental suffix, stight v.) < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek στίζειν to prick (see stigma n.), classical Latin instīgāre instigate v., and (without movable s- ) Sanskrit tij- to be sharp. A variant of the same Germanic base underlies the more common West Germanic strong verb reflected by steek v.2Inflection history. Originally a weak verb of Class II. From an early date, this verb was identified and partly merged with the ultimately related and largely synonymous steek v.2 (originally a strong verb of Class V, although also showing influence from Class IV verbs). Strong forms are attested for stick v.1 from the Middle English period onwards (see Forms 2β. and 3β. ), and only forms suggesting a Class IV inflection survive in standard use. As it is often difficult to tell whether strong forms are to be interpreted as belonging to this word or to steek v.2, the forms reflecting the original Class V paradigm are listed at steek v.2, and the surviving innovative forms are listed here. The weak past tense and past participle forms (see Forms 2α. and 3α. ) remained in use until the 17th cent., and survive (in a limited number of senses) in some regional varieties of English and in Scots. With the weak past participle forms compare also sticked adj.1 and stickit adj. The transition between weak and strong inflections also led to hybrid forms showing features of both (compare Forms 2γ. , 3γ. , and 3δ. ). Form history. In northern Middle English this word regularly developed (by open syllable lengthening) into stēke , making it difficult to distinguish from steek v.2 (compare discussion at that entry). Specific senses. Use with reference to the slaughtering of pigs (see sense 1c) is attested earlier for the Old English prefixed form ofstician (see below). With to stick pigs at sense 5b compare earlier pig-sticking n. 2. Use in surnames. Also attested early in surnames, e.g. Hugo Stikehare (1199), Stephanus Stykebuc (1230). Prefixed forms. In Old English the (rare) prefixed form gestician to pierce, to make an incision, is also attested (compare y- prefix); compare also ofstician to pierce, transfix, stab, kill by stabbing, slaughter (a pig) (compare of- prefix), tōstician to pierce, make an incision (compare to- prefix2 and to-stick vb. at to- prefix2 2), þurhstician to pierce (compare through- prefix).
I. To stab, pierce, and related senses.
1.
a. transitive. To stab or pierce (a person or animal) with a spear, sword, knife, or other weapon; to kill by this means. Also figurative. Also intransitive. Chiefly colloquial and regional in later use. N.E.D. (1916) remarks: ‘Not now in dignified use.’
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > killing by specific method > kill [verb (transitive)] > by stabbing or cutting
snithec725
ofstingeOE
stickOE
to sting to death13..
to put (do) to the sword1338
throata1382
to strike dead, to (the) deathc1390
hewc1400
stab1530
to stab (a person) in1530
poniard1593
stiletto1613
jugulate1623
kris1625
dagger1694
pike1787
to cut down1821
sword1863
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (transitive)] > wound > pierce
asnesec880
prickOE
stickOE
through-stitchc1230
threstc1275
rivec1330
dartc1374
gridea1400
tanga1400
prochea1425
launch1460
accloy1543
gag1570
pole1728
spigota1798
assegai1834
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (transitive)] > wound > wound with sharp weapon
woundc760
stickOE
snese?c1225
stokea1300
steekc1300
bearc1330
stangc1340
chop1362
broach1377
foinc1380
strikec1390
borea1400
dag?a1400
gorea1400
gridea1400
staira1400
through-girdc1405
thrustc1410
runc1425
to run throughc1425
traversec1425
spitc1430
through-seeka1500
stitch1527
falchiona1529
stab1530
to stab (a person) in1530
stob?1530
rutc1540
rove?c1550
push1551
foxa1566
stoga1572
poniard1593
dirk1599
bestab1600
poach1602
stiletto1613
stocka1640
inrun1653
stoccado1677
dagger1694
whip1699
bayonetc1700
tomahawk1711
stug1722
chiv1725
kittle1786
sabre1790
halberd1825
jab1825
skewer1837
sword1863
poke1866
spear1869
whinger1892
pig-stick1902
shiv1926
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed
shearOE
sting993
stickOE
spita1225
wound?c1225
stitchc1230
pitcha1275
threstc1275
forprick1297
steekc1300
piercec1325
rivec1330
dag?a1400
jag?a1400
lancec1400
pickc1400
tamec1400
forpierce1413
punch1440
launch1460
thringc1485
empiercec1487
to-pierce1488
joba1500
ding1529
stob?1530
probe1542
enthrill1563
inthirlc1580
cloy1590
burt1597
pink1597
lancinate1603
perterebrate1623
puncture1675
spike1687
skiver1832
bepierce1840
gimlet1841
prong1848
javelin1859
OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Corpus Cambr. 196) 15 Nov. (2013) 214 Þa he þæt [sc. worship an idol] nolde, þa stycodon hig hyne myd hyra sperum.
OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. x. 48 Us drifað þa ellreordan to sæ; wiðscufeð us seo sæ to þam ællreordum: betwih him twam we þus tweofealdne deað þrowiað, oððe sticode beoð oððe on sæ adruncene.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10459 Alle þa gode wiues heo stikeden [c1300 Otho stekede] mid cnifes.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 3818 Many a stef stede [was] stiked þere to dethe.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) 1 Esdras Prol. l. 40 Rede ȝee of þoo saumpleeres þe whiche sum tyme maad of vs ben stiked eche day with þe tungis of euele spekeres.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 471 He ordeyned him..to cacche flyes, and styke hem wiþ a scharp poyntel.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 24100 On mi soru mai be nan end, It stikes me sua strang.
1494 W. Hilton Scala Perfeccionis (de Worde) i. xxxv. sig. diiv The sharpe spere that stykked hym to the hert.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 153 (MED) Whan he apercewid that scappe he ne myght, he raane to a stake and hym Stickyd throw the body.
a1533 W. Tyndale Expos. Mathew vii. f. cxiiijv The scribes and phariseyes had thrust vp the swearde of the worde of God into a scabarde..that it coulde nether sticke ner cutt.
1556 J. Olde tr. R. Gwalther Antichrist f. 90v He was taken and sticked to deathe.
?1606 M. Drayton To Camber-britans in Poemes Lyrick & Pastorall sig. C6v Like a storme sodainely the English Archery stuck the French horses.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. ii. 191 Yea let them say to sticke the heart of falsehood, As false as Cressid. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 231 My Fathers rough and enuious disposition Sticks me at heart. View more context for this quotation
1698 G. Powell Imposture Defeated iv. 37 That Drunken Russian rush'd-in, and if I had not been nimbler than he, I believe he wou'd have stuck me.
1705 J. Vanbrugh Confederacy iv. i. sig. G4v If I had let him stick himself, I shou'd have been envy'd by all the great Ladies in the Town.
1789 G. Moultrie False & True i. iii. 11 So, they call sticking a man in the back fighting.
a1822 P. B. Shelley tr. J. W. von Goethe Scenes from Faust in Posthumous Poems (1824) 405 [Chorus of Witches] Stick with the prong, and scratch with the broom.
1832 Examiner 98/1 Were he to draw his bayonet and stick the brawler.
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain II. viii. 158 If I had my knife here I would stick him.
1903 P. MacKaye Canterbury Pilgrims iii. 152 It sticks me to the heart To gaze on your sweet face, my dear.
1919 W. A. Sweeney Hist. Amer. Negro in Great World War xv. 147 Then I stuck him in the ribs with the bolo. I stuck one guy in the stomach and he yelled in good New York talk: ‘That black –– got me.’
1966 Huntly (Aberdeenshire) Express 10 June 2 He threatened tae stick 'im wi' a lang knife.
2001 P. P. Read Alice in Exile (2002) 263 He got into an argument with her family so they simply killed him. Stuck him with a pitchfork.
b. transitive. Of a horned animal: to butt or gore (a person or animal) with its horn or horns; to impale (with the horns). Also intransitive. After Middle English and before the 20th cent., chiefly Scottish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [verb (transitive)] > thrust or gore with horn
putc1450
gore?1530
burt?1567
butt1590
horn1599
push1611
hipe1669
engage1694
sticka1896
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iv. i. 84 Þa, siþþan he [sc. an elephant] irre wæs & gewundod, he ofslog micel þæs folces.., ge eac þa oþre elpendas sticade & gremede, þæt þa eac mæst ealle forwurdon þe þæronufan wæron.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. xliv. 1195 Whanne he fighteþ wiþ þe vnicorne he putteþ forþ þe bak aȝeins him lest he styke him wiþ his horne in þe neisshe wombe.
1579 in W. Mackay & H. C. Boyd Rec. Inverness (1911) I. 271 Hes lattin tuay kye of myne be stikkit wyth the hornis of vther gudis in fault of hyrding.
1678 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Prov. (ed. 2) 287 As good luck as had the cow, that stuck her self with her own horn.
a1779 D. Graham Coll. Writings (1883) II. 9 She rins ay thro' the byre, and sticks a' the bits a couties.
1879 G. MacDonald Sir Gibbie II. xiv. 235 ‘Noo, she'll naither stick nor fling (gore nor kick),’ said Donal: she could but bellow, and paw with her fore-feet.
a1896 W. G. Lyttle Adventures Robin Gordon 7 in Robin's Readings (c1900) ii Tell't hir about the goat neer stickin' her.
1965 J. Nowell tr. R. Friedenthal Goethe (2010) xix. 193 He..accompanies him on one of his boar hunts, almost getting stuck by a wild boar when his spear breaks.
1972 D. Omand Caithness Bk. 257 Stick, of an animal, to push with the horns.
1977 P. H. Capstick Death in Long Grass vii. 241 The rhino shoved his horn through the man's thigh and tossed him a couple of stories straight up. When he came back down, the rhino stuck him a few times again and meandered off.
2005 S. Heighton Afterlands (2006) 36 The bull..charges the bear, who moves or stumbles to the side where the bull sticks him with a horn.
c. transitive. To slaughter (an animal, esp. a pig) by thrusting a knife into the large blood vessels in or at the base of the neck. Also in figurative and similative contexts. Cf. stuck adj.2 1.In quot. 1594 intransitive with of.In quot. a1616 with sexual connotations: cf. sense 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > killing of animals > kill animal [verb (transitive)] > by specific method
sticklOE
worry1340
strikea1400
spaya1425
lipc1475
smeek1691
pith1805
whoo-whoop1812
halal1819
to bark1865
destroy1866
flight1892
lethalize1897
lethal1922
lOE [implied in: Laws: Rectitudines (Corpus Cambr.) vi. §1. 449 On manegum landum stent, þæt he [sc. gafolswan] sylle ælce geare xv swyn to sticunge. (at sticking n.1 1a)].
a1350 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 11 Hue leyȝen y þe stretes y-styked ase swyn.
?a1450 Memoriale Credencium (Tanner 201) (1979) 112 (MED) An oxe hath compassyon and sorewyng of þe blode of a noþer oxe þat is y stycked.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 301 Hym semyth bettir to styke a swyne than to sytte afore a damesell of hyghe parage.
1594 J. Lyly Mother Bombie v. iii. sig. H2 I had thought they had beene sticking of pigs, I heard such a squeaking.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) i. i. 99 Sp. I (a lost-Mutton) gaue your Letter to her (a lac'd-Mutton) and she (a lac'd-Mutton) gaue mee (a lost-Mutton) nothing for my labour. Pro. Here's too small a Pasture for such store of Muttons. Sp. If the ground be ouer-charg'd, you were best sticke her. View more context for this quotation
c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) ii. 711 For all thou lookest soe big, Thou never yet durst see a sillie pig Stucke to the heart.
1699 W. Pinkethman Love without Interest v. 37 Here I've given him my Niece, and his mortgag'd Estate back, and he in Recompence would stick me like a Pig.
1769 B. Clermont tr. Professed Cook (ed. 2) I. iv. 144 Stick the pig in the Throat, as deep as the Heart, that it may bleed well and die sooner.
1792 F. Collingwood & J. Woollams Universal Cook vi. 83 Take a fine young fat pig, and stick it just above the breast bone; but mind that your knife touches the heart of it.
1868 ‘G. Hamilton’ Woman's Wrongs 30 He prepares an elaborate and formidable list of occupations,—trying up whales, cutting out tumors, stirring tan vats, bleeding calves, sticking swine, and many others equally æsthetic.
1884 Ld. Tennyson Becket i. iii. 52 By God's death, thou shalt stick him like a calf!
1989 Sunday Times 12 Nov. 50/3 Each unconscious animal is ‘stuck’ (i.e. its throat is cut) so that the blood can drain from its body.
2015 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 15 Sept. 21 I could never slit a sheep's neck or stick a pig or lop a chook's head but I have, on many occasions, beheaded a fish.
2. transitive. With adverb or preposition, as in, into, etc.: to thrust (a knife or other pointed object) into a person or thing; to use (a knife or other pointed object) to pierce or penetrate a person or thing. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > cut of sharp weapon > cut or penetrate (of weapon) [verb (transitive)] > strike with pointed weapon > thrust a pointed weapon
putc1275
shovec1275
rivec1330
stickc1390
stub1576
haft1582
uphilt1582
gar1587
embosom1590
emboss1590
flesh1590
imbrue1590
stabc1610
scour1613
c1390 in F. J. Furnivall Minor Poems Vernon MS (1901) ii. 476 As depe in to myn herte Mot þi loue I-stiked be As was þe spere in to þyn herte.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 707 Loue hath his firy dart so brennyngly Ystiked thurgh my trewe careful herte.
1569 T. Underdowne tr. Ovid Inuectiue against Ibis sig. Lj And that a shafte stoke in thy heart, may take thy life away.
1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft xii. vii. 226 She sticketh also needels fine In liuers, whereby men doo pine.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. i. 102 Thou stickst a dagger in me. View more context for this quotation
1607 G. Chapman Bussy D'Ambois v. 61 Or thou great Prince of shades where neuer sunne Stickes his far-darted beames.
1768 J. Cremer Jrnl. 27 Jan. in R. R. Bellamy Ramblin' Jack (1936) 78 The dutch-man Stuck his Nife in the french-man's As.
1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper ii. 16 Take a Lobster, if it be alive, stick a Skewer in the vent of the Tail.
1859 Amer. Cotton Planter Feb. 65/1 Boil them until when you stick a fork into them, grease will ooze out instead of blood.
1869 A. S. Packard Guide to Study of Insects 428 The pin should be stuck through the right elytron.
1909 Collier's 28 Aug. 13/3 Some brave but foolish savage stuck a spear intew his flank.
1989 T. Parks Family Planning 78 I can't force him to let them stick needles in him.
1994 Independent (Nexis) 18 Nov. 20 As he left, someone stuck a knife in his stomach.
3.
a. transitive. To pierce (something) with a sharp-pointed object; to prick, puncture. Frequently with with specifying the sharp-pointed object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > by boring, piercing, or perforating > by sharp-pointed instrument
thorough-runOE
stick1675
1675 N. Grew Compar. Anat. Trunks ii. 48 With a glass the Cane seems, as if it were stuck top full of holes with great pins.
1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper iv. 90 Stick your Neck [of mutton] all over in little Holes with a sharp Penknife.
1845 E. E. Lea Domest. Cookery 45 Work them into little round cakes; give them a slight roll with the rolling-pin, and stick them.
1904 M. C. Fox Blue Grass Cook Bk. 232 When pudding is nearly done, stick it with a knife in several places, and pour over it a glass of wine.
1920 Reedy's Mirror 13 May 389/1 She mended Mr. Felker's underwear—mended them so awkwardly and tremblingly that she stuck her finger with the needle.
2011 L. Cox South with Sun x. 99 The man..lifted a log-sized piece of clear blue ice from the water. He stuck it with a pick and split off chunks, which he dropped into the buckets.
b. transitive. U.S. colloquial. To puncture the skin of (a person) with a hypodermic needle in order to administer an injection, draw blood, or carry out some other procedure; to give a hypodermic injection to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > hypodermic treatments > practise hypodermic treatment [verb (transitive)] > inject or syringe > inject with hypodermic needle
stick1933
jab1938
hypo1956
1933 J. G. Cozzens Last Adam 218 ‘You'll go to Doctor Bull and get your injection, and out by the other door to Miss Coulthard, who will—’ ‘I won't let anybody stick me. No, sir!’
1946 Sun (Baltimore) 19 June 10/1 Though he [sc. the traveler] surely has been ‘stuck’ for every known disease, no telling how often he will be halted by health officers and cast into quarantine.
1963 New Yorker 25 May 42/2 'Fraid I've got to stick you once more.
1997 Daily Herald (Chicago) 10 July iv. 2/4 What's going to happen next week if you can't get blood? I don't want you to have to stick me every week!
4. transitive. coarse slang. To have sexual intercourse with (a person). Cf. poke v.1 5.In early examples often punning on sense 1c (cf. quot. a1616 at that sense). Apparently unrecorded between the 18th and 20th centuries; later examples may be influenced by sense 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > have sexual intercourse with
mingeOE
haveOE
knowc1175
ofliec1275
to lie with (or by)a1300
knowledgec1300
meetc1330
beliea1350
yknowc1350
touchc1384
deala1387
dightc1386
usea1387
takec1390
commona1400
to meet witha1400
servea1400
occupy?a1475
engender1483
jangle1488
to be busy with1525
to come in1530
visitc1540
niggle1567
mow1568
to mix one's thigh with1593
do1594
grind1598
pepper1600
yark1600
tumble1603
to taste of1607
compressc1611
jumble1611
mix?1614
consort?1615
tastea1616
bumfiddle1630
ingressa1631
sheet1637
carnal1643
night-work1654
bump1669
bumble1680
frig?c1680
fuck1707
stick1707
screw1719
soil1722
to do over1730
shag1770
hump1785
subagitatec1830
diddle1879
to give (someone) onec1882
charver1889
fuckeec1890
plugc1890
dick1892
to make a baby1911
to know (a person) in the biblical sense1912
jazz1920
rock1922
yentz1924
roll1926
to make love1927
shtupa1934
to give (or get) a tumble1934
shack1935
bang1937
to have it off1937
rump1937
tom1949
to hop into bed (with)1951
ball1955
to make it1957
plank1958
score1960
naughty1961
pull1965
pleasurea1967
to have away1968
to have off1968
dork1970
shaft1970
bonk1975
knob1984
boink1985
fand-
1707 in H. Playford Wit & Mirth (new ed.) III. 53 In the height of joy she cry'd, Oh! I'm undone I fear; Oh! kill me, stick me, stick me,..kill me quite my dear.
1767 T. Bridges Homer Travestie (ed. 2) I. v. 169 [Diomedes]..with his tool the goddess enter'd..Straight from the place where he did stick her There came a bright transparent liquor.
1927 Immortalia 166 There once was a kiddie named Carr Caught a man on top of his mar; As he saw him stick 'er, He said with a snicker, ‘You do it much faster than par.’
1971 F. Hilaire Thanatos 168 Instead of him laying me, I'm supposed to stick him.
2006 P. A. Phillips Last Bride Standing 222 ‘So who's sticking her, man?’ Sada laughed out loud... ‘Ahmed is sticking her. He gets it every night.’
5.
†a. transitive. Scottish. To hunt (salmon) using a spear. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting specific animals > hunt specific animal [verb (intransitive)] > hunt pigs
stick1820
pig hunt1845
pig-stick1877
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing for type of fish > fish for type of fish in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > fish for salmon in specific manner
stick1820
leister1834
snigger1886
1820 W. Scott Monastery I. Answ. Introd. Ep. 67 I have seen the fundations [of the old drawbridge] when we were sticking saumon.
1869 R. M. Ballantyne Erling the Bold xiv. 219 As he had been disappointed in going to see the fun at the Springs, he would console himself by going and sticking salmon at the foss.
b. transitive. To hunt (wild boar) on horseback using a spear; to succeed in hitting (a wild boar) with a spear. Frequently in to stick pigs (cf. pig-sticking n. 2). Now historical.The sport of pig-sticking is chiefly associated with India in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where it developed as a pastime for British colonial officers.
ΚΠ
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxiii. 568 He wrote off to Chutney..that he was going to show his friend..how to stick a pig in the Indian fashion.
1891 ‘L. Malet’ Wages of Sin I. ii. ii. 107 He had regarded India as an awfully jolly place where you shot tigers, and stuck pigs, and played polo.
1914 F. W. C. Jones in A. E. Wardrop Mod. Pig-sticking x. 168 We called our sport hog-hunting at Hyderabad.., because we so seldom stuck the pig.
1988 J. M. MacKenzie Empire of Nature (1997) vii. 188 It was customary in the Nagpur hunt to stick sows as well as boars, but from 1893 a fine was imposed for sticking a sow or an unridable boar.
2006 M. Van Creveld Changing Face War iii. 97 Most officers continued to play polo or, if stationed in India, stick pigs as if nothing had changed since 1900.
6. transitive. To make (a hole) in something with a pointed object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > by boring, piercing, or perforating
piercec1392
bore?1523
drive?a1525
thirl1609
drill1669
perforate1777
stick1834
puncture1851
sieve1875
pin1897
1834 E. Copley Housekeeper's Guide xii. 289 Roll it thin, and cut it out with a saucer or tin; stick holes in the biscuits with a fork.
1889 W. H. Jones & L. L. Kropf in tr. Folk-tales of Magyars p. lxvi If the cow kicks, cover her head with an old apron and stick holes through the apron with the pitchfork.
1910 Engin. & Mining Jrnl. 14 May 1007/1 Simply stick a hole into the cartridge and insert the fuse.
1995 Canberra Times 2 Feb. (Good Times section) 5/3 When the processed film came back from the lab, he stuck pin holes through it to create flame flashes from his actors' guns.
II. Senses relating to fixing, fastening, and positioning.
7.
a. intransitive. Of a pointed object: to be fixed or embedded in something by piercing; to remain fixed (in or through something). Also in figurative and similative contexts of an abstract or immaterial thing (cf. sense 18a(a)).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > be made fast or fixed [verb (intransitive)] > be fastened or fixed > be fixed in by piercing
stickeOE
stickc1405
steeka1425
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) ii. x. 138 Þa sceat he mid þy spere, þæt hit sticode fæste on þæm herige [L. iniecta in eo lancea].
OE Ælfric Old Test. Summary: Judges (Laud) iii. 23 in S. J. Crawford Old Eng. Version of Heptateuch (1922) 403 He forlet þa þæt swurd stician on him.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 23 Hu mei þe leche þe lechinen þa hwile þet iren sticat in þine wunde.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 51 Earest scheot þe arewen of þe licht echnen þe fleoð lichtliche forð..& stikeð iðere heorte.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3755 Iulius hit wraste & þat sweord stike [read stikede] feste.
c1300 St. Edmund King (Laud) 47 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 298 Þe Arewene stikeden on him ful þicke.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 175 (MED) A darte come sodenliche and stiked [?a1475 anon. tr. was fixede; L. infixum est] in his side.
a1400 (?a1325) Medit. on Supper of our Lord (Harl.) (1875) l. 910 (MED) With here pynsours sore þey plyȝt..Þe nayles stokyn so fast yn þe tre.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 26927 Namar it mai þe saul of sin To-quils it stikand es þar-in.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 2623 (MED) Þere stood a spere..Jn þe grounde it stiked [a1425 Linc. Inn y stikit] fast.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Physician's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 211 Vp on hir humble face he gan biholde With fadres pitee stikyng thurgh his herte.
1538 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 198 Sum [of them] feytynge so that the knyffe hathe stoken in the bone.
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. C4v By the light he spies Lvcrecias gloue, wherein her needle sticks . View more context for this quotation
1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 154 When hee [sc. the infernall serpent] first bit and stung our first mother Eue, leauing fast sticking in vs the sting of sinne.
a1639 T. Dekker et al. Witch of Edmonton (1658) ii. i. 19 A Burbolt, which sticks at this hour up to the Feathers in my heart.
1694 tr. O. G. de Busbecq Four Epist. conc. Embassy into Turkey iv. 286 The sharp part of it [sc. a shellfish] sticks in the bottom of the Sea, as if it grew there.
1752 Gentleman's Mag. May 229/1 The heat given the whole nail before a part would melt, must burn the board it sticks in.
1851 C. Kingsley in N. Brit. Rev. Nov. 82/1 Phrases..which stick, like barbed arrows, in the memory of every reader.
1877 Canada Med. Rec. Apr. 156/1 A young man..came from one of our upper counties to get me to remove a thorn sticking in his cornea.
1903 G. A. Dorsey & A. L. Kroeber Trad. of Arapaho 55 The arrow stuck fast, wedging him in.
1921 Munsey's Mag. Sept. 733 I shut my eyes and I says: ‘Where the pin sticks, I'll go!’ So I stuck the pin in and opened my eyes, and the pin was sticking in Essex.
1998 S. Anderson 1314 & All That 100 A small group of nobles now hated the King's guts and wanted to see a sword sticking in them.
†b. intransitive. Of a thing: to be fastened permanently in position; to be fixed in or as in a socket. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > be positioned or situated [verb (intransitive)] > of things: be fixed in position
stickeOE
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > be made fast or fixed [verb (intransitive)] > be fastened or fixed
stickeOE
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xxix. 521 Swa swa þa spacan sticiað oðer ende on þære felge oþer on þære nafe.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 1186 ‘O perle’, quod I,..‘If hit be ueray and soth sermoun Þat þou so stykeȝ in garlande gay,’ [etc.].
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 7633 Seven planetes er oboven us;..Þai styk noght fast, als smale sternes dose.
1565 A. Golding tr. Ovid Fyrst Fower Bks. Metamorphosis iii. f. 1 Three spirting toongues, three rowes of teeth within his head did stick.
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme cxlii. 8 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 239 Lord, thou..knowst each path, where stick the toiles of danger.
1665 J. Bunyan Holy Citie 173 We shall stick like Pearls in the Crowns of the twelve Apostles.
1682 N. Grew Disc. Tasts in Plants vi. iv. §9 in Anat. Plants 287 The particles..of Salt stick in them, as the Spokes do in the Hub of a Wheel, or as the Quills in the Skin of a Porcupine.
1802 Repertory Arts, Manufactures, & Agric. 1 Sept. 254 Fig. 4 shews the hole where the spokes stick.
c. intransitive. Of an object: to be secured or held by having one end inserted (in something).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > be made fast or fixed [verb (intransitive)] > be fastened or fixed > be fixed in by piercing
stickeOE
stickc1405
steeka1425
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Sir Thopas (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 195 Vp on his Creest he bar a tour And ther Inne stiked a lilie flour.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 317 There stucke no plume in any English Crest, That is remoued by a staffe of France. View more context for this quotation
1744 R. North & M. North Life Sir D. North & Rev. J. North 118 This sort of Building retrenches the Number of Tools; and a Carpenter useth none but what sticks in his Girdle.
1889 A. Lang Blue Fairy Bk. 300 If someone else mounts quickly and shoots the horse dead with the pistol that is sticking in the holster, then the young King is saved.
1905 Smart Set Aug. 98/1 Might not there be a bare chance that Farnham, his curiosity fired, had discovered the note sticking in his hat, and treacherously removed it?
1986 Cumberland (Maryland) Evening Times 28 Aug. 2 I said where's the gun and he said, ‘It's right here,’ and it was sticking in his belt.
8.
a. transitive. To fasten (something pointed) in position by thrusting its point into a surface. Chiefly with in, into. Also figurative.See also to stick one's stakes at stake n.1 1e.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > fasten by thrusting in point
stickc1300
steeka1387
pricka1425
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > make fast [verb (transitive)] > fasten or fix > in something > by thrusting in its point
pitchc1275
stickc1300
steeka1387
to stick down1555
c1300 St. Wulstan (Laud) 180 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 76 He wende forth..And nam þe croce wel mildeliche þare he stikede hire er so faste.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §38. 46 In centre of the compas stike an euene pyn or a whir vp-riht.
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) xii. l. 356 Ther cannes styke; on hem sarmentis plie.
1543 B. Traheron tr. J. de Vigo Most Excellent Wks. Chirurg. iii. xxiii. f. cxiiiv The threde must be wounde about the nedle, as taylours & semsters sticke ther nedles in theyr cotes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. vii. 56 Vnlesse you haue a cod-peece to stick pins on. View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 186 Cloth..wherein I sticked needles.
1640 T. Fuller Joseph's Coat 95 The wicked..have onely a superficiall hold in grace, rather sticked than rooted in it.
1742 G. Leoni tr. A. Palladio Architecture I. 85 Having by Engines stuck these pieces in the bottom of the River.
a1756 E. Haywood New Present (1771) 127 Stick a skewer in it, and tie about it some packthread, to keep it together.
1827 E. Cowen Rep. Supreme Court N.-Y. 6 482 They commenced on one Conklin's east line, on the Quaker road, and ran easterly on that road, 81 rods, where the surveyor stuck a stake.
1842 J. C. Loudon Suburban Horticulturist 374 Stick a nail in the wall in the centre.
1907 J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. (ed. 6) 113 Stick the iron shoes [of a tripod] well into three good bungs.
1944 E. Glantz Scrap Fun for Everyone cciv. 209 Sharpen one end of the lollypop stick... Stick the pointed end of the lollypop stick into the center of the bar of soap.
1998 M. Cooke Britten & Far East (2001) i. 21 Lou Harrison..created a metallic piano sonority by the simple ploy of sticking drawing pins into the felt covering of the hammers.
b. transitive. To impale (a thing) on (also upon) something pointed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > transfix
through-driveOE
through-nimc1275
stickc1330
through-piercec1330
to stick througha1382
preenc1390
spitc1430
thirlc1450
broacha1470
prickc1475
to stick up1528
transfix1590
fix1638
bestick1667
impalea1678
spiculate1835
skewer1837
to strike through1893
c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 828 (MED) Þe bor is heued of smot, And on a tronsoun of is spere Þat heued a stikede for to bere.
a1450 Late Middle Eng. Treat. on Horses (1978) 119 (MED) Þat oþer ende of þe styke schal be scharpe & þer-on þou schalt styke a gobet of fat lard.
1577 M. Hanmer tr. Bp. Eusebius in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. viii. xxvi. 165 He commaunded..their right eyes to be stickt on the point of a bodkine, the apple, eye lidde and all, to be quite digged out.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 273 Jn this Battel is Alpin takne,..heidet: stukne on a stake and borne to Camelodun his heid.
1641 Earl of Monmouth tr. G. F. Biondi Hist. Civil Warres Eng. I. v. 148 Hee was carried to Cheapside, was beheaded, his Head stuck upon the point of speare.
1670 J. Dryden Tyrannick Love iii. i. 28 It first shall pierce my heart: We will be stuck together on his dart.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 106 Their heads were stuck upon spears, and led the procession. View more context for this quotation
1847 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 312/2 Kabobs are things better in a story than in manducation, being excessively greasy compositions of odd pieces of meat stuck on skewers, a poor imitation of the sausage.
1880 Academy 18 Sept. 203/2 Old women spinning yarn with a hand-spindle consisting of a stick with a potato stuck on it.
1901 Brit. Bee Jrnl. 1 Aug. 303/2 The little rascal took the poor bees and stuck them on thorns in the hedge. I found over ten bees stuck on branches in this way.
1934 Mod. Lang. Rev. 29 286 The distracted grief of the mother when she sees the grizzly sight of her boy's head stuck upon a pole.
2001 Amer. Jrnl. Educ. 111 478 A small Styrofoam ball (the moon) stuck on the end of a chopstick.
†c. transitive. To pin (a person) to a wall, the ground, etc., by running a weapon through his or her body. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > fasten by transfixion to
stick1535
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Sam. xviii. 11 And Saul had a iauelynge in his hande, and cast it, and thoughte: I wyll stycke Dauid fast to the wall.
1599 L. A. tr. M. Martínez Eighth Bk. Myrror of Knighthood xxvii. sig. Kk3v With a strong thrust I ranne him through: where the blinde Goddesse of Chaunce, seemed yet to fauour him, as to be stucke to his Ladies wall.
1619 W. Wiseman Christian Knight 22 Manlius ranne him in at the throat and so through the ribbes stucke him faste to the ground..and had sentence of death on him presently for it.
1696 ‘Ariadne’ She ventures & he Wins ii. iii. 17 A Man, say you, in Womens Cloths with my Wife? D—— him, give me my Sword, I'll stick him to the Wall.
d. transitive. To cause (something) to be held or secured by inserting one end of it in, into, behind, through, etc., a receptacle. Cf. sense 11a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > make fast [verb (transitive)] > fasten or fix
steek?c1335
stick1372
ficchec1374
plant1381
inficche1382
fix14..
graft1531
graff1536
stick1586
rivet1600
stay1627
rig1835
splice1847
fixate1885
1586 W. Warner Albions Eng. ii. vii. 28 The Mast they boring full of holes, in euerie hole did sticke a burning Torch, and lancht it out in night when cloudes were thick.
1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. i. 56 Quoth she, I grieve to see your Leg Stuck in a hole here like a Peg.
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. lxxviii. 70 He bears her train majestically along by sticking it in the waistband of his breeches.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. ii. 28 A habit of sticking his pen behind his ear before he spoke.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola II. ii. 16 A man..who had a small hatchet stuck in his belt.
1869 A. Trollope He knew he was Right I. xxv. 194 He was sitting, with a short, black pipe stuck into his mouth.
1917 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl.-Gaz. 7 June 5/3 Bright eyed Tokio maids..with large chrysanthemums stuck in their hair.
1930 C. Carswell Let. 24 Dec. in Lying Awake (1950) 199 Thanks for the charming little feather which I shall stick in my hat to buck me up.
1989 F. Forsyth Negotiator xv. 354 He dressed there, stuck the pistol in his belt..and went silently downstairs.
e. transitive. To fix (an entomological specimen) to a board with a pin, esp. as a hobby.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > zoology > study of specific types of animal > [verb (transitive)] > insects > arrange as a specimen
stick1827
set1869
1827 Mirror Lit., Amusem., & Instr. 12 May 316/2 ‘When do you expect to become a naturalist?’ ‘Never, sir, if I must scald snails, stick butterflies, draw birds, [etc.].’
1830 C. Darwin Life & Lett. I. 182 I have not stuck an insect this term.
1991 A. Tan Kitchen God's Wife (2006) 116 When Uncle tired of his hobby of shooting rifles or sticking insects—into the greenhouse.
9. intransitive. to stick full of: to be riddled with (arrows, darts, etc.); (later more generally) to be full of. Cf. as full (also close, etc.) as one can stick at Phrases 3. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > taking up space [phrase] > full to capacity
to stick full ofc1300
full to the brim1609
to capacity1937
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by speed or gait > [verb (intransitive)] > move with short steps
to stick full ofc1300
to beat the dust1607
to beat upon a walk1607
strike1683
to go, walk, etc. short1753
c1300 St. Edmund King (Harl.) l. 48 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 513 As ful as an illespyl is of pikes al aboute As ful he stikede of arewen wiþinne & wiþoute.
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 107 Þai..made Archires to him shote with Arwes, til þat his body stickede alse ful of Arwes as an hirchone is ful of prickes.
1573 T. Twyne tr. Virgil in T. Phaer & T. Twyne tr. Virgil Whole .xii. Bks. Æneidos xii. sig. Mmv When as their backes sticke full of dartes, yt hunters thick haue throwne.
1598 J. Mosan tr. C. Wirsung Praxis Med. Vniuersalis v. i. 567 These said vaines of the breast, do sticke full of Melancholie blood, and are verie ill to be healed.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Houssepaillée, a sluttish dragle-tayle, whose gowne euer sticks full of straw.
1665 J. Sparrow tr. J. Böhme 40 Questions of Soul (new ed.) xv. 209 When the earthly Tree sticketh full of green sprouting driving Essences and Poyson.
1744 tr. Livy Rom. Hist. VI. xxxviii. xxvi. 104 The Gauls,..having their bodies sticking full of darts, and fatigued with loss of blood.
1835 W. G. Simms Partisan II. x. 86 A superb fellow, fat as butter, and sticking full of eggs.
1870 G. P. Belden Belden, White Chief lv. 372 I fortunately found the carcasses of two fine buffaloes sticking full of Sioux arrows.
1906 Nova Scotia Rep. 24 194 They pried part of it off and it was sticking full of gold, rich with gold.
1982 W. L. Hunt Southern Gardens, Southern Gardening 153 Many of us have had seeds of Elizabeth's specimen, which is sticking full of the red fruits every fall.
10.
a. With with, full of.
(a) transitive. To furnish or adorn (something) by fastening objects to its surface; to set (a surface) with a number of specified objects; to cover with. Frequently in passive. Also with adverbs as about, out, over. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > ornament [verb (transitive)] > stud with ornaments
sticka1350
steekc1430
overdrivec1450
overset1451
stud1570
bestud1601
bestick1623
constellatea1691
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > scatter (a surface) with something
sticka1350
setc1386
ficche1413
sprinkle?1518
scatter1590
sow1611
spatter1647
shower1798
a1350 St. Juliana (Ashm.) (1957) 85 Al were þe velion aboute wiþ rasours istiked faste.
?a1425 (a1400) Siege Jerusalem (Lamb.) (1932) l. 330 (MED) Ful of stonys stikid [a1400 Laud Þe paueloun was vmbe, Stoked ful of storijs].
1565 A. Golding tr. Caesar Martiall Exploytes in Gallia vii. f. 225v Stakes of a fote long stickt full of Iron hokes, and theis thei called gaddes.
1591 R. Johnson Musarum Plangores sig. B3 So shall his Coarse be stucke with vertuous bloome, Shall make the ground smell like perfumed bowers.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 v. ii. 8 Supposition al our liues shall be stucke full of eyes.
1612 T. Beard Theatre Gods Judgem. (ed. 2) 234 Who..put him into a great Pipe stickt full of long nayles, and then rolled him downe.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan Rev. & Concl. 395 It is many times with a fraudulent Designe that men stick their corrupt Doctrine with the Cloves of other mens Wit.
1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther iii. 131 With Garden-Gods, and barking Deities, More thick than Ptolomey has stuck the Skies.
a1717 W. Diaper tr. Oppian Halieuticks (1722) i. 21 Sea-Urchins, who their native Armour boast, All stuck with Spikes, prefer the sandy Coast.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. xix. 53 They were richly dressed, and stuck out with jewels.
1780 Mirror No. 106 Not a walk but is stuck full of statues.
1847 M. Parrott Rough Rhymes for Country Girls 24 Her cap is stuck out with bright flowers, Her hair hanging down in long curls.
1867 J. R. Lowell Fitz Adam's Story in Atlantic Monthly Jan. 18 As these bring home..Their hat-crowns stuck with bugs of curious make.
1890 G. Kingscote Tales of Sun x. 125 She made a big ball of clay and stuck it over with what rice she had, so as to make it look like a ball of rice.
1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 39 Some fellows, stuck all over with red tabs and cap-bands and armlets.
1973 B. Hanrahan Scent of Eucalyptus xxv. 161 The prunus-tree stuck with red paper blossoms rustled.
1998 H. Keane Animal Rights v. 115 Breasts of birds stuck about with beads decorated ever more extravagant outfits.
(b) transitive. To cover (something) with pricks or sharp points, by piercing its surface with a number of sharp objects or instruments. Frequently in passive: to be penetrated or riddled with sharp objects or instruments. Cf. senses 1a, 9.
ΚΠ
1594 2nd Rep. Dr. Faustus vi. sig. D3v He cannot come into Gods presence nor be one of the elect vnlesse they be purified from their sins, for which purification, they ordain a place so terribly stucke with pins, needles, daggers, swords, nailes, &c.
1600 C. Edmondes Obseruations Fiue Bks. Caesars Comm. ii. ix. 86 The front of the rampier thus stucke with stakes, was called vallum, a varicando, for that no man could stride or get ouer it.
1689 Absolute Necessity standing by Present Govt. 46 They rowl'd him..upon sharp glass, till the Skin was stuck full of the little Fragments.
1711 Spectator 11 Dec. 240 The figure of a heart..bleeding upon an altar, stuck with darts.
1804 J.Cockburn Unfortunate Englishmen 58 A wild bull was turned out, which those people attacked.., sticking him full of arrows and darts.
1864 J. A. Crowe & G. B. Cavalcaselle New Hist. Painting Italy II. xix. 448 The muscularly developed nude of S. Sebastian,..bound and stuck with arrows.
1987 R. Lever Acupuncture for Everyone vi. 130 People are often worried at the thought of being stuck full of needles.
2012 B. Myers Circles of Meaning iii. 85 Many Paleolithic hunting scenes depict the animals stuck full of spears.
b. transitive. Cookery. To stud (a piece of food) with a particular garnish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > garnishing > garnish [verb (transitive)]
stick1381
flourish?c1390
arma1425
stick1530
begarnish1647
garnish1693
flambé1951
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 735/2 Stycke your shoulder of mouton with herbes.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 641 Bero. A Lemmon. Long. Stucke with Cloues. View more context for this quotation
1613 F. Beaumont Knight of Burning Pestle v. sig. I3 Wee will haue..a good peece of beefe, stucke with rose-mary.
1673 J. Dryden Amboyna i. 3 I wou'd not let these English from this Isle, have Cloves enough to stick an Orange with.
1792 F. Collingwood & J. Woollams Universal Cook xvi. 222 Boil it half an hour, pour round it melted butter and wine, and stick it with slit and blanched almonds.
1898 D. Groome Up-to-date & Econ. Cookery xvi. 230 Stick the cakes with almonds, and finish with a whip of good cream.
1921 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 140/1 There were raised biscuits, and yellow butter, and chipped beef, and pickled peaches stuck with cloves.
1996 Independent (Nexis) 9 June (Review section) 50 The French gigot stuck with garlic and rosemary and cooked over potatoes is a classic.
c. transitive. English regional. Without with. to stick the church: to decorate a church with evergreens at Christmas. Now historical and rare.
ΚΠ
1711 in S. Denne Hist. Particulars Lambeth Parish (1795) 384/2 To Tearve for sticking the church.
1781 in J. C. Cox & R. M. Serjeantson Hist. Church Holy Sepulchre Northampton (1897) iv. 62 Greens to stick the church.
1891 Lincs. Notes & Queries 2 20 The churches were decorated with box and other evergreens stuck into holes in the pew tops. Several old people here remember this church being so decorated, and call it ‘sticking the church’.
1893 G. E. Dartnell & E. H. Goddard Gloss. Words Wilts. Stick, to decorate with evergreens, &c. ‘We allus sticks th' Church at Christmas’.
1908 T. Wright Life Col. Fred Burnaby i. 8 At Christmas time he liked to help when the ladies were ‘sticking the church’, as it was queerly called.
1997 M. Sutton Lincs. Calendar 214 Church Sticking Churches are still decorated at Christmas time but in a different way to the old custom of ‘Sticking the Church’.
11.
a. transitive. With adverb or prepositional phrase: to put (a person or thing) in a specified place or position, (now) esp. in a quick or casual way. In early use occasionally in stronger sense: †to fasten in position (obsolete). Now colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > placing or fact of being placed in (a) position > place or put in a position [verb (transitive)]
doeOE
layc950
seta1000
puta1225
dight1297
pilt?a1300
stow1362
stick1372
bestowc1374
affichea1382
posec1385
couchc1386
dressa1387
assize1393
yarkc1400
sita1425
place1442
colloque1490
siegea1500
stake1513
win1515
plat1529
collocate1548
campc1550
posit1645
posture1645
constitute1652
impose1681
sist1852
shove1902
spot1937
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > make fast [verb (transitive)] > fasten or fix
steek?c1335
stick1372
ficchec1374
plant1381
inficche1382
fix14..
graft1531
graff1536
stick1586
rivet1600
stay1627
rig1835
splice1847
fixate1885
1372 in E. Wilson Descriptive Index Lyrics John of Grimestone's Preaching Bk. (1973) 49 (MED) Þe garlond þat of þorn is wroth An stikid on my crune With prikking hat þe blod out brouth.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 157 Byndez byhynde..boþe two his handez..Stik hym stifly in stokez.
c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 53 Lady quod j seyth me..of these belles..why thei ben thus tacched and stiked in the skrippe.
1531 W. Tyndale Expos. 1 John (1537) 30 Lyghtes were stycked before theyr memorials.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball vi. xxix. 696 Some hold, that the branches or bowes of Rhamnus stickte at mens dores and windowes, do driue away Sorcerie.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iii. i. 192 A whitly wanton,..With two pitch balles stucke in her face for eyes. View more context for this quotation
1658 T. Bromhall Treat. Specters i. 70 As though she..were sticked in the bottom of a River to be drowned.
1697 J. Dryden Ded. Æneis in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. e4v The Additions, I also hope, are easily deduc'd from Virgil's Sense. They will seem..not stuck into him, but growing out of him.
1720 T. Tooley Homer Travestie 45 Just so a Bull with swinging Horns Sticks arse in Hedge, and Danger scorns.
1820 P. B. Shelley Œdipus Tyrannus i. 22 Sticking cauliflowers Between the ears of the old ones.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. v. 140 Trois-Eschelles stuck a torch against the wall to give them light.
1875 A. Helps Social Pressure i. 5 Now let him make grand that commonplace word..by sticking that forcible article before it with a capital letter.
1909 A. M. N. Lyons Sixpenny Pieces ii. 19 Do you mind just putting a match to the gas stove and sticking a kettle on?
1912 Scroll of Phi Delta Theta May 483 He held it to be a higher honor to save some poor fellow who had gone wrong than to stick him in jail.
1974 Naples (Florida) Daily News 14 Nov. d5/2 More and more parents are getting back to the old tradition of reading to their children rather than sticking them in front of television re-runs.
1988 A. Tyler Breathing Lessons (1989) i. i. 12 I'll just stick it in my purse.
2011 N. Young We All ran into Sunlight 233 You can leave your bag. Just stick it over there beside the fridge.
b. transitive. With adverb or prepositional phrase: to fix (something) to a surface or object, as a decoration or garnish.In quot. 1381 intransitive with object implied.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > garnishing > garnish [verb (transitive)]
stick1381
flourish?c1390
arma1425
stick1530
begarnish1647
garnish1693
flambé1951
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > ornament [verb (transitive)] > stud with ornaments > fasten as an ornament
stick1648
1381 Diuersa Servicia in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 73 Tak powder of galyngale & cast aboue & lat yt kele. Tak bronchys of þe lorere tre & styk ouer it.
a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 31 (MED) Take Fleysshe of Capoun..& styke þer-on Clowis, Maces, & Quybibis.
1591 A. W. Bk. Cookrye (rev. ed.) f. 25v When you serue him [sc. a pheasant] in, stick one of his fethers vpon his brest.
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. xii. 53 Many devout persons came and sticked in the dowy Image pretious stones.
1665 T. Herbert Some Years Trav. (new ed.) 126 Hung it was..with threads tripartite..and some Cyprus-branches stuck about.
1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery 8 Parboil it first, then roast it, stick eight or ten Cloves about it.
1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper xii. 267 Stick curled Parsley in it.
1832 N. K. M. Lee Cook's Own Bk. 175/1 When quite cold turn it out, stick over it sweet almonds, cut into straws, and pour round it some thick cream.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. II. 277 Planting immense bright bows on every part of a smart cap on which it was possible to stick one.
1851 J. R. Lowell Unhappy Lot of Mr. Knott in Graham's Mag. Apr. 281/2 All up and down and here and there, With Lord-knows-whats of round and square Stuck on at random every where, It was a house to make one stare.
1893 O. Schreiner Dream Life & Real Life 44 She was full now, and looked in at the little home; at the purple flowers stuck about the room.
1912 Table Talk Dec. 678/1 Turn it out onto a hot dish, stick some shreds of almonds in rows down the top to the base.
1998 C. Pryor in D. Douglas Stirring Prose 183 Add a little more cottage cheese than you've added below, and stick some of those green olive halves and lots of red pimentos and pecans around.
c. transitive. Woodworking. To shape or work (moulding, a bead, etc.) by cutting directly into a piece of timber with a plane. Cf. strike v. 10, stuck adj.2 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > build or construct with wood [verb (transitive)] > trim, smooth, or plane
try1593
shoot?1677
traverse1678
trim1679
stick1703
dub1711
adze1744
to rough off1748
strike1842
jack-plane1861
1703 Order 16 June in Mariner′s Mirror (1913) 3 20 The Beames in wake of the aforesaid places be stuck onely with a Beed on the Edges.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Rails, are narrow planks..upon which there is a moulding stuck.
1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §983 The sashes to be 1 inch and three-quarters, stuck (worked) with astragal and hollow.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. ii. iii. 564 Mouldings..are generally wrought by hand; but when a plane is formed for them they are said to be stuck, and the operation is called sticking.
1902 R. Sturgis Dict. Archit. III. 621 Stick, to run, strike, or shape with a moulding plane; by extension, to shape,..by the moulding mill.
2001 C. H. Wendel Encycl. Antique Tools & Machinery 147/1 Bead plane..a semi-cylindrical plane for sticking a bead or molding.
d. transitive. colloquial. Used, with imperative force, to express contemptuous dismissal or rejection. Frequently in stick it! Cf. shove v.1 10e, stuff v.1 15a. [Short for to stick (something) up one's —— at Phrases 9.]
ΚΠ
1922 Morning Bull. (Rockhampton, Queensland) 29 Aug. 9/4 I will not be guilty of taking a bribe. You can stick it.
1948 D. Ballantyne Cunninghams i. xx. 105 He had a good mind to tell Basil Fisher to stick his run.
1977 Daily Tel. 22 June 17/8 After the hearing Mr Jeeves said: ‘They can stick their cottage. I shall not move into it.’
1990 Times 30 Oct. 3/5 Bristow..handed over his £10 and stormed off after telling the ticket collector to ‘stick it’.
1998 P. Grace Baby No-eyes (1999) xii. 106 ‘Stick your job, Anthony,’ was all I said. ‘See who else you can get at the price.’
†12. transitive. To fill or stuff (something). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 494 Now ar þay stoken of sturne werk, staf-ful her hond.
a1500 Partenay (Trin. Cambr.) l. 3955 (MED) So with fumy smoke Was the caue Anon full As myght be stoke.
13.
a. transitive. To fix (a sign, bill, notice, etc.) to a wall, post, etc., by means of an adhesive, nails, or tacks; to post. Frequently with prepositional phrase specifying the object or surface to which the notice is attached. stick no bills: a formula used on a sign to indicate that bills or other notices should not be posted on a particular wall, hoarding, etc. Cf. bill-sticking adj. at bill n.3 Compounds 2a(b)(i).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > publishing or spreading by leaflets or notices > [verb (transitive)] > publish by placard, notice, or bill > put up a placard, notice, or bill
stickc1425
to set upc1540
to stick up1562
post1647
to put up1693
poster1938
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > attachment > attach or affix [verb (transitive)] > adhere to > cause to adhere
stickc1425
clam1598
cling1606
plaster1623
beglue1658
adhere1845
clitch1863
paste1863
key1923
c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. l. 18382 (MED) For on her houses thei hadde stiked Certayn signes that wele were knowen.
1576 A. Golding tr. Edict Frenche Kinge xxix. 28 The billes shall be sticked vppon a poste in the sayde marketsteds, and at the entrie of the mootehall of the same place.
1587 W. Rankins Mirrour of Monsters f. 6 The streetes of Terralbon were stuck with their bylles, and almost euery post was a witnes to these pompous proceedings.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler ii. 49 An honest Alehouse, where we shall find a cleanly room,..and twenty Ballads stuck about the wall. View more context for this quotation
1674 R. Head Forreign Jests 115 in Complaisant Compan. I perceiv'd a person reading a Paper which was stuck against the new walls.
1688 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 531 They stuck a citation on the common gate to warne all the fellowes home and to be present in the chappell on Friday 2 Nov. next.
1727 E. Haywood tr. M.-A. de Gomez Belle Assemblée (new ed.) II. 128 The Pope..order'd a Bill to be stuck upon all the publick Places in Rome, containing a Decree against the whole Parish.
1788 C. Dibdin Musical Tour xxxi. 125 So said, so done—the bills are stuck, The town with consternation struck.
1796 J. Gutch Wood's Hist. & Antiq. Univ. Oxf. II. 164 Thomas Greenway of that College [sc. Corpus Christi] resigning his Presidentship, a Citation was stuck for the election of another to succeed him.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Witch of Atlas lxxiii, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 53 The priests would write an explanation full,..and bid the herald stick The same against the temple doors.
1826 Examiner 19 Nov. 742/2 If any modest citizen would preserve his walls from indecent notices of quack doctors, he must disfigure them himself with gentle hints—‘Bill-stickers, beware,’—‘Commit no nuisance,’—‘Stick no bills.’
1851 C. Dickens Bill-sticking in Househ. Words 22 Mar. 604/2 The company had a watchman on duty, night and day, to prevent us sticking bills upon the hoarding.
1907 Boot & Shoe Recorder 27 Mar. 185/2 Last summer the show man came down and I let them stick signs all over my store, for which I got two tickets free to the show.
1969 Contemp. Rev. Sept. 158 A somewhat more artistic variation of the ‘Stick no Bills’ notice of today.
1994 T. Byrne Local Govt. in Brit. (ed. 6) iv. 79 One of these powers is the power to confirm local authorities' by-laws (such as to control cycling on footpaths,..unauthorized tipping of waste or sticking posters, etc.).
2004 I. Dewar Secrets of Family Album (2007) 312 It took two weeks to sell the car. She stuck a notice on the side passenger window and put an advert in the paper.
b. transitive. To fix (something) to a surface or object with an adhesive; to cause to adhere to something. Frequently with adverb or prepositional phrase. Cf. sense 17a.
ΚΠ
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 475 Stykyn, or festyn a thynge to a walle or a noþer þynge, wha so hyt be, figo, affigo, glutino.
1640 W. Style tr. L. Gracian Dantisco Galateo Espagnol 137 To pitch a scedule of partchment written with Dragons blood, and to stick it to the gowne of the Soldana.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 110 A large & very rare Grotto of shell-worke, artificialy stuck on in the shapes of Satyres & other wild fansys.
1777 T. Cavallo Compl. Treat. Electr. 320 The innermost of these tubes has a spiral row of small round pieces of tin-foil, stuck upon its outside surface.
1790 Nat. Hist. in J. White Jrnl. Voy. New S. Wales App. 292 The other end is ornamented with the shell of the Limpet or Patella, stuck on with the gum.
1807 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 17 356 It had bled a drop of blood, which coagulating, stuck his stocking to it.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. II. 4 After sticking the preparation on the cover-glass or slide.
1932 C. H. Fort Wild Talents xxvii. 312 Under their chairs they stick their wads of chewing gum.
1977 J. Hedgecoe Photographer's Handbk. 309 (caption) Using an electric tacking iron gently touch the center of the tissue, sticking it to the print.
1992 Prairie Schooner 66 54 He was conscious of the sweat that stuck his hair to his scalp in ringlets.
1997 J-17 Oct. 92/1 Use false-eyelash glue to stick a sequin ‘bindi spot’ between your eyebrows.
c. transitive. figurative. With on, upon: to cause (something) to become firmly associated with a specified person or thing; to ascribe (a name, quality, etc.) to. Cf. sense 18b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > attribution or assignment of cause > assign to a cause [verb (transitive)] > attribute something to someone > put upon or ascribe to someone
fastOE
lay13..
fastenc1390
redound1477
impinge1535
thank1560
stick1607
patronize1626
fix1665
1607 B. Jonson Volpone iii. ii. sig. F3v These imputations are too common, Sir, And eas'ly stuck on vertue, when shee's poore. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) v. iii. 46 Admiringly my Liege, at first I stucke my choice vpon her. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 330 His foul esteeme Sticks no dishonor on our Front, but turns Foul on himself. View more context for this quotation
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy i The nickname the neighbours stuck upon him was Handy Andy.
1898 Proc. Mich. Gas Assoc. 54 There is always one who has a little more ability and ambition than the others—make him a ‘right hand man’ and a leader, but do not stick a title on him.
1948 Life 11 Oct. 11/2 This [nickname] ‘El Pequeño’ has been a thorn in his side ever since it was stuck on him at the infantry academy in Toledo.
2006 G. Malkani Londonstani i. 5 People're always tryin to stick a label on our scene... First we rudeboys, then we be Indian niggas, then rajamuffins, [etc.].
†d. transitive. Of a sheriff: to appoint (a jury). Cf. strike v. 14. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > [verb (transitive)] > empanel a jury
empanel1426
return1426
panel1451
array1635
stick1688
strike1715
1688 T. Clarges Let. 14 June in J. Gutch Collectanea Curiosa (1781) I. 359 It is sayd the Master of the Office will stick the Jury and will name eight and forty.
†14. transitive. To be joined as an appendage to something else. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > attachment > be or become attached or affixed [verb (intransitive)]
stick1621
fix1682
attach1798
1621 D. Widdowes tr. W. A. Scribonius Nat. Philos. 59 The Stomacke is a part like perchment, sticking to the throat [L. gulae adhaerens].
1650 J. Howell tr. A. Giraffi Exact Hist. Late Revol. Naples i. 25 The Vice-King..remov'd himself..to castelnuovo, which sticks to the Royall Palace [It. stà attaccato col Regio Palazzo], there being a bridge to passe between.
15. slang.
a.
(a) transitive. To cheat (a person) out of something; to deceive, take in. Now rare (U.S. in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle
defraud1362
deceivec1380
plucka1500
lurch1530
defeata1538
souse1545
lick1548
wipe1549
fraud1563
use1564
cozen1573
nick1576
verse1591
rooka1595
trim1600
skelder1602
firk1604
dry-shave1620
fiddle1630
nose1637
foista1640
doa1642
sharka1650
chouse1654
burn1655
bilk1672
under-enter1692
sharp1699
stick1699
finger1709
roguea1714
fling1749
swindle1773
jink1777
queer1778
to do over1781
jump1789
mace1790
chisel1808
slang1812
bucket1819
to clean out1819
give it1819
to put in the hole1819
ramp1819
sting1819
victimize1839
financier1840
gum1840
snakea1861
to take down1865
verneuk1871
bunco1875
rush1875
gyp1879
salt1882
daddle1883
work1884
to have (one) on toast1886
slip1890
to do (a person) in the eye1891
sugar1892
flay1893
to give (someone) the rinky-dink1895
con1896
pad1897
screw1900
short-change1903
to do in1906
window dress1913
ream1914
twist1914
clean1915
rim1918
tweedle1925
hype1926
clip1927
take1927
gazump1928
yentz1930
promote1931
to take (someone) to the cleaners1932
to carve up1933
chizz1948
stiff1950
scam1963
to rip off1969
to stitch up1970
skunk1971
to steal (someone) blind1974
diddle-
1699 Country Gentleman's Vade-mecum 56 And so they draw him on from one set to another and from little Bets to great Ones (till they have stuck him, as they call it).
1843 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 53 81 They think it ungentlemanly to cheat, or, as they call it, ‘stick’ any of their own set.
1870 Old Guard Feb. 153/2 You've been stuck by Peter, I hear.
1904 G. H. Lorimer Old Gorgon Graham: More Lett. xiii. 288 It seems rather foolish to pay railroad fares to the West and back for the sake of getting stuck when there are such superior facilities for that right here in the East.
1925 A. Loos Gentlemen prefer Blondes iii. 68 Don't let my daughter stick you—they fall apart in less than a week.
1957 ‘E. McBain’ Con Man xiv. 120 ‘We don't even know they're genuine. They may be paste.’ ‘Hell, I wouldn't try to stick you,’ O'Neill said. ‘I've been stuck before,’ Parsons said.
(b) transitive. Chiefly U.S. To cheat (a person) so that he or she is left with counterfeit or inferior goods.Later examples may be contextual uses of sense 15b.
ΚΠ
1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms Stick, to take in; to impose upon; to cheat in trade. ‘I'm stuck with a counterfeit note’; ‘He went to a horse sale, and got stuck with a spavined horse’.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 18/1 The pawnbrokers have been so often ‘stuck’ (taken in) with inferior instruments, that it is difficult to pledge even a really good violin.
1900 M. H. Hayes Among Horses Russia 19 Has he [sc. a horse-dealer] ever stuck you with a wrong one?
1971 Cumberland (Maryland) Evening Times 4 June 13/3 He's into me for..a five-buck loan—plus tryin' to stick me with some fake stock.
2011 D. Wimberley Devil's Slew 89 Every owner of a small business reads his local paper, and nobody wants to be stuck with fake cash.
b. transitive. To saddle (a person) with an unwanted or unappealing person or thing. Frequently in passive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > attachment > attach or affix [verb (transitive)] > after the manner of a saddle or yoke
saddle1831
stick1841
yokea1849
1841 Hazard's U.S. Commerc. & Statist. Reg. 1 Dec. 352/2 The Regie have got stuck with their importation, and the segars must remain in their warehouses for years unsold.
1894 Piqua (Ohio) Daily Call 27 July A speculator could be stuck with 15 or 20 tickets and still make some profit.
1943 F. J. Bell Condition Red iv. 47 So it was our coal, and we were stuck with it.
1959 W. Kennedy in M. Ross Arts in Canada 136/1 We architects of the mid-twentieth century seem to be stuck with the gods who made us—Gropius, Corbusier.
1978 S. Brill Teamsters vi. 220 To get all the proceeds of the loan and operate the plant for a while and then stick the union with the loss.
1979 R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) 14 Emily hated being ‘petite’, which was a euphemism for getting stuck with all the short boys on blind dates.
2010 Vanity Fair Oct. 167/2 I recognize that Jersey Shore is a pop sensation, and as such we're stuck with the stupid thing.
2013 N. Hardy Confessions of Latter-day Virgin 122 He stuck me with the bill, claiming he'd forgotten his wallet.
c. transitive. With for: to impose a specified expenditure or loss on (a person); to cause to incur a specified expense, esp. one regarded as extortionate.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > spend [verb (transitive)] > subject to or incur expense
stick1845
1845 ‘H. Hieover’ Stable Talk & Table Talk I. 380 This fellow had not the horse two hours before in comes the gentleman you saw, and he stuck him for eighty.
1895 J. G. Millais Breath from Veldt i. 2 [He] publishes his work (at his own expense) and sticks his friends for a copy.
1915 ‘A. Hope’ Young Man's Year 272 I'm awfully sorry I stuck you for such a lot.
1923 Humorist 13 Oct. 290/2 It's worse than that. If I told another man it was my birthday he'd immediately try to stick me for a lunch.
1998 N. Whittaker Sweet Talk (1999) 60 Stack'em high and stick em for every penny is the philosophy.
III. To remain in one place and related senses.
16.
a. intransitive. Of a person (or personified thing): to continue in the same place; to stay, remain. Chiefly with adverb or prepositional phrase. Now colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > [verb (intransitive)] > remain in one place
stickeOE
abideOE
dwell13..
occupy1413
to leave behind?a1425
remain1426
reside1488
consist1542
in1825
to stay put1843
the world > space > place > position or situation > be positioned or situated [verb (intransitive)] > keep one's position
stickeOE
to keep one's station1563
eOE Metrical Dialogue of Solomon & Saturn (Corpus Cambr. 422) i. 171 Ðæt ða sienfullan saula sticien mid hettendum helle tomiddes.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. iv. 247 Sticiað gehydde beorte cræftas, and þa unrihtwisan tælað þa rihtwisan.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 159 Þe ȝiuere glutun is þe deofles maunciple. ach he stikeð eauer inceler oðer incuchene.
c1300 St. Michael (Laud) 782 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 322 Þulke [soul] þat halt ane Mannes lijf and stikez in þe heorte.
1537 tr. Original & Sprynge All Sectes 2 So agayn may one be out of ye world wt his body, & styck myddes in ye world wt his harte.
1638 W. Haig in J. Russell Haigs of Bemersyde (1881) viii. 219 The longer I stick here the more I consume myself in expense.
1688 T. Shadwell Squire of Alsatia ii. i. 31 Let me embrace such dear, such loving friends: I could grow to you, methinks, and stick here for ever.
a1707 T. Doolittle Compl. Body Pract. Divinity (1723) lxxxvi. 405/2 Must not I know and be convinced, that I cannot be recovered out of my lost condition upon the account of my parents.., else may not I stick here, and neglect to go to Christ?
1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere ii, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 13 Day after day, day after day, We stuck, ne breath ne motion.
1798 Weekly Mag. 31 Mar. 262/2 I do not know an instance of a physician who ever jumped into business, as it is called, that did not stick where he was through life.
1844 Lillywhite's Illustr. Hand-bk. Cricket 18 Whenever you find two batsmen sticking at their wickets..try a change [of bowling].
1852 T. Taylor Our Clerks 14 As for business, I'll stick here all day long, laying in wait for the blue bags, like a large spider on the look out for blue-bottles.
1876 T. Hardy Hand of Ethelberta II. xxx. 12 I'll stick where I am, for here I am safe as to food and shelter.
1918 Retail Clerks Internat. Advocate May 9/1 I don't like to have the women here, but they stick, and you can't get men to stay for those wages.
1942 Boys' Life Mar. 6/1 I'll stick here, Red; come back and tell me how bad it is!
2011 West Austral. (Perth) (Nexis) 21 May 2 While the dogs are having a morning out by the Swan River tomorrow, the cats are sticking indoors.
†b. intransitive. With in, on, upon. To linger over or dwell upon a particular point or topic. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > copiousness > be copious [verb (intransitive)] > dwell on a point
stick1533
labour1797
1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance xiv. f. lxxvv For as for the order of warnynge that this man here prouydeth..: I wyl not mych stycke vpon.
1547 J. Harrison Exhort. Scottes 218 In which point I will not muche stycke.
1586 W. Webbe tr. Horace in Disc. Eng. Poetrie sig. K.iii Therefore this last kinde of errour is not to be stucke vppon.
a1599 R. Rollock Serm. vii, in Sel. Wks. (1849) I. 380 Then ze see heir ane revelation be the Spreit. Mark it, I sall stick sum thing on the wordis.
a1646 J. Burroughes Expos. Hosea (1652) vi. 108 That principally which we must stick upon a while, which is intended here in the Text most of all.
†c. intransitive. To stop what one is doing; to cease. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ceasing > cease activity [verb (intransitive)]
i-swikec893
swikec897
atwindc1000
linOE
studegieOE
stintc1175
letc1200
stuttea1225
leavec1225
astint1250
doc1300
finec1300
blina1325
cease1330
stable1377
resta1382
ho1390
to say or cry ho1390
resta1398
astartc1400
discontinuec1425
surcease1428
to let offc1450
resista1475
finish1490
to lay a straw?a1505
to give over1526
succease1551
to put (also pack) up one's pipes1556
end1557
to stay (one's own or another's) hand1560
stick1574
stay1576
to draw bridle1577
to draw rein1577
to set down one's rest1589
overgive1592
absist1614
subsista1639
beholdc1650
unbridle1653
to knock offa1657
acquiesce1659
to set (up) one's rest1663
sista1676
stop1689
to draw rein1725
subside1734
remit1765
to let up1787
to wind (up) one's pirna1835
to cry crack1888
to shut off1896
to pack in1906
to close down1921
to pack up1925
to sign off1929
1574 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Job lxx. 331/2 Whensoeuer men practise our destruction, and persecute vs, we may not stay at them to stick there: but we must know that we haue to do with God.
1680 H. More Apocalypsis Apocalypseos 310 We are never the wiser what Empire certainly to pitch upon if the Angel stick here; and therefore he holds on.
d. intransitive. Cards. In pontoon (blackjack) or a similar game: to choose not to receive another card from the deck. Also used imperatively to inform the dealer that one does not wish to be dealt another card. Cf. twist v. 15b.rare in North American usage where the usual term is stand.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > other card games > [verb (intransitive)] > actions in specific games > in vingt-et-un
sticka1672
stand1870
bust1900
twist1921
a1672 F. Willughby Bk. of Games (2003) 136 One and Thirtie, in which the dealer deals 3 cards a peice to everie gamester, taking them from the top of the deck, and askes the eldest first if hee will stick or if hee will have it. If hee say hee will stick, hee leaves him & askes the next.
1917 Evening Star (Dunedin, N.Z.) 26 Feb. 4/8 ‘Twist us one!’ ‘Now stick!’ ‘Twist another 'un!’ ‘Stick!’ ‘Hooray!’ ‘Twist you one; come aht of it!’
1931 W. V. Tilsley Other Ranks 147 A little group in the centre of the room sprawled on their blankets, playing pontoon. ‘I'll stick!’ ‘Twist one!’ ‘Busted!’
1976 G. Sims End of Web iii. 22 Hello, young Clive. Still sticking on seventeens?.. I'm coming round for another pontoon lesson shortly.
1990 Independent 9 July 4/6 The player then has to decide if he will take an extra card or stick.
2009 D. J. Taylor Ask Alice xix. 220 ‘Stick,’ he said. Surely, he thought, nineteen would be sufficient to win.
17.
a. intransitive. Of a thing: to adhere or cling to something; to remain attached or fastened by adhesion. Frequently with preposition, as on, to, etc. Cf. sense 13b.See also to stick together 2a at Phrasal verbs 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > attachment > be or become attached or affixed [verb (intransitive)] > remain attached
sticka1350
steekc1390
holdc1400
hang1639
stay1684
to keep on1892
a1350 Recipe Painting in Archæol. Jrnl. (1844) 1 65 (MED) Thenne tac thi selverfoyl ant ley theron; ant ȝef hit is i-druyet to druye ethe theruppon with thi breth, ant hit wol moysten aȝeyn, ant thenne hit wol cachen the foyl fast and stike wel the betere.
a1400 in G. R. Keiser Middle Eng. ‘Bk. Stones’ (1984) 37 (MED) Badda..shal neuere be founden, bot men keruen the bordys of the shippe, for she stikeþ so strongliche þat [men] mowe nauȝt do it a-way wiþ-outen keruyng of the tre.
1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount f. 21v Take the flower, that sticketh on the bourdes and walles of a Mille.
1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 22 My inke is so thicke, that..it sticketh on the nibbe of the penne, and will not fall out to writte.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxxv. vi. 528 As for Sinopis..That which stucke fast unto the rockes, excelleth all the rest.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 60 Sounding with our plummet, sand of Amber stuck thereto.
1656 All Gentlemen take Notice: Remedy for Gout (single sheet) (advt.) You may hear of this Gentleman..at the corner of the Black and White House, where one of these Bills shall stick.
1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery ii. 14 Take Care they don't stick to the Bottom of the Pan.
1759 R. Brown Compl. Farmer 104 First wet both the bag and the press to keep the wax from sticking.
1854 R. Browning Twins in R. Browning & E. B. Browning Two Poems 13 Do roses stick like burrs?
1904 R. Kipling Traffics & Discov. 323 The salt-rime stuck to my lips.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 113/1 (advt.) Unfortunately all of the ‘cheap’ paint doesn't come off. Some of it sticks fast.
1979 I. Opie Jrnl. 20 Nov. in People in Playground (1993) 177 You can throw your glove up and try to make it stick on the wall.
1986 E. David Omelette & Glass of Wine 117 Throw in the rice..stirring so that it doesn't stick.
1999 S. Rushdie Ground beneath her Feet (2000) v. 120 Piloo Doodhwala was sweating heavily; his white kurta was sticking to the curve of his belly.
b. intransitive. Of an animal, as a tick, leech, or limpet: to adhere or cling to something; to be tightly attached. Frequently with to, on. Also figurative in similative phrases.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > riding on horse (or other animal) > ride a horse (or other animal) [verb (intransitive)] > keep one's seat
stick1510
stick1632
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > attachment > be or become attached or affixed [verb (intransitive)] > remain attached > of a living creature
stick1510
1510 A. Chertsey tr. Floure Commaundementes of God (de Worde) ii. xci. f. clxxxxix/1 He had an huge tode styckynge on his breste in suche maner yt with his two fore fete strayned his necke.
1585 C. Clifford Schoole of Horsmanship sig. Y.iiv They [sc. wormes] most commonlie both in the maw & fundament of a horse will sticke fast like tickes on a dogs eare.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 62 The hail peple..saw..mony thousandis of sik lytle foules stiking to the schip.
1623 T. Gataker Ioy of Iust 107 Men are like the..Polypus, that resembleth euery stone that it sticketh to.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 2 [The flea's] feet are slit into claws or talons, that he might the better stick to what he lights upon.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 310 The..leeches..stuck to her so close, that the poor creature expired from the quantity of blood which she lost.
1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present ii. iv. 78 Every fresh Jew sticking on him like a fresh horseleech.
1861 Ld. Tennyson Sailor Boy in A. A. Procter Victoria Regia 13 And on thy ribs the limpet sticks.
1926 Condor 28 110 From the distance of fifty yards the birds appeared to stick as limpets do to the wet rocks of a sea shore.
1929 Sci. Monthly May 409/2 The harder the fish dashed about, the tighter the lamprey stuck.
1996 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 22 Jan. 4 There are a lot of jumper ants and the odd snake. And you get leeches sticking to your mouth.
c. intransitive. With preposition, as to, on: to cling to, or stay seated on, a horse, the saddle, etc., when riding; (without preposition) to be able to stay seated on a horse or other animal (also with the adverb on).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > riding on horse (or other animal) > ride a horse (or other animal) [verb (intransitive)] > keep one's seat
stick1510
stick1632
society > travel > transport > riding on horse (or other animal) > ride (a horse or other animal) [verb (transitive)] > keep one's seat on (a horse)
stick1632
stick1844
1632 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Eromena iii. 82 His horse..gave sometimes such countertimes, as might teach a good Horseman to sticke firme to his seate.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 54 He hoists himself..upon..a Horse, and sticks as close to him with his Thighs, as if he was got cross a Yard-Arm.
1850 ‘H. Hieover’ Pract. Horsemanship ii. 13 Putting him on ass, pony, galloway, and horse, each in succession, as a boy, and allowing him to tumble about till he learns to stick on.
1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. xi. 120 I should have stuck on much longer, sir, if her sides had not been wet.
1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton iv His riding was not a masterly performance, but at all events he stuck on.
1872 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 38/2 To learn how to stick on a horse's back.
1881 A. C. Grant Bush-life in Queensland (1882) ix. 82 He tried his hand at sticking to some of the more notorious youngsters.
1933 L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 4 Nov. 15 A bundle of..sticks with a coat or blanket over them, strapped on the pommel of a saddle to help a rider to stick to a bucking horse.
1968 Nevada State Jrnl. 7 Aug. 6 Horses that were known as tough horses to ride but sure winners if the rider could stick.
1991 Prorodeo Sports News 4 Sept. 28/1 At one point, the bull slipped. But Sharp stuck tight for a whirlwind adventure.
2015 Warwick (Queensland) Daily News (Nexis) 22 Apr. 24 Fraser Babbington is what they call a sticker in bull riding and there is money to be won if he can stick on better than the other 24 riders in the Warwick Cowboys Rodeo on May 1.
d. transitive. Of a person: to be able to stay seated on (a horse).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > riding on horse (or other animal) > ride (a horse or other animal) [verb (transitive)] > keep one's seat on (a horse)
stick1632
stick1844
1844 W. H. Maxwell Wanderings in Highlands & Islands I. iii. 76 I'll never stick him bare-backed.
1903 C. R. Wilson Bear Wallow Belles xviii. 113 They say she kin stick er hoss lak she wuz glued to 'em.
1926 Boys' Life Sept. 28/3 He [sc. a horse] thinks now there ain't a man alive't kin stick him!
1953 Narandera (New S. Wales) Argus 19 Feb. He was also an expert horseman and in his young days could stick a bucking horse with the best of riders.
2011 K. Eagle Cowboy, take me Away 68 He's a sure bet if you can stick him. That sleepy look is a con.
18. figurative. Of an abstract or immaterial thing.
a.
(a) intransitive. Of a feeling, utterance, incident, etc.: to make a continued impression on a person by remaining in the mind, memory, or heart; to lodge in the mind, memory, or heart. Also occasionally with upon.Sometimes with connotations of being lodged in the mind by piercing (see sense 7a).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > intense emotion > affect intensely [verb (intransitive)]
settlea1300
sinka1375
soundc1374
sticka1400
to sit at (also close to, near, nigh, next) one's hearta1425
to lie (also come, go) nearc1475
set1607
to go (also come) neara1616
penetratea1616
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 5166 No make no sorowe, ne myslyke, Þat wanhope In þyn herte styke.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 4139 (MED) O þou Pirre..Þat slowe Hector..Þe whiche neuere may oute of myn herte So grene it stikeþ in my remembraunce.
c1450 (a1400) Chevalere Assigne l. 241 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 868 (MED) That [saying] styked styffe in here brestes þat wolde þe Qwene brenne.
1535 T. Starkey Let. 15 Feb. in Eng. in Reign Henry VIII (1878) i. p. xiv Yf euer any of thes..dow styke in your memory & mynd, I besech you let thes few wordys..be put in the nombur of them.
1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. K.iiv I will not haue this false opinion to sticke in the heade of anye of vs, that you are not a verye good Courtier.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) i. v. 40 Alex. His speech stickes in my heart. Cleo. Mine eare must plucke it thence. View more context for this quotation
1666 S. Pepys Diary 17 Aug. (1972) VII. 252 It sticks in the memory of most merchants, how the late King..was persuaded in a strait..to seize upon the money in the Towre.
1741 I. Watts Improvem. Mind i. xvii. 272 And a hundred proverbial Sentences..are formed into Rhyme or a Verse, whereby they are made to stick upon the Memory.
a1763 J. Byrom Misc. Poems (1773) II. 63 Th' old Fellow minded nothing that they said, But ev'ry Word stuck in the young one's Head.
1821 J. Clare Let. 13 Feb. (1985) 151 Your ‘Village Minstrel’ still sticks in my memory as best of all.
1891 G. Meredith One of our Conquerors II. xiii. 301 But again, ‘the meaning of it past date’, stuck in her memory.
1935 Hot News Apr. 5/3 It is..the only one of the earlier efforts that sticks in the mind.
1966 R. Fariña Been Down So Long It looks like Up to Me 283 She caught me with a boner, dammit, bound to stick in her memory, get her all screwed up.
2012 Scuba Apr. 122/2 Funny how some dives stick in your mind, as this was about 20 years ago.
(b) intransitive. Without prepositional phrase. To make a lasting impression on a person; to lodge in the mind.
ΚΠ
1550 R. Sherry Treat. Schemes & Tropes sig. K.vi These rudimentes of modestye and vertue the childe lerneth before he can speake, which because they sticke fast vntil he be elder, they profit somwhat to true religion.
1839 H. W. Longfellow in S. Longfellow Life H. W. Longfellow (1891) I. 331 I quote him [sc. Horace]; because his phrases stick.
1981 Times Lit. Suppl. 9 Jan. 25/1 Picasso now taught himself how to use a poetic, half-theatrical imagination to make his art ‘stick’, while at the same time..taking pains to avoid the illustrational.
2015 Radio Times 11 Apr. (South/West ed.) 49/3 I watch so much TV that despite my flypaper mind, not an awful lot sticks.
b. intransitive. Of an accusation, piece of information, name, etc.: to become permanently associated with a person or thing; to be difficult to shake off. In early use frequently with to, upon, etc. Cf. sense 13c.Frequently with negative connotations; cf. mud sticks at Phrases 6.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > lasting quality, permanence > be permanent [verb (intransitive)]
standOE
stick1447
remainc1455
subsist1589
stay1593
stick1611
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > prove, demonstrate [verb (transitive)] > conclusively
clint1575
stick1611
clenchc1677
clincha1714
nail1787
society > authority > subjection > obedience > obey or be obedient [verb (intransitive)] > of order or decision: be obeyed
stick1611
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > bring a charge [verb (intransitive)] > of a charge: be substantiated
stick1611
1611 A. Stafford Niobe 34 A chaine of foul, disgracefull words linked together, which will so sticke to my Familie, & Race, that no time can raze them out.
a1624 Bp. M. Smith Serm. (1632) 142 If the least imputation of cruelty did sticke to your reputation,..it might be said of you..that his hands were otherwise weake and feeble, but strong and sturdy to shead blood.
1677 Sir C. Wyche in C. E. Pike Essex Papers (1913) II. 140 My Lord Treasurer has cleared himself of those things which seemed to stick upon him in relation to the excise.
1747 J. Wesley Jrnl. 10 Sept. (1849) I. 457 Hence they nicknamed him, ‘Swaddler, or Swaddling John’; and the word sticks to us all, not excepting the Clergy.
1752 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 6 Feb. (1932) (modernized text) V. 1826 It is commonly said..that ridicule is the best test of truth; for that it will not stick where it is not just.
1832 Day (Glasgow) 27 Feb. 193/2 One boy, who spoke thick, was called Gobbling-goose..and the name stuck to him as long as he remained at school.
1845 R. Ford Hand-bk. Travellers in Spain I. i. 39 A bad character sticks to a country as well as to an individual.
1884 F. A. Sorge Socialism & Worker 3 They act according to the old jesuitic stratagem: invent lies, pollute your enemy in every way you can; something will stick.
1926 P. Whiteman & M. M. McBride Jazz xiii. 267 ‘You may be a band, but you're a spasm band. Discharged.’ The name stuck and the spasm band went on playing.
1965 Malcolm X Autobiogr. (1968) vi. 184 Gradually, I began to be called ‘Detroit Red’—and it stuck.
2011 A. Gibbons Act of Love (2012) viii. 81 Put this postcode on a job application and they'll toss it straight in the bin. Once a place gets a bad name, it sticks.
2015 Daily Tel. (Austral.) (Nexis) 11 July (Confidential section) 29 Most of the sexual misconduct accusations..happened too long ago for criminal charges, but the accusations have stuck.
c. intransitive. Chiefly with to, on. Of a deed, feeling, circumstance, etc.: to go to make up a person's condition or constitution; to influence a person's constitution, character, or behaviour.
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. ii. 17 Now do's he feele His secret Murthers sticking on his hands. View more context for this quotation
1645 H. Hammond Of Sinnes 23 Infirmities unconquered, unforsaken, sticking to us till our very deaths, may be and shall be most certainely pardoned to them, that have nothing else to be charged on them.
1820 W. Scott Monastery I. Answ. Introd. Ep. 67 I know you as well as the mother who did not bear you, for MacDuff's peculiarity sticks to your whole race [of fictional characters].
1857 W. Collins Dead Secret II. vi. i. 223 The same fear that she had all the way from this house, still sticks to her.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. ix. 219 Many of the old wild out-of-bounds habits stuck to them as firmly as ever.
1914 A. Crapsey Let. 17 Mar. in Compl. Poems & Coll. Lett. (1977) 237 My cold's better but the temperature sticks closer than a brother—cant get rid of it.
1914 W. N. Harben New Clarion iii. 23 Ef I had been in the lowest depths o' hell I couldn't have suffered more. The feeling stuck to me till daylight broke.
2010 F. B. Wilderson Red, White & Black 18 In this period, chattel slavery, as a condition of ontology and not just as an event of experience, stuck to the African like Velcro.
d. intransitive. Originally U.S. Of a criminal charge: to result in a conviction; to be unable to be dismissed. Frequently in to make it stick.
ΚΠ
1864 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 15 Oct. 5/7 Prosecuting Attorney Landerback held that the only offense committed was assault and battery, and insisted that no other or severer complaint would ‘stick’.
1889 Columbus (Indiana) Daily Herald 17 Oct. 2/1 Campbell..showing up the wrong doing of a trusted member of the Republican campaign management which was nothing less than procuring public money by fraud and collusion, and the charge stuck, being proved true.
1929 D. Hammett Red Harvest vi. 67 Rigged right, you could make it stick in court, maybe, but you'll not get a chance to make your play there.
1932 ‘Spindrift’ Yankee Slang 58 Pin the rap on him and make it ‘stick’.
1963 ‘S. Woods’ Taste of Fears xiv. 148 ‘They couldn't make it stick,’ said his uncle, positively... ‘No evidence.’
2013 Daily Tel. 16 Apr. 25/1 Although prosecuted for allegedly forming far-Right paramilitary death squads, the charges failed to stick.
e. intransitive. Originally U.S. Of a plan, order, decision, etc.: to be complied with or implemented; to be permanently effective. Frequently in to make (something) stick.
ΚΠ
1870 J. R. Lowell in N. Amer. Rev. July 173 He is the man of all others slow to admit the thought of revolution; but let him once admit it, he will carry it through and make it stick.
1885 Atchison (Kansas) Daily Globe 12 Jan. If Judge Martin's late decision sticks, the members of the Council will be individually liable for the bridges recently built.
1922 Daily Democrat Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri) 6 Dec. 2/1 There remains just one thing—to outline a workable method for carrying out the policy and making it stick.
1942 Sun (Baltimore) 12 June 1/7 A..program of cooperation designed (1) to hasten the defeat of Germany and (2) to make that defeat stick.
1971 A. Price Alamut Ambush xii. 147 God knows whether the Americans and the Russians can make the cease-fire stick.
1987 Speedway Mail Internat. 26 Sept. 4/4 Should the worst come to the worst and this ban sticks for the full term, he fully intends to ride for Wolverhampton in 1989.
2004 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 28 Dec. a8 The country's top court ordered a new one [sc. election]. That decision stuck, rather than precipitating a constitutional crisis or civil war.
†19.
a. intransitive. To be reluctant or unwilling (to do something); to hesitate, to scruple. Chiefly in negative constructions (e.g. he did not stick to). Cf. to stick at —— 1a at Phrasal verbs 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > unwillingness > be unwilling [verb (intransitive)]
nillOE
loathea1200
to make it tough1297
forthinka1300
reckc1300
ruea1400
to make (it) strangec1405
to make strangenessc1407
stick1418
resistc1425
to make (it) strange?1456
steek1478
tarrowc1480
doubt1483
sunyie1488
to make (it) nice1530
stay1533
shentc1540
to make courtesy (at)1542
to make it scrupulous1548
to think (it) much1548
to make dainty of (anything)1555
to lie aback1560
stand1563
steek1573
to hang back1581
erch1584
to make doubt1586
to hang the groin1587
to make scruple (also a, no, etc., scruple)1589
yearn1597
to hang the winga1601
to make squeamish1611
smay1632
bogglea1638
to hang off1641
waver1643
reluct1648
shy1650
reluctate1655
stickle1656
scruple1660
to make boggle1667
revere1689
begrudge1690
to have scruples1719
stopc1738
bitch1777
reprobate1779
crane1823
disincline1885
1418 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1834) II. 352 Þe King supposeþ þat as for Guyenne þe Dauphin shulde not styke if he desire effectuel accord.
1532 G. Hervet tr. Xenophon Treat. House Holde f. 61 For marchant men..wyll not stycke for daunger to passe any see what so euer it be.
1568 T. Harding Detection Sundrie Foule Errours iii. f. 121v What woulde you sticke to speake of me, were I dead, that are not ashamed thus to belie me, being a liue?
1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle v. ii. sig. Eii Yea but he that made one lie about your Cock stealing, Wil not sticke to make another.
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. D8v Some will not sticke to sell you siluer gilt for gold.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII ii. ii. 127 They will not sticke to say, you enuide him. View more context for this quotation
1699 G. Farquhar Love & Bottle iv. iii. 49 Faith, Lovewell, I shan't stick to cut a Throat for my Friend at any time.
1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) xx. xcvii. 303 Though I be Queen, I stick not to submit.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 451. ¶6 I..have not stuck to rank them with the Murderer and Assassin.
1798 tr. F. de Quevedo Wks. III. 153 It led him into superstition, so that he did not stick to seek ease by charms and spells.
1827 T. De Quincey On Murder in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 200/1 I do not stick to assert, that any man who deals in murder, must have very incorrect ways of thinking.
a1845 R. H. Barham Brothers of Birchington in Ingoldsby Legends (1847) 3rd Ser. 257 I don't stick To declare Father Dick..was a ‘Regular Brick’.
b. intransitive. To be grudging or stingy; to stint. Also with for specifying what has been stinted. Only in negative constructions. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > be niggardly or mean [verb (intransitive)]
spare1377
to lick one's knifec1400
chincha1425
pincha1425
stick1533
nig1559
to make pottage of a flintc1576
niggard1596
wretcha1598
niggardize1606
wire-draw1616
screw1820
skincha1825
scrimp1848
stinge1937
to pinch pennies (also a penny)1942
penny-pinch1945
1533 J. Heywood Mery Play Pardoner & Frere sig. Biii Fye on couetise, sticke nat for a peny.
1574 J. Baret Aluearie S 761 They will sticke for no labour, neque parcetur labori.
1633 P. Massinger New Way to pay Old Debts i. i. sig. B2 True, but they..had a gift to pay for what they call'd for, And stucke not like your mastership.
20.
a. intransitive. To continue firmly or obstinately in a state, opinion, purpose, or course of action; to persist. Also with in, upon, specifying the state, opinion, purpose, or course of action.See also to stick at —— 2 at Phrasal verbs 2, to stick to —— at Phrasal verbs 2.In quot. 1486-1504: to be determined to do something.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > be constant or steadfast [verb (intransitive)]
standeOE
cleavec1275
to stand stiffa1290
stick1447
to stand or stick to one's tackling1529
to stand in this1538
to set down (the or one's) staff1584
to stand one's ground1600
to stand to one's pan pudding1647
to maintain one's ground1736
to nail one's colours (also flag) to the mast (also masthead)1808
to stay put1843
to stand firm1856
to sit tight1890
to keep the flag flying1914
to dig in one's toes1933
to hold the line1956
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > persevere or persist [verb (intransitive)]
continuec1340
perseverec1380
stick1447
to rub on1469
to stick unto ——1529
persist1531
to make it tougha1549
whilea1617
subsist1632
to rub along1668
let the world rub1677
dog1692
wade1714
to stem one's course1826
to stick in1853
to hang on1860
to worry along1871
to stay the course1885
slug1943
to slug it out1943
to bash on1950
to soldier on1954
to keep on trucking1972
the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > lasting quality, permanence > be permanent [verb (intransitive)]
standOE
stick1447
remainc1455
subsist1589
stay1593
stick1611
1447 in S. A. Moore Lett. & Papers J. Shillingford (1871) i. 11 (MED) Apon this mene he stiked faste, and thoghte hit was resonable.
1486–1504 Let. 7 Jan. in W. Denton Eng. in 15th Cent. (1888) 319 Bott I meruell grettly that ye styke so sore to make thaym to gyffe more then othere men hase gyffyn afore.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Ciiv All persons that wyll nat be counsayled..but stycke fast in their owne blynde fantasy.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 1 But he still sticking in his opinion, the two gentlemen requested mee to examine his reasons.
1607 T. Middleton Revengers Trag. v. sig. Iv Could you not stick: see what confession doth?
1641 G. Walker Hist. Creation xv. 271 Vse Not to stick in received opinions, as unerring.
a1704 J. Locke Conduct of Understanding §24 in Posthumous Wks. (1706) 78 If the Matter be knotty, and the Sence lies deep, the Mind must stop and buckle to it, and stick upon it with Labour and Thought.
1911 Business & Book-keeper June 557/2 Before attacking a big piece of work stop a moment..and think of some big thing you have done easily; then go to it, and stick—to the finish.
1974 S. Terkel Working vii. 428 The younger ones that I worked with,..I don't think they coulda stuck in the old days.
1988 M. D. Parsons Lines & Lifestyles xv. 281 He just could not stand it, but he stuck to it, worked, and debated the question all the time; several times he would fully make up to quit, but he didn't; he kept sticking.
b. transitive. colloquial (chiefly British). To accept or tolerate (an unpleasant or unwelcome person or situation); to put up with, to endure. Frequently in to stick it. Usually in negative constructions, esp. with can't, couldn't, etc.See also to stick it out at Phrasal verbs 1 which is recorded earlier.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > adhere constantly or steadfastly to [verb (transitive)] > endure without giving way > endure a person
stick1896
1896 Let. 14 Sept. in Illustr. Police News 26 Sept. 8/1 Father,—I cannot stick this any longer. I have not now been in bed for thirteen nights, been walking the streets all night, and what little I get to eat I have to beg.
1899 Daily News 26 Oct. 6/6 He got on all right with his wife, but he could not ‘stick’ his mother-in-law.
1900 Daily News 1 Jan. 3/2 They're big men, and they look as if they can ‘stick it’.
1928 Daily Tel. 27 Mar. 9/1 I resigned..because I could stick the chief's bullying no longer.
1929 H. A. Vachell Virgin iv. 80 June wondered if she could ‘stick’ London. She had to stick it, so why not make the best of it?
1940 Vidette-Messenger (Valparaiso, Indiana) 10 Apr. 5/5 This is the worst hell either one of us has gone through. I don't know how much longer we can stick it.
1960 D. Storey This Sporting Life i. ii. 29 I couldn't stick the sight of him standing up there against the Batley skyline.
1986 D. Athill After Funeral v. 119 No one can stick me for more than three weeks.
1997 J. Wilson Lottie Project (1998) 163 I can't stick it when you throw a moody like this.
2004 J. Burchill Sugar Rush (2005) 27 I can't stick this much longer.
21. intransitive. Of a hound or other animal: to find and follow a trail closely; to fix on the quarry or its scent, without losing it.
ΚΠ
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xxxvi. 96 My hound did sticke, and seemde to vent some beast.
1686 R. Blome Gentlemans Recreation ii. 82 If the Hound stick well upon the Scent, then let him hold him short.
1735 Sportsman's Dict. I. at Hare When..you see the hounds are well in with it [sc. the hare], and stick well upon it, then you may come in nearer.
1878 Huddersfield College Mag. Nov. 30 Now the ferrets stuck for some time... Below us right in the line of fire was a hare.
1922 Hunter Trader Trapper Jan. 92/2 The next time we saw a rabbit and got the scent of it up his [sc. the dog's] snoot, he stuck.
2004 Horse & Hound 8 Jan. 54/3 Although the pack stuck well to the line of the hunted fox, they eventually had to give best.
†22. intransitive. English regional (north-eastern). In the coal trade: to go on strike. Cf. stick n.3 3. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > working > labour relations > participate in labour relations [verb (intransitive)] > strike
strike1769
to turn out1795
to strike work, tools1803
stick1823
to come out1841
to go out1850
to down tools1855
to hit the bricks1931
1812 Picture of Newcastle upon Tyne 241 A combination for such purposes is, both by the colliers and keelmen, called a ‘Steek’, that is a sticking or refraining from their master's work, and an obstinate adherence to their own demands.]
1823 Keelman's Stick in Coll. Orig. Newcastle Songs (ed. 4) 10 The keelmen tuick't intiv their heeds for to stick.
1849 G. C. Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Northumberland & Durham 52 Stick, to cease work, in order to obtain an increase, or prevent a reduction of wages, &c.
IV. To be unable to progress due to an obstruction or obstacle, and related senses.Transitive uses in this branch are typically recorded later than their intransitive equivalents and chiefly occur in the passive, as to be stuck, to get stuck, etc.
23.
a. intransitive. Of a person, animal, or vehicle: to be unable to progress due to becoming mired in, or obstructed by, sand, mud, or some other material; (of a boat) to become grounded. Also in figurative contexts in phrases such as to stick in the briers, to stick in the clay, etc.: †to be in difficulties or trouble (obsolete).See also to stick in the mire at mire n.1 1b, to stick in the mud at Phrases 4a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > [verb (intransitive)] > cease to move or become motionless > be arrested or intercepted in progress > by entangling
stickeOE
mesh1565
snarl1600
entangle1628
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > hinder completely or prevent [verb (intransitive)] > come to an impasse or be stuck
to stick in the claya1475
stick1534
stale1597
cumber1600
to stick in the mud1603
straita1616
strand1687
quagmire1701
stog1855
slew1890
bunker1894
bog1928
to be bogged1953
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xxvi. 502 Gesihst þu nu on hu miclum & on hu diopum & on hu þiostrum horoseaða þara unðeawa ða yfelwillendan sticiað [L. quanto in caeno probra volvantur].
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 237 (MED) In his goynge out of his schip he slood wiþ his oon foot and stiked [?a1475 anon. tr.was fixede; L. infigitur] in þe sond.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2723 (MED) And of his Slouthe he dremeth ofte Hou that he stiketh in the myr.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 411 And in the sond hir ship stiked so faste That thennes wolde it noght of al a tyde.
a1475 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Cambr. Gg.1.16) (1997) iii. xxii. 90 Haue merci on me oute of the cleye, þat [I] styk not þerynne.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid i. i. 80 Scho with a thuid stikkit on ane scharp roike.
1533 T. More 2nd Pt. Confut. Tyndals Answere vi. p. ccxiiii The ferther he wadeth on in hys solucyon, the deper he synketh in to the mudde, and the faster he stycketh in the myre.
1590 in Acts Privy Council (1899) XIX. 406 The Thames is soe shallowe in divers places as boates and barges doe sticke by the waie.
1600 R. Cawdrey Treasurie Similies 421 As Carters vse to set vp some bush, or other like marke, in that place where their Waine or Cart stuck fast, for a warning to them that come after.
1611 Bible (King James) Acts xxvii. 41 They ranne the shippe a ground, and the forepart stucke fast. View more context for this quotation
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 514 Unpassable Marishes and Moors, which a man no sooner treads upon, but he sticks in the Mud and Dirt.
a1672 W. Whittaker Eighteen Serm. (1674) i. 2 Because this is frequently the case of souls whom the Spirit of God convinceth of sin..they stick in these Bryars, and are apt to be gravelled with objections.
1706 Boston News-let. 31 Dec. 1/2 She struck upon the East bank and stuck there.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson iii. vii. 354 At length the ship stuck fast in the mud.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. xxi. 337 Mrs. Mac-Candlish's postilion..said aloud, ‘If he had stuck by the way, I would have lent him a heezie’.
1850 J. Bliss tr. St. Gregory's Morals on Job (new ed.) III. ii. xxxiv. 640 To stick in the clay, is to be polluted with the filthy desires of carnal concupiscence.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxvii. 198 The carriage..had stuck in one of the ridges.
1875 G. J. Whyte-Melville Katerfelto xix. 178 An unaccustomed horse would have stuck fast up to its girths before it had gone fifty yards.
1904 Automobile Rev. 12 Mar. 481/2 At another time we stuck in a mud hole where a culvert had washed out.
1929 D. Bussy tr. A. Gide Trav. in Congo iii. 262 The whale-boat sticks in the sand two or three times an hour; all the boatmen jump into the river and haul and push for a long space of time.
2009 L. E. Bagshawe & A. J. Allott tr. ‘Theippan Maung Wa’ Wartime in Burma 85 When we had gone two or three miles farther, we came to a creek, and in crossing it we stuck in the sand.
b. intransitive. To become fixed or stationary due to adhesion, jamming, or some other physical impediment; to fail to move further due to this; to jam. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > [verb (intransitive)] > cease to move or become motionless > be arrested or intercepted in progress
steek?a1400
sticka1450
lodge1611
intercept1612
catch1620
clog1633
jam1706
rake1725
fasten1744
set1756
hitch1897
seize1917
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) (1988) 152 (MED) Calketrappes of yren..þey þrewe..vndir þe wheles of þe charus, and ȝif þe wheles stombled aȝenst eny of hem, or þe schaar schulde ouerþrowe or elles sticke stille..ȝif eny cariage stombliþ þeronne, hit stikiþ fast or ouerþroweþ.
1531 in R. G. Marsden Sel. Pleas Court Admiralty (1894) I. 58 It chaunced his nett to styck or fasten in the bend or knot of a cable.
1630 E. Cary tr. J. D. Du Perron Reply to Answeare of King iii. ii. 252 He fledd into the Temple.., where he stucke amongst the organ Pipes because of his grossenes.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 24 Let us not wonder that our praiers sticke in their ascent.
1651 N. Stephens Precept Baptisme of Infants 60 I hope..your chariot wheels will not stick, but you and the many thousands in this land which you speak of, will now drive on to Infant Baptisme.
1663 N. Boteler War Practically Perform'd ii. v. 105 Care is to be taken that the choice of the shot be made under the size of the bore, lest it stick upon the crooked side or part, and endanger the breaking of the Piece.
1707 E. Smith Phædra & Hippolitus i. 6 My Blood runs backward, and my fault'ring Tongue Sticks at the Sound.
1762 Anecd. Relative Affairs Germany 15 The curtain, in the hurry of uplifting that necessary and useful machine, stuck at about a yard from the ground.
1841 E. A. Theller Canada in 1837–38 xi. 167 After I had got my head and arm through, I at first stuck, but Partridge, putting his shoulder to my ‘western end’, helped me to ‘move on my ways’.
1852 tr. J. J. Seidel Organ & its Constr. 46 One of the keys in the pedal sticks, moving neither up nor down.
1855 Ld. Tennyson Brook in Maud & Other Poems 105 The gate, Half-parted from a weak and scolding hinge, Stuck.
a1883 C. H. Fagge Princ. & Pract. Med. (1886) I. 31 A strip of flannel had got between the drawer and its frame, and had made the drawer stick.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 352 If..an embolus sticks in the vertebral, the basilar artery may become gradually thrombosed and blocked.
1945 Flying Apr. 112/1 The nose wheel stuck one-third down and it was impossible to force more fluid into the line.
1974 ‘A. Garve’ File on Lester xx. 93 His wife had once lost a ring down a wash basin waste pipe and it had stuck in a U-bend.
1998 J. Naremore More than Night ii. 76 Suddenly the record sticks: ‘I love you. I love you. I love you.’
2015 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 26 Oct. (Business section) 4 His wetsuit zip stuck and other racers weren't willing to stop to help.
c. transitive (in passive). To become mired or lodged in something and so be unable to move. Also of an instrument or mechanism: to become jammed, esp. so as to stop working. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > render immobile [verb (transitive)] > render motionless > by hampering or entangling
cumber1487
tangle1511
poister1523
entangle1533
clog1583
tie1598
flag1622
stick1635
impester1653
felter1768
hamper1804
mire1889
the world > movement > absence of movement > render immobile [verb (transitive)] > stop the movement of > by blocking or wedging
coin1580
cog1635
stick1635
quoin1637
scotch1642
sufflaminate1656
choke1712
chock1726
jam1851
sprag1878
snibble1880
cotch1925
1635 W. Laud Let. 4 Oct. in Wks. (1860) VII. 174 When he saw the man and his horse stuck fast in the quagmire.
1695 J. Stevens tr. M. de Faria e Sousa Portugues Asia II. i. x. 65 It is Natural to men in the wrong to persist, and believe they take Wing when they are deepest stuck in the Mire.
1726 J. Arbuthnot Let. 20 Sept. in J. Swift Corr. (1912) III. dcxiv. 342 He was very near drowned; for the footman was stuck in the mud, and could hardly come in time to help him.
1828 T. C. Croker Fairy Legends & Trad. S. Ireland II. 188 Being very near plumping into the river.., and being stuck up to my middle,..in the slob.
1879 R. Jefferies Wild Life vii. 147 The ploughing-engine be stuck fast up to the axle, the land be so soft and squishey.
1899 Case on Appeal to Court of Appeals 72 If the logs get stuck we keep men there with pevies and work them through.
1904 Salesmanship Feb. 54/2 A man sails into the world with a great blare of trumpets sometimes; but..his feet get stuck in the mire of adversity.
1923 Boston Globe 24 Jan. 14/2 There have been many instances of eight or ten trucks being stuck in the snow on the same stretch of unplowed road.
1935 J. O'Neill Land under Eng. xiii. 194 If the men used saws with cross teeth..the blades would not get stuck constantly.
1970 H. Trevelyan Middle East in Revol. 251 The combination lock was stuck... Miraculously, an amateur safe-opener appeared and did the trick.
1984 A. Copland & V. Perlis Copland: 1900–42 vi. 106 An organ key got stuck and would not release.
2014 A. Roberts Incredible Unlikeliness of Being 17 Blastocysts can get stuck in the oviduct, or, much more rarely, go the wrong way and end up in the mother's body cavity.
d. transitive (in passive). To be in a situation that prevents one from leaving a place or making physical progress. Also occasionally in active: to prevent (a person) from leaving a place.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > render immobile [verb (transitive)] > stop the movement of > cause to be arrested or intercepted in progress
warna1250
foreclosec1290
dit1362
stayc1440
stopc1440
set1525
suppress1547
bar1578
frontier1589
stay1591
intercepta1599
to cut off1600
interpose1615
lodgea1616
obstruct1621
stifle1629
sufflaminate1656
stick1824
to hold up1887
1824 Kaleidoscope 11 Sept. 91/2 You'll tell his Honour I'll be on my good behaviour, and be a good boy, and take care of me, and I'll do the like good turn for you when you get stuck among these peelers.
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein III. ix. 251 Every man of us was at home among the crags, and Charles's men were stuck among them as thou wert.
1850 Church May 125 His mother lets him go just where he likes, while I am stuck in this room, and obliged to pore over these dull, stupid books.
1891 W. Morris in J. W. Mackail Life W. Morris (1899) II. 265 We intend going on to Laon on Tuesday, which will probably mean getting to Folkestone on Saturday or Sunday next and home the day after. Get Hooper to do the colophon before he goes off, as otherwise it might stick us.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 14 July 12/1 The way is easy to miss, and the climber may easily find himself ‘stuck’ on the face of a precipice.
1960 N. Coward Diary 31 Mar. (2000) 432 The Royal Party..arrived half an hour late having got stuck in the lift at Buckingham Palace.
1980 A. Tyler Morgan's Passing (1983) v. ii. 153 I mean, the details of it, the coping, stuck at home while he's off somewhere.
1990 ‘A. T. Ellis’ Inn at Edge of World 119 I've nearly gone mad stuck on Crewe platform for an hour.
2008 Atlantic Monthly Dec. 82/1 My family and I arrived at Disneyland on a hot June day. We had spent the preceding two hours stuck in traffic.
e. transitive (in passive). figurative. To be trapped in an undesirable state, condition, or situation. Cf. stuck in a rut at rut n.2 1c.
ΚΠ
1869 H. Bushnell Women's Suffrage v. 91 Full three-quarters of the men who get stuck in their bachelor life and are never married, are in fact the most in-born adorers of women.
1918 B. Braley Camp & Trench 20 They have made their own decision and they're stuck in ‘B’ division.
1938 Winnipeg Free Press 26 Nov. 14/1 If you are a rugged individualist, you will never get stuck in a dead-end job.
1974 Tucson (Arizona) Daily Citizen 19 Nov. 15/1 Burton is stuck in a loveless marriage with a professional female.
1978 New Eng. Rev. 1 67 I started a poem on Audubon, but I got stuck in a trap, a narrative trap.
1996 H. Fielding Bridget Jones's Diary (1997) 203 I don't know anything about television but sod it, I'm stuck in a dead-end here, and it is just too humiliating working with Daniel now.
24.
†a. intransitive. To be unable to proceed with a speech or recitation, through a lapse of memory or embarrassment; to forget one's lines. Obsolete.In quot. c1380 as part of an extended metaphor; cf. sense 23.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > be silent/refrain from speaking [verb (intransitive)] > be temporarily deprived of speech
stickc1380
to see or have seen a wolf1575
c1380 in Speculum (1946) 21 196 (MED) Þu stomblest and stikes fast as þu were lame.
1579 S. Gosson Apol. Schoole of Abuse in Ephemerides Phialo f. 92 He stuck fast continually in the midst of his verse, and could goe no farther.
1612 J. Brinsley Ludus Lit. xxii. 258 If those..haue their notes lying open before them, to cast their eye vpon them here or there where they sticke.
1819 W. Irving Sketch Bk. v. 434 He always stuck in the middle, every body recollecting the latter part except himself.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. xiv. 355 He was only able to pronounce the words, ‘Saunders Souplejaw—’ and then stuck fast.
1887 A. Daly tr. A. Valabrègue Love in Harness iii. 50 Remember the cues in the part I've given you. Don't stick, for I shan't be here to prompt you.
1906 Theatre May p. vii/1 My boy, don't grieve about it. I have stuck in some of the best lines in the best scenes of ‘Othello’.
†b. intransitive. To stop or stand in a state of perplexity; to be unable to progress with a task or find the answer or solution to something. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > hinder completely or prevent [verb (intransitive)] > come to an impasse or be stuck
to stick in the claya1475
stick1534
stale1597
cumber1600
to stick in the mud1603
straita1616
strand1687
quagmire1701
stog1855
slew1890
bunker1894
bog1928
to be bogged1953
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > be or become confused [verb (intransitive)] > be at a loss
not to know which way to turn (also turn oneself)c1400
stound1531
stick1534
confute1672
to be stuck for1861
not to know whether one is coming or going1899
1534 G. Gardynare Let. Yonge Gentylman f. vi When they be questioned with, they stycke and stagarre.
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. i. x. sig. F.viiv/1 It is requisite that we firste shewe who it is that is our neighbour, touching whiche I see some men to doubt and sticke vncertainely [L. addubitare & hærere ancipites].
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xv. iv. 36 Who having read the same, sticking and doubting a good while what this should meane..returneth the..missives.
1677 J. Locke in P. King Life J. Locke (1830) II. 164 But when we begin to think of..the beginning of either, our understanding sticks and boggles, and knows not which way to turn.
a1732 T. Boston Memoirs (1776) xii. 433 Sitting down to my studies on Friday, the Lord withdrew, and I stuck.
1741 I. Watts Improvem. Mind i. xvi. 237 If the Chain of Consequences be a little prolix, here they stick and are confounded.
1833 Pearl & Lit. Gaz. 23 Nov. 64/3 Here I stuck. I scratched my caput, nibbled my pen, twitched up my sleeve a dozen times.
1869 J. Brown Lett. (1907) 197 I have no news of men or books. I can't read. Last night I stuck in M. Arnold's brilliant and procacious lecture.
1881 B. Stoker Under Sunset 127 A few of them knew their arithmetic and got out their answers and proved them; but some could not get out the answer right, and others stuck and could not get out any answer at all.
1916 T. Dreiser Hoosier Holiday viii. 50 We could not recall anyone in American political history or art or science who had come from Pennsylvania. William Penn (a foreigner) occurred to me.., and there I stuck.
c. transitive. colloquial. Originally: to bring (a person) to a standstill by posing a difficult question; to perplex, confound. Subsequently in passive: to be unable to progress with a task or find the answer or solution to something. Frequently with on.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > act of perplexing > confuse, perplex, bewilder [verb (transitive)] > nonplus
stagger1556
gravel1566
set1577
trump1586
bumbaze1587
puzzlec1595
ground1597
stunt1603
nonplus1605
pose1605
stumble1605
buzzard1624
quandary1681
bamboozle1712
hobble1762
stump1807
have1816
floor1830
flummox1837
stick1851
get1868
to stick up1897
buffalo1903
1851 Carpet-bag (Boston) 3 May 3/4 ‘Well,’ said Prof. J-—, coming in with a rueful face, ‘I got stuck fairly.’
1855 P. Brooks Let. 23 Sept. in Life & Lett. (1900) I. 113 Some of them are pretty sharp and have come very near sticking me very often on strange rules in out-of-the-way corners of the grammar.
1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer ix. 88 Now they're stuck. Can't find it. Here they come again. Now they're hot. Cold again.
1884 Literary Era II. 158 I knew it all from beginning to end; you could not stick me on the hardest of them.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona vi. 64 You must not suppose the Government..will ever be stuck for want of evidence.
1922 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Oct. 34/2 I'm stuck on this example; now please, daddy, have a heart; You needn't work the whole thing out; just show me how to start.
1977 F. E. Vandiver Black Jack I. i. 17 His friend enjoyed math and, if he got stuck on a hard problem, ‘he wouldn't stop until he had solved it’.
1978 L. Kramer Faggots 239 And Gatsby announced to Fred: ‘I'm stuck on Chapter Three. I'm giving it up. I want to have some fun.’ And Fred tried to hug his friend back into writerdom.
1986 D. Adams et al. Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Bk. 67 He got stuck for a while trying to find a rhyme for ‘colateral [sic] damage’.
2005 Yoga Jrnl. Jan. 137/2 She found it difficult to remember the sequence, and she became frustrated whenever she got stuck.
d. transitive (in passive). colloquial. to be stuck for: to be at a loss for (words, an answer, etc.); to be lacking or in need of (something).rare in U.S. use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > be or become confused [verb (intransitive)] > be at a loss
not to know which way to turn (also turn oneself)c1400
stound1531
stick1534
confute1672
to be stuck for1861
not to know whether one is coming or going1899
1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) III. 141/2 We go as near as memory will let us, but we must never appear to be stuck for words.
1895 K. M. H. Kaffyn Comedy in Spasms x. 108 One was never stuck for a subject with Miss Marrable; she had a way of hitting on just the very things that suited you.
1947 Telegraph (Brisbane) 15 Dec. 3/2 If they are ‘really stuck for time’ they will catch a train to Sydney from Grafton.
1963 ‘J. le Carré’ Spy who came in from Cold iv. 32 ‘Who's Mr. Ironside?’.. ‘I don't think he exists... He's her big gun when she's stuck for an answer.’
1969 Guardian 31 July 6/1 Any time you're stuck for a meal..come around.
1986 New Scientist 4 Dec. 47/2 If you are stuck for cash, a good, well-mounted single lens would be a far better bet.
2001 J. Boyle Galloway Street 161 Then I'll look out and see Butler mooching about in the yard... You can see he's stuck for something to do.
2006 G. Malkani Londonstani v. 46 Now that I use all these proper words I'm hardly ever stuck for words.
†25. intransitive. To be entangled in an undesirable state or condition. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > suffer (adversity or affliction) [verb (transitive)] > be involved in (adversity)
sticka1450
a1450 Castle of Love (Bodl. Add.) (1967) l. 1727 (MED) For nowne [read min owne] gret synne I styke in pyne.
1578 T. Godfrie tr. C. Hueber Riche Storehouse 96 You shall..diligently looke about, howe needie and miserable you your selfe be, howe deepe you sticke in sinne.
1652 H. Bell tr. M. Luther Colloquia Mensalia 309 And whoso blameth mee for giving way and yielding so much to the Pope at the first, let him consider in what darkness I still stuck at that time.
1666 J. Bunyan Grace Abounding §201 I should still be as sticking in the jaws of desperation.
26.
a. intransitive. Esp. of a piece of food: to lodge (in the throat), esp. so as to cause choking or discomfort.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > [verb (intransitive)] > lodge in throat (of food)
stickc1450
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered breathing > have or cause breathing disorder [verb (intransitive)] > become short of breath > choke > of food, etc.
stickc1450
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 307 (MED) A wulfe..had a bane stykkand in his throte..þe damysell saw þe bane stik in his throte, & sho put in hur hand in his mowthe & pullid it oute.
a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (1998) I. l. 1538 (MED) Hou schulde a man out of his þrote wynne A bone or a þorne stikynge þerynne?
1622 S. Ward Woe to Drunkards 22 The drinke or something in the Cup..stuck so in his throat that he could neither get it vp nor down, but strangled him presently.
1727 P. Longueville Hermit 11 A Phlegm sticking in my Throat, I happened to hawk pretty loud.
1776 L. Carter Diary 6 Mar. (1965) II. 995 Yesterday eating a small fish..a loom from near the tail stuck in my throat.
1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. III. 195 ‘How's your throat, child?’..‘Oh, quite well, Pa,..it was a bit of the rind of the cheese that stuck.’
1895 P. Hemingway Out of Egypt i. ii. 12 He..saw a plate of macaroni for his supper. He tried to eat some, but it stuck in his throat.
1904 Brit. Jrnl. Dental Sci. 47 188 A man.., while sleeping, swallowed a false tooth and part of the plate, and was awakened by the indigestible morsel sticking in his windpipe.
1988 L. Ellmann Sweet Desserts 53 The food stuck in my throat after that.
2004 J. Zipes tr. L. Gonzenbach Robber with Witch's Head xxxvii. 187 She fell down, and the grape stuck in her throat.
b. intransitive. to stick in the throat (also craw, gizzard, stomach, etc.) and variants: (of a notion, proposal, situation, etc.) to be a cause of resentment; to be difficult to accept.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > be or become displeased [verb (intransitive)] > displease
loathec893
overthinkc1175
displeasec1400
to stick in the throat (also craw, gizzard, stomach, etc.)c1536
unsavoura1547
distastea1618
disrelish1631
to give (also cause, etc.) offence to1712
spoil sport1869
to get in bad1902
c1536 in J. Raine Priory of Hexham (1864) I. App. p. clix There is somewhat that stykkes in their stomakkes.
1580 A. Munday Zelauto 41 What peremptorie brags you made, yet sticke on my stomacke.
1679 Vindic. Sir T. Player 1/2 'Tis the Matter, not the Manner that sticks in our Unworthy Respondents Gizzard.
1704 Visits from Shades I. xvi. 131 The Canons and 39 Articles wou'd never go down with me, and stuck in my Throat like so many Burs.
1752 H. Fielding Amelia IV. iv. 152 To be indebted to such a Fellow, at any rate, had stuck much in his Stomach, and had given him very great Uneasiness.
1833 R. H. Froude Remains (1838) I. 322 That odious Protestantism sticks in people's gizzard.
1843 C. Dickens Let. 1 Feb. (1974) III. 434 Your dedication to Peel stuck in my throat.
1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxii. 132 A bane that'll stick i' the thrapple o' the Moderate pairty.
1924 G. B. Shaw St. Joan Pref. p. li The truth sticks in our throats with all the sauces it is served with.
1938 W. S. Maugham Summing Up lxxvi. 310 This notion has long stuck in my gizzard.
1950 ‘W. Cooper’ Scenes Provinc. Life iii. i. 146 I did think of marrying her—this angry hurt recurred. I could not get over it. It stuck, as they say, in my craw.
1958 C. P. Snow Conscience of Rich xxxi. 232 I didn't like refusing, but it stuck in my gullet to help that blasted group of reds.
1976 A. Price War Game ii. i. 193 Weston would find the accident..sticking in his throat, a question much too sharp to be swallowed.
2004 N.Y. Times 23 May 30/1 But what pleases judges sticks in the craw of some litigants, who..feel bludgeoned into settling by a report that does not favor them.
c. intransitive. to stick in the throat (also †teeth) and variants: (of a word or words) to be unable to be uttered, esp. through emotion or reluctance; to be uttered indistinctly; (also of a person's voice) to fail.Quot. a1522 shows a similar expression using a form of steek v.2 (cf. steek v.2 4).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > be silent/refrain from speaking [verb (intransitive)] > not be spoken (of words)
to stick in the throat (also teeth)1566
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) ii. xii. 27 Speke mycht I not, the voce in my hals swa stak.]
1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xxxvi. 79 With good vtterance, wherof no worde stucke betwene her teeth, or was impeached by default of tongue.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) ii. ii. 31 Amen stuck in my throat . View more context for this quotation
1634 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. Hist. New Test. (STC 12640.5) 219 How this suit sticks in her teeth; and dare not freely come forth.
1657 tr. F. de Quevedo Life & Adventures of Buscon 55 The showr of Spittle and Snot which fell upon me, was so violent, that the rest of my words stuck in my teeth.
1770 Fatal Friendship II. xxxviii. 18 The last word stuck in his teeth, and was hardly articulate.
1819 J. Hodgson in J. Raine Mem. J. Hodgson (1857) I. 241 His words stuck in his hause.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel II. iii. 50 ‘My lord,’—said Richie, and then stopped to cough and hem, as if what he had to say stuck somewhat in his throat.
1885 Good Cheer 42/2 Bless you! his tongue was as dry as a bone. The words stuck in his throat.
1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Sunset Song iv. 232 Rob cried ‘Oh man, I'd go back with you the morn if only—’ and the words fair seemed to stick in his throat.
1979 E. Lovelace Dragon can't Dance iv. 58 And he would say, ‘That ain't nutten, man,’ but his voice would be sticking in his throat..so keenly did such things touch him.
2001 C. Glazebrook Madolescents 218 I want to tell Dean about the wedding ring but the words stick in my craw.
27.
a. intransitive. Of a matter: to come to a standstill, to suffer delay or hindrance, to fail to progress. Chiefly with adverb or prepositional phrase indicating the reason why, or point at which, something has come to a standstill.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > delay [verb (intransitive)] > be delayed
hang1494
stick?a1518
supersede1569
to cool one's heels (also feet, hooves)1576
slow1601
stay1642
retard1646
to come by the lame post1658
to cool one's toes1665
?a1518 H. Watson Ualentyne & Orson (1555) lv. sig. Mm.viii Sir saide Pacolet as for that it shall not stycke, for I am ready and apparaylled for to go with you and folowe you in euery place.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 735/2 It stycketh, as a mater stycketh and gothe nat forward, il tient. The mater stycketh nat in me, la matiere ne tient pas a moy.
1537 H. Latimer Let. 14 Oct. in Serm. & Remains (1845) (modernized text) II. 383 As touching your request concerning your friend,..it shall not stick on my behalf.
1619 Sir H. Wotton Let. in S. R. Gardiner Lett. Relations Eng. & Germany (1865) 1st Ser. 50 I finde..a good disposition there,..but I doubte it will sticke upon who shall beginne.
1676 Earl of Anglesey in C. E. Pike Essex Papers (1913) II. 84 Our King hath the French promises the generall peace shall not stick for want of the surrender [of Sicily].
1703 J. Barrett Analecta 30 May not this excite and encourage thee to set about the Work, to consider how the Lord is beforehand with thee, that the Work is not like to stick at him?
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 629 A rich widow..hearing at what his designs stuck,..furnished him with ten thousand pounds.
1772 J. Oswald Appeal to Common Sense II. v. v. 182 They..are not willing to put themselves to the trouble that is necessary in forming an habit.—and here the matter sticks.
1886 C. Bell tr. L. Tolstoy War & Peace I. xi. 147 There the matter stuck. The count sent for the old man and he answered as his son had done.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona iii. 32 ‘I believe I could indicate in two words where the thing sticks,’ said I.
1908 Minutes of Evid. Royal Comm. Decentralization Madras II. 101/2 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 4361) XLIV. 345 Do you find that somewhere or other these schemes coming up from divisions do stick for a considerable time?—The Negapatam market works stuck for more than a year; the water works scheme is still sticking.
1928 Amer. Hist. Rev. 33 558 Here the matter stuck for more than a score of years, though Sir David was indefatigable in the pursuit of his consulate.
1973 Science 11 May 574/3 These negotiations seem to have stuck mainly on the issue of how the two academies could jointly operate the National Research Council.
2015 Australian (Nexis) 20 May (Business section) 23 Negotiations stuck on overall control of the business, which executive chairman Glenn Rosewall reportedly declined to concede.
†b. intransitive. Of a person or his or her thoughts: to remain focused on, or occupied with, something lesser or subsidiary, at the expense of the correct or ultimate goal. With in specifying the lesser or subsidiary thing. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > earnest attention, concentration > be absorbed in [verb (intransitive)] > be intent > on a focal point
stick1534
concentre1613
centre1642
focus1858
concentrate1899
home1955
1534 Prymer in Eng. sig. Nvv Teache vs deare father not to styck, steye, or ground our selues in our good workes or deseruynges, but to gyue & submitte our selfe..to thyn infynyte..mercy.
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 55 Ye Iewes so sticked in the figure, that they considered not the thing signified.
a1628 J. Preston New Covenant (1629) xii. 140 They could not see Christ himselfe, the inward promises, but stucke in the outward barke, and rinde of Ceremonies.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. viii. 311 Where-ever the distinct Idea any Words stand for, is not known..there our Thoughts stick wholly in Sounds, and are able to attain no real Truth or Falshoood [sic].
c. intransitive. Of a person or thing: to remain in an unchanged condition, to fail to advance. Also of a commodity: to remain unsold (cf. sticker n.2 1c).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > [verb (intransitive)] > be at a standstill
standeOE
atstandc1000
stick1641
to be at a standstill1882
society > trade and finance > selling > sell [verb (intransitive)] > not sell > remain unsold
to lie on one's hands1548
to go (or have been) a begginga1593
stick1729
1641 T. Webb Let. 11 Sept. in E. Nicholas Papers (1886) I. 46 We stick wher we were for officers, ye King uppon his declaration and ye Parlement uppon ther two propositions made to him.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Ttt/3 His Mind sticks betwixt Hope and Fear.
1729 J. Swift Grand Question This Hamilton's Bawn, while it sticks on my Hand, I lose by the House, what I get by the Land.
1741 W. Warburton Divine Legation Moses II. iv. v. 269 And there they [sc. the contending parties] must have stuck, till Famine and Desertion had ended the Quarrel.
1872 W. Bagehot Physics & Polit. (1876) 158 How then did any civilisation become unfixed? No doubt most civilisations stuck where they first were; no doubt we see now why stagnation is the rule of the world, and why progress is the very rare exception.
1912 Dry Goods Reporter 28 Dec. 48/2 When I see a lot of goods are sticking, I am going to hammer the lungs out of that merchandise right away by cutting the price at one flop to a point where they will bid me good-by.
1958 A. White tr. Colette Tender Shoot 35 Every afternoon at tea-time, I left my work, which was sticking badly, and joined ‘those women’ in a little room off the drawing-room.
2001 T. Jackson & D. Shaw Mastering Fashion Buying & Merchandising Managem. viii. 148 These businesses take swift and deep action if lines start to stick and fail to sell quickly.
d. intransitive. Chiefly with at. Of a recording instrument: to settle or remain at a particular reading; (of something measurable) to persist at a particular level or in a particular direction without fluctuation or variation; (of a commodity) to remain at a particular price.
ΚΠ
1847 C. J. Napier Let. in W. Napier Life & Opinions Sir C. J. Napier (1857) IV. 70 Breeze feels cool, but the thermometer sticks at 90° in the shade.
1865 Sheffield & Rotherham Independent 14 Aug. 4/5 For two or three days previously, the wind had stuck persistently in the north-west.
1881 G. W. De Long Jrnl. 7 July in E. De Long Voy. of Jeannette (1883) II. xiii. 628 Wind canting a little to the westward, but the barometer sticks at 29.28.
1893 Cultivator & Country Gentleman 13 Apr. 286/1 Corn..is growing to be the subject of inquiry at 55 to 60 cents per bushel, while wheat sticks at 70c.
1910 Financial Times 26 Nov. 8/5 The reason why Armament shares are sticking at what is a somewhat low level for this class of security is generally attributed to two causes.
1956 Boys' Life Oct. 94/2 Two small boys who were watching gasped as the needle stuck at fifty pounds.
1991 G. Bowen Murder at Mendel i. 12 The south wing of the Mendel Gallery is a conservatory, a place where you can find green and flowering things even when the temperature sticks at forty below for weeks on end.
2015 Daily Post (N. Wales) (Nexis) 23 Dec. (Business section) 2 Cauliflower has seen no movement in price, sticking at 92p per kg.
28. transitive. Scottish. Of a person: to bungle or fail to complete (a task or undertaking); spec. to come to an involuntary halt during (a speech, recitation, or other performance). Also: †to cause a person to come to a halt during (a speech) (obsolete). Cf. stuck adj.2 2, stickit adj. Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) records this sense as still in use in Shetland, northern Scotland, Angus, Perthshire, and Kirkcudbrightshire in 1971.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > refrain from uttering [verb (transitive)] > silence or prevent from speaking
to stop a person's mouthc1175
stilla1225
to keep ina1420
stifle1496
to knit up1530
to muzzle (up) the mouth1531
choke1533
muzzle?1542
to tie a person's tongue1544
tongue-tiea1555
silence1592
untongue1598
to reduce (a person or thing) to silence1605
to bite in1608
gaga1616
to swear downa1616
to laugh down1616
stifle1621
to cry down1623
unworda1627
clamour1646
splint1648
to take down1656
snap1677
stick1708
shut1809
to shut up1814
to cough down1823
to scrape down1855
to howl down1872
extinguish1878
hold1901
shout1924
to pipe down1926
the world > action or operation > completing > non-completion > do incompletely [verb (transitive)] > leave unfinished
to leave rawa1529
stick1782
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > refrain from uttering [verb (transitive)] > break down in uttering
stick1782
1708 in Fountainhall's Decisions (1761) II. 447 He had given him a box on the ear when he sticked his work.
1715 A. Pennecuik Curious Coll. Scotish Poems in Geogr., Hist. Descr. Tweeddale App. 34 A comely Body and a Face, Would make a Dominie stick the Grace.
1726 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 254 Wilson..said warmly that the Commission had betrayed the rights of the Christian people. This drew a cry upon him to call him to the bar, where he was once before... This sticked his speech.
1782 J. Sinclair Observ. Sc. Dial. 25 To stick any thing; to spoil any thing in the execution.
a1814 J. Ramsay Scotl. & Scotsmen 18th Cent. (1888) II. x. 241 He does everything by the book: he ploughs, and sows, and brews his strong ale by the book—but he sticks them all.
1829 J. Hogg Shepherd's Cal. II. xxi. 315 I disdained to stick the tune, and therefore was obliged to carry on in spite of the obstreperous accompaniment.
1894 A. Reid Sangs Heatherland 48 Dream a' the nicht o' the sang I hae stickit.
1992 D. Purves Shakespeare's Tragedie o Macbeth iii. iii. 33 3rd Murderer Man, we've only killed the ane. The son haes joukit us an gotten clean awa. 2nd Murderer We hae stickit the best pairt o oor job.
29. transitive (in passive). Gambling slang. To be unable to continue playing due to losing or lack of money; to be out of luck or money.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [adjective] > poor > lacking money
to the boneOE
silverlessc1325
pennilessc1330
moneylessc1400
impecunious1596
crossless1600
penceless1605
unmoneyed1606
coinless1614
emptya1643
out of pocket1679
money-bound1710
broke1716
embarrassed1744
stiver cramped1785
plackless1786
taper1789
poundlessa1794
shillingless1797
unpennied1804
fundless1809
impecuniary1814
hard up1821
soldier-thighed1825
cashless1833
stiverless1839
fly-blown1853
strapped1857
stick1859
tight1859
stone-broke1886
stony1886
oofless1888
stony-broke1890
motherless1906
penny-pinched1918
skinned1924
skint1925
on the beach1935
potless1936
boracic1959
uptight1967
brassic1982
1859 G. W. Matsell Vocabulum 117 When a man has lost all his money, and is trying on the last throw to retrieve his loss and he is beat, then he is stuck.
1879 Melbourne Punch 2 Oct. 132/1 ‘Three sixes, eh?’ said the dying man, ‘then the die is cast, I'm stuck.’
1894 Logansport (Indiana) Daily Pharos 28 July ‘I'm stuck,’ she said, with the philosophic air of a thorough sport.
1919 Wire & Pipe Sept. 213/2 When a fellow's betting And he makes unconscious bets And never in his history gets ‘stuck’.
1920 Argosy 3 July 446/2 He held out bets placed by the long-shot players when he knew they hadn't a chance of cashing in... Now and then he was stuck and had to pay the odds, but seldom.
1999 J. May Shut up & Deal i. 29 I mean two guys already left with big loads and all the wrong guys are stuck.
V. To project, protrude.
30. intransitive. With preposition or adverb: to project from or extend beyond the surrounding surface or parts; to protrude.Recorded earliest in to stick out 1a at Phrasal verbs 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > project from (something) [verb (transitive)]
stickc1540
spring1873
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 59 Stokyn ene out stepe with a streight loke.
1542 N. Udall in tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 142 (note) He sawe an elfishe manne, with a long croked haukes nose, & a forehedde or brough with hornes stickyng out.
?1562 W. Ward tr. R. Roussat Most Excellent Bk. Doctour & Astrologien Arcandam sig. K.ii When the teeth..stycke oute of the mouth, it is a sygne of a glotton.
1566 T. Blundeville Order curing Horses Dis. f. 83v, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe Thrust in one of the pinnes from aboue downward, so as both endes may equallye sticke without the skin.
1591 G. Fletcher Of Russe Common Wealth xxiii. f. 97v Some [pictures] also they haue embossed, that stick from the board almost an inch outwards.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Volute,..the writhen circle, or curle tuft that..sticks out of the chapter of a piller, etc.
1699 tr. de La Vauguion Compl. Body Chirurg. Operations lvii. 373 When the Extremities of the broken Bone stick out of the Wound..the end must be filed or taken off with Pincers.
1761 ‘C. Morell’ Hist. James Lovegrove I. ii. vi. 198 His Ribs were well bruised with Wallis's Logick, which stuck out of the Side Pocket of the Chariot.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. iii. v. 181 Or what is this that sticks visible from the lapelle of Chevalier de Court?
1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped xv. 142 I saw the steel butt of a pistol sticking from under the flap of his coat-pocket.
1958 N. Levine Canada made Me v. 127 Old bits of dead grass, like tufts of hair, stuck out of the mud.
2010 A. Goudie & H. Viles Landscapes & Geomorphol. iii. 34 A small roving GPS receiver, often sticking from a surveyor's backpack.
31. transitive. To thrust or push (one's head, hand, or other body part) in a particular direction; to put (one's head, hand, or other body part) in, into, out of, etc. Cf. to stick out 2a at Phrasal verbs 1.Also in figurative phrases, as to stick (also put, flick, etc.) two fingers up (at) at finger n. Phrases 4y, to stick one's nose into at nose n. Phrases 1d(b), to stick one's tongue in one's cheek at tongue n. 4d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action or fact of stretching body > stretch [verb (transitive)] > specific part of body > in some direction, purposefully
to put forthc1300
thrustc1374
to put outa1382
proferc1400
outstretcha1425
to hold out1535
outhold1550
push1581
intend1601
stick1607
protrude1638
poke1700
blurt1818
1607 G. Chapman Bussy D'Ambois ii. i. 14 She sticks her beake into it, shakes it vp, And hurl's it all abroad.
1627 T. May tr. Lucan Pharsalia (new ed.) vi. sig. L2v She..from their orbes doth teare His congeal'd eyes, and stickes her knucles there.
1713 G. Berkeley in Guardian 25 Apr. 1/1 Prejudice in the Figure of a Woman standing..with her Eyes close shut, and her Forefingers stuck in her Ears.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison VI. xxv. 143 He stuck his hands in his sides, as he does when he is good-humouredly angry.
1836 M. Scott Cruise of Midge viii. 114 A number of joyous faces were stuck over the hammock cloths reconnoitring us.
1872 J. S. Le Fanu In Glass Darkly II. i. 6 A lean old gentleman..stuck his head out of the window.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona ii. 22 And that's what makes me think so much of ye—you that's no Stewart—to stick your head so deep in Stewart business.
1942 Life 2 Mar. 51/2 A guy stuck his head out of the turret but didn't say anything.
1984 A. Lee Sarah Phillips (1985) 104 We sat down on the edge of the balcony, sticking our legs through the railing.
1999 S. Perera Haven't stopped dancing Yet xvii. 231 I'd rather have some dirty scuzzbag sticking his hand up my skirt once a month.
2012 T. Wolfe Back to Blood xvi. 546 When I hear that stupid word, I want to stick my fingers down my throat.

Phrases

P1. to stick one's eyes in (also into): to subject to a piercing gaze. Irish English in later use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > stare or gaze at
bestarec1220
bigapea1250
to gape atc1290
fix14..
to stick one's eyes in (also into)c1485
attacha1500
porec1500
to take feeding (of)c1500
stare1510
(to have) in gaze1577
gaze1591
outstare1596
over-stare1600
devour1628
trysta1694
ogle1795
begaze1802
toise1888
fixate1889
rubberneck1897
eyeball1901
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Gouernaunce of Princis (1993) xvii. 84 Scho stykkit hir eyne jn a man—as scho walde throu lukand pers him with hir sycht.
a1637 B. Jonson Sad Shepherd iii. iv. sig. v3v, in Wks. (1640) III Why doe you so survey, and circumscribe mee? As if you stuck one Eye into my brest, And with the other took my whole dimensions? View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Fletcher & J. Vanbrugh Pilgrim (rev. ed.) i. i. 2 There was a Fellow..whom I have seen her glance at, 'till I thought the Hussy wou'd have stuck her Eyes into the Rascal.
1837 S. Lover Rory O'More I. 149 ‘But the misthiss—Missis Scrubbs I mane, your honour—’ and Rory here stuck his eyes into the colonel again.
1898 J. MacManus Bend of Road 218 Masther Whoriskey is sittin'..with his eyes stuck in poor Mary as if he wanted to overlook her.
1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 334/2 Stick (your eyes) in someone, fix (your eyes) on someone.
P2. to stick to a person's fingers and variants: (of money or property) to come into a person's possession by dishonest or dubious means. [Compare Italian appiccarsi alle unghie , lit. ‘to stick itself to the fingernails, to get stuck to the fingernails’ (1562 in the passage translated in quot. 1573).]
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > get or make money [verb (intransitive)] > be dishonestly retained
to stick to a person's fingers1573
1573 G. Gascoigne tr. L. Ariosto Supposes iii. iv, in Hundreth Sundrie Flowres 31 It is a thing almost vnpossible for a man nowe a daies to handle money but the metall will sticke on his fingers [It. ch'a l'unghie tal hor non ti si appicchino].
1576 G. Gascoigne Steele Glas sig. H.iiii When Siluer sticks not on the Tellers fingers.
1660 Marquis of Worcester in H. Dircks Life 2nd Marquis of Worcester (1865) xiv. 229 Nothing hath stuck to my fingers, in order to benefit or self-interest.
1762 Ann. Reg. 1761 i. 234/1 The people immediately cleared it of all the moveables, such as the victuals, cloths, plates, dishes, &c. and, in short, every thing that could stick to their fingers.
1772 W. Cole Let. 9 July in H. Walpole Corr. (1937) I. 268 They deserved to be so cheated..for trusting him to finger any part of their money, which would naturally stick to his fingers like bird-lime.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. vii. xv. 212 Probably something still stuck by the fingers.
1860 J. L. Motley Hist. United Netherlands II. x. 87 He was..a most infamous peculator. One-third of the money sent by the Queen for the soldiers stuck in his fingers.
1920 C. Sandburg Smoke & Steel 45 Nothin' ever sticks to my fingers, nah, nah, nothin' like that.
1949 Hispanic Amer. Hist. Rev. 29 483 The confiscated wealth and property of all its prisoners ultimately..came by way of the crown fiscal in the first instance, though woe betide this official if any of the money stuck to his fingers.
2007 Washington Post (Nexis) 25 Dec. a25 Spiro T. Agnew..had to resign as U.S. vice president because of money that stuck to his fingers while he was governor of Maryland.
P3. as full (also close, etc.) as one can stick: as full, close, etc., as one can be; very full, close, etc. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes To Rdr. sig. B3 The Doctors proceedings haue thrust vpon mee this sowterly Metaphor..and prickt those sheets or soales as full of the hob-nayles of reprehension as they could sticke.
1684 T. Otway Atheist v. 58 As I hope to see you happy, Madam, I put it [sc. the note] as fast here between these two poor naked Breasts here, as ever it could stick, so I did.
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 9 Make..a solid Foundation..of Piles..driven in as close together as ever they can stick.
1839 Ladies' Compan. July 117/2 Now, my house is just as full as it can stick; the children sleep four in a bed.
1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xxviii She..was..as full of fun and games as she could stick.
1905 H. F. Day Squire Phin iii. 8 Folks would listen to him shoutin' up that ‘infant anaconda’—that's what he called the angle-worm—and would pay ten cents and go in and then would come out mad as they could stick.
1936 P. G. Wodehouse Laughing Gas xxvi. 279 The future seemed to me to look about as black as it could stick.
1947 H. E. Bates Purple Plain iii. 35 You know how it is... Everywhere is as full as it can stick.
P4.
a. to stick in the mud: to be in difficulties or trouble; (in later use also) to remain in a mean or abject condition, to fail to change or progress. Cf. stick-in-the-mud adj. and n. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > progress, advance, or further continuance > progress or advance in an action [verb (intransitive)] > make only slight progress > make no progress
to stick in the mud1603
to spin one's wheels1974
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > hinder completely or prevent [verb (intransitive)] > come to an impasse or be stuck
to stick in the claya1475
stick1534
stale1597
cumber1600
to stick in the mud1603
straita1616
strand1687
quagmire1701
stog1855
slew1890
bunker1894
bog1928
to be bogged1953
1603 H. Crosse Vertues Common-wealth sig. P O how weake and shallow much of theyr poetrie is..like an vnskilfull Pilot..in so much that oftentimes they sticke so fast in mudde, they loose their wittes ere they can get out.
1612 S. Lennard tr. P. de Mornay Mysterie Iniquitie 308 Neuerthelesse Eugenius, sticketh in the mud, being so mightily adiured by Bernard, and leaueth the true inheritance of Saint Peter for that of Constantine.
1752 Truth Triumphant 23 One wou'd wonder how it comes to pass, that after all the elaborate Performances written on this Head, our Author should still stick in the Mud, and run himself into the old exploded Method used by Foreigners.
1794 H. L. Piozzi Brit. Synonymy II. 402 Why, sir, that fellow did run upon a rope to be sure, till at length he came to a stand-still; and they say will now very soon stick in the mud.
1818 M. Belson Little Lessons for Little Folks i. 17 He was a smart, keen child, and would make his way any-where, when Ned would stick in the mud.
1864 D. G. Rossetti Let. 18 Nov. in Corr. (2003) III. 215 I have done no work at all here for 3 weeks, and am sorely wanting to get home, but I stick in the mud everywhere & day after day I fail to get away.
1898 J. Arch Story of Life xiv. 345 To teach a man to be content to stick in the mud is to teach a man to curse himself.
1943 W. Stegner Big Rock Candy Mountain i. 58 So I have to stick in the mud while you go off. How long will you be?
1983 I. Whitcomb Rock Odyssey iv. 205 The spokesmen for the New Consciousness, for rock, condemning the record for sticking in the mud of Tin Pan Alley.
b. to be stuck in the mud: to be unable to progress or develop, either through adverse circumstances, or through a resistance to change; (now) esp. to be unprogressive or unadventurous. Also (usually hyphenated) stuck-in-the-mud adj. Cf. stick-in-the-mud adj. and n.
ΚΠ
1711 G. Cary Physician's Phylactic 85 Here Dr. T. is so closely fixed, and stuck in the Mud, that he can't rise beyond the Horizon of Sense.
1830 Olio 24 July 62/1 When a person is in difficulties, he is said to be ‘stuck in the mud’.
1904 Arizona Republican 17 June 5/4 (advt.) If you eat plenty of it [sc. cereal] you won't have those stuck-in-the-mud days when everything seems to be going backward instead of forward.
1957 Portsmouth (Ohio) Times 14 Dec. 11/1 The cold war..has placed the United States in the same stuck-in-the-mud position that it accuses the Soviet Union of holding.
1990 M. C. Reed in Chairing Math. Sci. Dept. 1990s ii. 18 I am continually amazed at the resistance..to experimentation with the curriculum... We really are stuck in the mud.
2016 Sun (Nexis) 6 Aug. (TV Mag.) 66 If someone changes their mind..I can get pretty stuck in the mud: ‘We had a plan, we're sticking to the plan.’
†P5. to stick the point: to prove conclusively. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > prove, demonstrate [verb (intransitive)] > conclusively
conclude1526
to stick the point1655
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. vi. 268 This Quaternion of Subscribers, have stick'n the point dead with me that all antient English Monks were Benedictines.
P6. mud (also dirt, shit, etc.) sticks and variants: disparaging or malicious allegations are difficult to disprove or shake off.
ΚΠ
1656 G. Kendall Clerk of Surveigh Surveighed Author to Bk. sig. Cv Some dirt will stick, if dirt enough we cast, Thus we his credit weaken shall at last.
1678 B. R. Let. Popish Friends 7 'Tis a blessed Line in Matchiavel—If durt enough be thrown, some will stick.
1705 E. Ward Hudibras Redivivus I. ii. 11 Fling Dirt enough, and some will stick.
1795 T. Lindsey in J. Priestley Answer to Mr. Paine's Age of Reason Pref. p. xxv This paper..had a standing order to calumniate Dr. Priestley at all seasons, under the notion that some of their dirt must stick.
1877 H. James American xxiv. 437 You propose to throw mud at us; you believe, you hope, that some of it may stick.
1895 Nation (N.Y.) 4 Apr. 255/2 Baseless falsehoods. His only decoration was given by Charles Albert. But ‘mud sticks’.
1925 W. Martyn Recluse of Fifth Avenue iv. 81 If enough mud is thrown at a man..some of it will stick.
1956 J. Wyndham Seeds of Time (1960) 193 All the same, some of the mud might stick.
2001 G. White Night Visitor (2002) 235 Innocent though he was, shit sticks—there's no smoke without fire—his reputation would be tarnished and that he could not risk.
2003 S. Montefiore Forget-me-not Sonata (2014) xxv. 345 Divorce is a very dirty word and dirt sticks wherever you are in the world.
P7. Originally and chiefly North American colloquial. to stick it to: to cause deliberate harm, discomfort, humiliation or annoyance to, esp. as a means of revenge or retaliation; (later also) to perform an act intended to defy, resist, or undermine (an authority or institution); esp. in stick it to the man (cf. man n.1 18b). [Originally perhaps with reference to the action of stabbing or piercing with a stick (see sense 1); later influenced by the idea of sticking a finger up at someone (see to stick a finger up at at finger n. Phrases 4t(a)(iii)).]
ΚΠ
1842 Indiana State Sentinel (Indianapolis) 17 May 2/4 The Richmond Jeffersonian..is exercising its small arms upon its neighbor... Stick it to him, Elder!
1861 Democratic Pharos (Logansport, Indiana) 13 Mar. The Democrats could not bear such cruelty and went out to mourn when the Republicans were preparing to ‘stick it to them’.
1907 Southwestern Reporter 99 636 By God, I want you to stick it to him.
1967 Belleville (Kansas) Telescope 14 Sept. 3/6 I feel better knowing that someone wasn't just sticking it to me.
1973 Oakland (Calif.) Post 18 Nov. 8 The Chiefs..proceeded to stick it to the Chicago Bears.
1995 Coloradoan (Fort Collins) 2 July e4/2 It was a vicarious way of powerless people being able to stick it to the Man.
2015 S. Quinones Dreamland 90 He liked to see himself as sticking it to the Establishment, living outside the law.
P8. to stick out one's chin: to show firmness, fortitude, or resolution.
ΚΠ
1875 W. Besant & J. Rice This Son of Vulcan in London Society Nov. 390/2 Them's your ancestors, Jack, my boy. Now you know why I tould you to lift your head high and stick out your chin, bekase we were coming to your own place.
1898 Muswellbrook (New S. Wales) Chron. 16 Nov. May be he sets his teeth hard and sticks out his chin, and works longer hours.
1914 A. Bennett Price of Love 207 She belonged to the middle class..the class that sticks its chin out and gets things done.
1931 I. Gershwin Compl. Lyrics (1993) 185/1 We two together can win out; Just remember to stick your chin out.
2000 S. King On Writing 123 Throw back your shoulders, stick out your chin, and put that meeting in charge!
P9. colloquial. to stick (something) up one's ——: used in various phrases, with imperative force, to express contemptuous dismissal or rejection, esp. in stick it up your arse (also ass)! and (sometimes euphemistic) equivalents.Similar expressions are found with other verbs such as shove and put. For more established phrases in which a variety of verbs are used see also: arse n. and int. Phrases 4b, ass n.2 Phrases 1b(a), where the sun don't shine at sun n.1 Phrases 2b(d), and you know where you can put (also shove, stick) it at know v. Phrases 35.In quot. 1891 apparently with euphemistic omission of the object of up.
ΚΠ
1891 Evening News (Sydney) 15 Dec. 3/2 Mr. Farnell having demanded a ticket for one of the galleries, was asked ‘Which gallery?’ and impudently replied ‘Oh, stick it up!’
1895 Southeastern Rep. 20 999/1 I received the answer from him that I must take the bill, and stick it up my God-damn ass.
1896 Wagga Wagga (New S. Wales) Express 10 Mar. Prosecutor said ‘Hold on, Paddy, old man; moderate your tongue a bit.’.. Prisoner said, ‘You can stick it up your ——’.
1922 S. Anderson in E. J. O'Brien Best Stories of 1922 15 You can stick your colleges up your nose.
1922 S. Lewis Babbitt xix. 240 Bad luck, old dear, and you can stick your job up the sewer!
1935 J. Conroy World to Win vii. 61 Ye kin take yer Christmas pudding, sir, And go stick it up yer pratt!
1939 R. Stout Some Buried Caesar xi. 153 All right. Take your name and stick it up your chimney and go to hell.
1971 P. Driscoll White Lie Assignment ii. 20 If you do earn your thousand pounds you can stick it, d'you hear? Stick it right up where it belongs. I don't want a penny of it.
1990 P. Melville Shape-shifter (1991) 89 You can stick your fucking job up your fucking arse.
2002 Guardian 25 May 1/5 You can stick it up your bollocks.
P10. to stick in one's head: (esp. of a song or piece of music) to recur continually in a person's mind, esp. so as to cause annoyance, irritation, or vexation. Frequently in passive, as to be (or get) stuck in one's head and variants. Cf. sense 18a.
ΚΠ
1896 Black & White 11 July 38/2 There's a song in it [sc. the play]..and a bit of the tune stuck in my head afterwards till I got it out in these noble words.
1954 Progress (Clearfield, Pa.) 26 Apr. 4/1 Jack Fulton's hit ‘Wanted’ sticks in your head... One of the most hummable in a long time.
1982 Resurgence Jan. 15/1 We all know what it is like to get a tune stuck in your head and you just can't get it out no matter how hard you try.
1991 S. C. Raines & R. J. Canady More Story Stretchers Introd. 11/1 The chants and rhymes that get stuck in our heads.
2015 Adweek (U.S.) (Nexis) 5 May They'll probably be stuck in your head for the next 24 hours... Advertising jingles can be catchy or annoying as hell.
P11. U.S. to stick (something) in one's ear: used, with imperative force, to express contemptuous dismissal or rejection. Frequently in stick it in your ear! Cf. sense Phrases 9.
ΚΠ
1957 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 1 Mar. c2/1 Dr. Paul Governali..claims you can take every major football coaching job on the Pacific Coast and stick it in your ear for all he cares.
1973 Houston Chron. 21 Oct. 12/7 Members of the House are suggesting to members of the Senate that they take this idea and stick it in their ears.
1990 W. Bell Forbidden City 28 If you tell your boss..to stick his job in his ear, and you quit and go to another job, he refuses to transfer your hu kou.
2016 Tampa Bay (Florida) Times (Nexis) 2 Feb. 8 He is saying to the lying hypocrites in office that he is going to be himself, and if you don't like it, stick it in your ear.
P12. Originally and chiefly U.S. to stick one's (also the) landing: (in Gymnastics) to execute a flawless landing after a vault, flip, dismount, etc.; (hence, in extended use) to make any precise or skilful landing. Also figurative: to complete or accomplish something successfully, esp. something considered to be difficult.
ΚΠ
1973 Gymnast Jan. 11/2 Olga Korbut was first up and hit her Yamashita and stuck her landing with the first vault a little better than the second.
1996 USA Today (Nexis) 14 Aug. a2 To borrow another sports metaphor, you can say this for the Republicans this year: They stuck the landing. Like it or not.
1999 A. Collins Evel Knievel ix. 112 Proving..that Knievel was a motorcycle acrobat like no other, he managed to stick the landing..perfectly.
2008 Santa Fe New Mexican (Nexis) 14 Mar. (Pasatiempo Suppl.) 25 It [sc. the book] builds to a climax that relies a bit too much on coincidence for my taste, but despite some wobbling, Barlow sticks the landing.
2016 Washington Post (Nexis) 17 Aug. (Sports section) d5 Leyva was a study in body control on parallel bars and stuck his landing to finish second.
P13. to stick like a bur: see bur n. 1b; let that fly stick in the wall, don't let flies stick to your heels: see fly n.1 1e; let the cobbler stick to his last: see last n.1 2c; to stick the nut on: see nut n.1 12d; to stick one's oar in: see oar n. Phrases 1; to stick the pace: see pace n.1 Phrases 1c; to stick pins into: see pin n.1 Phrases 2c; to stick to the ribs: see rib n.1 Phrases 3; to be stuck in a time warp: see time warp n. 2; where the water sticks: see water n. Phrases 2j.

Phrasal verbs

PV1. With adverbs in specialized senses.Many of the intransitive uses below correspond to less colloquial phrasal verbs with stand (see stand v. Phrasal verbs 1). to stick around
intransitive. colloquial (originally North American). To remain in or near a place; to refrain from leaving.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > [verb (intransitive)] > remain as opposed to go
bidec893
yleaveOE
leaveOE
wonc1000
abideOE
worthOE
beliveOE
atstutte-nc1220
stuttea1225
atstuntc1230
astinta1250
beleavea1325
lasta1325
stounda1325
stinta1340
joukc1374
restaya1382
to leave over1394
liec1400
byec1425
onbidec1430
keep1560
stay1575
delay1655
to wait on1773
stop1801
to sit on1815
to hang around1830
to stick around1878
to sit tight1897
remain1912
stay-down1948
1878 Rep. Comm. Railroad Riots 543 in Legislative Documents Commonw. Pennsylvania 5 I was one of the fellows that was sticking around.
1891 W. O. Stoddard Little Smoke xxxii. 254 I'm going to stick around with the army till there's something done.
1915 S. Lewis Trail of Hawk iii. 28 Stick around, son, and sit in any time, and I'll learn you some pool.
1943 P. Cheyney You can always Duck vi. 99 ‘I'm givin' no guarantees,’ I tell her. ‘But maybe I'll stick around. We'll see. So long, honey.’
1979 A. Fox Threat Warning Red xvi. 248 You'll be asked to come over here next week..and you'll have to stick around for a day or two.
2013 Cricketer Nov. 29/2 I did wonder about blokes who didn't see the value in sticking around for a chat and a laugh.
 to stick away
1. transitive. colloquial. To put or keep (something) in a place that is obscure or out of sight; to set aside or store away, esp. for safe keeping or future use.
ΚΠ
1841 New World 14 Aug. 109/3 We have seen a little gem stuck away in a shady corner [of an exhibition], and a great..piece of paste set in a light which only served to expose its..feeble character.
1872 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 417/2 I'd like you to have my Latin grammar here... You might stick it away in a bookcase, for the sake of old times.
1921 Amer. Building Assoc. News Feb. 95 Even now, when I'm in my own store, I stick away a little twenty once a month.
1994 Canad. Living May 90/1 What parent hasn't tacked that first creation on the fridge until the edges curled and then quietly stuck it away in a drawer?
2008 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 30 Oct. a29/2 ‘A lot of..hospitals have integrative medicine, but it's kind of stuck away in the basement,’ said Dr. Merrell.
†2. transitive. South African. To hide (something) away. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > hide, conceal [verb (transitive)]
heeleOE
forhelec888
i-hedec888
dernc893
hidec897
wryOE
behelec1000
behidec1000
bewryc1000
forhidec1000
overheleOE
hilla1250
fealc1325
cover1340
forcover1382
blinda1400
hulsterc1400
overclosec1400
concealc1425
shroud1426
blend1430
close1430
shadow1436
obumber?1440
mufflea1450
alaynec1450
mew?c1450
purloin1461
to keep close?1471
oversilec1478
bewrap1481
supprime1490
occulta1500
silec1500
smoor1513
shadec1530
skleir1532
oppressa1538
hudder-mudder1544
pretex1548
lap?c1550
absconce1570
to steek away1575
couch1577
recondite1578
huddle1581
mew1581
enshrine1582
enshroud1582
mask1582
veil1582
abscondc1586
smotherc1592
blot1593
sheathe1594
immask1595
secret1595
bemist1598
palliate1598
hoodwinka1600
overmaska1600
hugger1600
obscure1600
upwrap1600
undisclose1601
disguise1605
screen1611
underfold1612
huke1613
eclipsea1616
encavea1616
ensconcea1616
obscurify1622
cloud1623
inmewa1625
beclouda1631
pretext1634
covert1647
sconce1652
tapisa1660
shun1661
sneak1701
overlay1719
secrete1741
blank1764
submerge1796
slur1813
wrap1817
buttress1820
stifle1820
disidentify1845
to stick away1900
1900 B. M. Hicks Cape as I found It vi. 109 They played at sticking away (hiding) an egg.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 475 Stick away, To, a common South African expression meaning to hide an object or to get into hiding oneself.
3. transitive. Sport (esp. Association Football). To hit or strike (a ball) into the required place, esp. into the net; (also) to score (a goal, etc.). Often with it as object.Cf. to put away 5a at put v. Phrasal verbs 1.
ΚΠ
1973 Times 14 May 8/6 Close went for the hook, and although he did not quite middle the ball stuck it away safely amid even louder cheering.
1979 K. Jones How to play Soccer xi. 58 If Eusebio hadn't tried to burst the net, if he'd just stuck the ball away as he should have done, then we wouldn't have won.
1981 Observer 22 Feb. 27 Scarcely anyone in Britain has been sticking it away more readily that Steve Archibald over the past three seasons.
1996 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Nexis) 1 June 55 He reckons he could stick the goals away in the sport [sc. shinty] just as successfully as he's done in football.
2015 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 21 May (Sport section) 55 He has the ability to change games with his goals... Give him a decent chance and he'll stick it away.
 to stick down
†1. transitive. To plant (a spear, stake, etc.) by driving its point into the ground. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > make fast [verb (transitive)] > fasten or fix > in something > by thrusting in its point
pitchc1275
stickc1300
steeka1387
to stick down1555
1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions ix. sig. N.i Thei..sticke doune their iauelines and speares aboute him [L. hastis..defixis], and with stickes laied ouer from one to another, frame as it ware a Cielyng.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades vi. 111 His iaueline right he sticketh down with words ful curteously, And friendly cheere he thus begins.
1609 J. Skene tr. Stat. William in Regiam Majestatem c. 27. 7 Bot that battell may be swa remitted: that is, quhen they haue sticken downe their speres; the defender may grant the fault.
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions Let. Marlborough 80 If..the Lord Mayor appoint his Water-Bailiff..to see a Stake stuck down, beyond which the Repairers of the Wharf shall not proceed.
1766 Compl. Farmer at Surveying It is good that he..carry in his hand a bundle of rods, to stick down one at the end of the chain.
1859 Amer. Cotton Planter Aug. 237/1 We stick down a long cane by the side of the plumb for a guide stake.
2. transitive. To fix (something) securely to a surface or object with an adhesive.
ΚΠ
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. iii. 70 The letter was..stuck down with a blob of ink.
1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings I. xix. 284 He put the bank-note in [the letter], wet the gum, and stuck it down.
1962 G. S. H. Lock Introd. Exper. Stress Anal. § iv. 44 Special care should be taken to see that the edges of the backing are stuck down.
2006 Get Creative Apr. 47/3 Stick down silver rick rack attaching at the back of the silver card.
 to stick in
1. transitive. To plant (a tree). Now rare.In later use only with reference to quot. 1818.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [verb (transitive)] > plant tree
to stick in1818
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian vii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 194 Jock, when ye hae naething else to do, ye may be aye sticking in a tree.
1946 Chambers's Jrnl. Aug. 428/2 The forestry of the future must not be merely a case of sticking in trees and believing that they 'll be growing while you are sleeping.
†2. intransitive. To remain obstinately in a position, role or office; to refuse to leave or resign. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1824 W. Cobbett Hist. Protestant Reformation x. §299 He was under Pitt the first time; Pitt went out, but he stuck in with Addington; Addington went out, but he stuck in again with Pitt second time.
1848 J. H. Newman Loss & Gain iii. iv. 321 If they were [honest], then, as the Puseyites are becoming Catholics, so we should see old Brownside and his clique becoming Unitarians. But they mean to stick in.
1894 H. Labouchere in Daily News 21 Apr. 5/6 I have had..a sufficient experience of governments to know how they stick in.
3. intransitive. Scottish. To do something with persistence or determination; to persevere, persist.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > persevere or persist [verb (intransitive)]
continuec1340
perseverec1380
stick1447
to rub on1469
to stick unto ——1529
persist1531
to make it tougha1549
whilea1617
subsist1632
to rub along1668
let the world rub1677
dog1692
wade1714
to stem one's course1826
to stick in1853
to hang on1860
to worry along1871
to stay the course1885
slug1943
to slug it out1943
to bash on1950
to soldier on1954
to keep on trucking1972
1853 J. Shaw Rep. Cases High & Circuit Courts Scotl., 1848–52 212 He said when he went forward, ‘stick in Vance’.
1887 A. S. Swan Gates of Eden iv. 48 Yer wark's honest..an' if ye stick in, ye're bound to dae weel.
1895 W. C. Fraser Whaups of Durley vi. 73 Stick in wi' your lessons.
1928 W. C. Fraser Yelpin' Stane 141 Look nebby. If ye dinny stick in, I'll no let ye come back.
c1950 R. McMillan All in Good Faith ii. ii, in Sc. People's Theatre (Assoc. Sc. Lit. Stud.) (2008) 322 Well Ah better move, Ah told this wife tae expect me the night. Stick in, Allan boy.
2002 Guardian 18 Jan. 19/3 My dad encourages diners with the words, ‘Stick in till ye stick oot!’
2015 Press & Jrnl. (Aberdeen) (Nexis) 24 Aug. 8 We were missing a few players and others were playing out of position, but we stuck in and beat another good team.
4. transitive (in passive). colloquial (originally New Zealand). to get stuck in: to begin something with enthusiasm or determination; to set to work vigorously or determinedly; to get down to it. Often in imperative, esp. as an invitation to begin eating.rare in North American use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > beginning action or activity > begin action or activity [verb (intransitive)] > resolutely or energetically
to go to it1490
busklea1535
settle1576
to lay on1587
to put in (also get into) one's gearsa1658
to put (occasionally lay, set) one's shoulder to the wheel1678
yark1721
to get going1822
to pitch in1835
to roll up one's sleeves1838
square1849
to clap on1850
to wire in (also away)1864
to dig in1884
hunker1903
tie into1904
to get cracking1937
to get stuck in1938
to get weaving1942
to get it on1954
the world > action or operation > undertaking > beginning action or activity > begin or enter upon (an action) [verb (transitive)] > begin an action or fall to doing something > resolutely or vigorously
to sit in1736
strap1823
to get down1826
tackle1841
to buckle down (to)1865
to bite on1904
to wade into1904
to get stuck into1910
to get one's teeth into1935
to sink one's teeth into1935
to get stuck in1938
to get to grips with1947
1938 Dunstan (N.Z.) Times 1 Aug. ‘Come on,’ he shouted, ‘let's get stuck in.’ So Johnny Lotz, the captain [of the rugby team], turned to him and said quietly: ‘If you feel like getting stuck in, you'd better start on me first.’
1947 D. M. Davin For Rest of Lives 253 And for Christ's sake, remember, till the time we get to the wadi and get stuck in, absolute silence.
1961 B. Crump Hang on a Minute Mate 158 Mrs Wagner brought in two plates of food..and told them to get stuck in.
1971 Where Sept. 260/2 He flung out his arms like a Petticoat Lane trader, and got stuck in. In five minutes he had an audience.
1992 S. Berkoff Coriolanus in Deutschland 93 The woman on my right has ordered several strips of oily, gravied steak and gets stuck in.
2010 P. O'Grady Devil rides Out vi. 110 I've..watched her roll her sleeves and get stuck in when we were short-staffed.
† to stick off
1. intransitive. To be shown to advantage; to shine. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > shine [verb (intransitive)]
shinec725
brighteOE
blika1000
lightOE
shimmera1100
starec1225
lightena1382
blikena1400
glowa1400
sheenc1420
flourish1587
to stick off1604
lamp1609
skyre1677
gloze1820
moon1885
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet v. ii. 203 Ile be your foile Laertes, in mine ignorance Your skill shall like a starre i' th darkest night Stick fiery of indeed. View more context for this quotation
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients iii. 280 When one or other inlightned part of the picture becommeth more vigorously bright, by making that which before was esteemed lightsome enough, serve for a shadow to what wee would have sticke off more than the enlightned part it selfe.
2. transitive. To show (something) to advantage; to set off. Obsolete.Recorded only in the writings of George Chapman.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautify [verb (transitive)] > be becoming to or set off
becomec1314
commend1535
advancea1555
comely1573
outseta1578
countenance?1578
to set out1586
to stick off1613
to set offa1616
suit1655
to put off1700
advantage1748
approve1849
flatter1904
society > communication > manifestation > [verb (intransitive)] > strikingly
shinec1340
to stand fortha1425
to stick out1612
to stick off1613
to stand offa1616
stare1645
glare1712
to stand out1824
to burn out, forth1834
society > communication > manifestation > [verb (transitive)] > strikingly
to set out1577
illustrate1603
to stick off1613
signalize1624
to draw out1855
spotlight1907
highlight1922
limelight1927
1613 G. Chapman Memorable Maske Inns of Court sig. A3 The humble variety whereof [i.e. of the torchbearers' habits], stucke off the more amplie, the Maskers high beauties.
?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses (new ed.) xxiii. 354 A greater glory, then if wrought alone; Both being stuck off, by eithers mixtion.
 to stick out
I. To (cause to) protrude.
1. intransitive.
a. To jut out, project, protrude. Cf. sense 30.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > project or be prominent [verb (intransitive)]
tootc897
shootc1000
to come outOE
abuta1250
to stand outc1330
steek?c1335
risea1398
jutty14..
proferc1400
strutc1405
to stick upa1500
issuec1515
butt1523
to stick outc1540
jut1565
to run out1565
jet1593
gag1599
poke1599
proke1600
boke1601
prosiliate1601
relish1611
shoulder1611
to stand offa1616
protrude1704
push1710
projecta1712
protend1726
outstand1755
shove1850
outjut1851
extrude1852
bracket1855
to corbel out1861
to set out1892
pier1951
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 59 Stokyn ene out stepe with a streight loke.
1542 N. Udall in tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 142 (note) He sawe an elfishe manne, with a long croked haukes nose, & a forehedde or brough with hornes stickyng out.
1565 A. Golding tr. Ovid Fyrst Fower Bks. Metamorphosis iii. f. 2 The Iaueling steale that sticked out.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iii. x. 86 Nose, eares, or any other part of the bodie sticking out.
1679 T. Shadwell True Widow i. 4 He changed his Taylor twice, because his Shoulder-Bone sticks out.
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 131 Sculpture..wherein the Figure sticks out from the Plain whereon it is Engraven,..is call'd..Bas-relief.
1740 S. Richardson Pamela I. xxxi. 221 His Throat sticking out like a Wen.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 230 In which wire is a pointed short pin, sticking out horizontally.
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 458/1 Long straight points that stick out from the edge of the Cordonnet.
1886 J. K. Jerome Idle Thoughts 5 What did it matter to him if his toes did stick out of his boots?
1915 A. D. Gillespie Let. 5 June in Lett. from Flanders (1916) 183 Except for the sentries, you could see nothing except boots sticking out from the dug-outs.
1987 Sunday Times 7 June 63/1 A carving knife sticks out of his chest and a patina of dried blood covers the sheets.
2002 E. Hartmann Truth about Fire vii. 72 He looked harmless enough, short and paunchy with a buck-teethy smile and ears that stuck out too much.
b. To be prominent or conspicuous; to stand out.See also to stick out like a sore thumb at sore adj.1 9e, to stick out a mile at mile n.1 Phrases 1f.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > [verb (intransitive)] > strikingly
shinec1340
to stand fortha1425
to stick out1612
to stick off1613
to stand offa1616
stare1645
glare1712
to stand out1824
to burn out, forth1834
1612 B. Jonson Alchemist To Rdr. sig. A3 These men..may some time happen on some thing that is good, and great... It sticks out perhaps, and is more eminent, because all is sordide, and vile about it. View more context for this quotation
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 15 Though we cannot mount up to the highest top of perfection, yet it is something for all that to sticke out above the rest in the second and third place.
1885 Wairarapa (N.Z.) Daily 30 Dec. I know the consequence, I can see it sticking out a mile!
1892 Evening News (Sydney) 10 May 7/5 Nothing can be clearer than this; it sticks out like a bumble bee on a bald man's head.
1902 Daily Chron. 9 Dec. 3/3 ‘Of her’ is all very well now and then, but when it occurs too often it ‘sticks out’, as Mr. Henry James would say.
1944 L. MacNeice Christopher Columbus 16 The grease-paint voice will stick out all the more when there is no real grease-paint to look at.
1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke i. 16 You couldn't miss him. He stuck out like a lighthouse.
1987 B. MacLaverty Great Profundo (1989) 138 In drinking to forget he constantly remembered. He knew there were more important and awful things which had happened to him but one in particular stuck out.
2001 Top of Pops Mag. Sept. 34/2 There's been no pop recently about which you think wow, that's totally different. It's not all mega-samey but nothing really sticks out.
2006 Time Out N.Y. 25 May 22/1 A lanky ponytailed fellow in a wife-beater stuck out badly from his bandmates.
2. transitive.
a. To cause to protrude; to thrust out, extend (esp. one's head, hand, or other body part). Cf. sense 31.Also in various figurative phrases as to stick one's neck out at neck n.1 Phrases 15, to stick out one's chin at Phrases 8, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action or fact of stretching body > stretch [verb (transitive)] > specific part of body
reacheOE
stretcha1000
to-spreada1000
warpa1225
spreada1275
putc1390
straightc1400
to lay forthc1420
outstretcha1425
tillc1540
extend1611
to rax out1622
to stick out1663
overreach1890
1663 G. Harvey Archelogia Philosophica Nova II. ii. iii. 254 Supposing that those steams did cease..nevertheless would a long piece of Steel, insisting lightly upon a sustaining immoveable point be caused to stick out its Poles North and South.
c1720 Duke of Montagu in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Duke of Buccleuch (1899) I. 367 in Parl. Papers (C. 9244) XLVI. 1 The women..with their mantoes stuck out behind.
1779 S. J. Pratt Tutor of Truth I. xliv. 163 He does nothing but treat and vance..and go backwards and forwards, sticking out his rump, and craning his fine, thin, long, meagre, nine-haired head.
1854 E. E. Stuart Let. 22 May in R. Stuart et al. Stuart Lett. (1961) II. 610 She would pull up her dress & stick out her Shoes, & crow, & seemed to enter fully into our feelings.
1887 E. E. Money Little Dutch Maiden (1888) 331 He stuck out his paw, and said Good-bye.
1922 E. Paul Indelible i. 61 She showed me the French kiss where you stick your tongue out, but I did n't like it.
1961 I. Jefferies It wasn't Me! x. 132 He stuck out his hand and I shook it.
1990 J. Faley Up Oor Close (2000) Pref. 11 She would hear us coming up the stair and stick her head out: ‘Would ye like a wee toffee apple? There ye are, dear.’
2011 E. De Visser Interlinked iii. 112 It was always exciting to see them stick out those black little feel horns and spread them out like little fans.
†b. Nautical. To let or feed out (an anchor cable). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > berth, moor, or anchor (a ship) [verb (transitive)] > anchor (a ship) > slacken off or shorten (cable)
to stick out1770
to shorten in1803
1770 ‘T. Meanwell’ Voy. through Hell 36 Bear a-hand, bear a-hand there, hook the cat—Ay, ay—Hawl tort there, stick out the cable below there—Ay, ay.
1815 W. Burney Falconer's New Universal Dict. Marine (rev. ed.) Stick out the Cable! the order to slacken and push it out at the hawse-hole, when the anchor is hauling up to the cat-head.
1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log II. i. 21 Stick out the warp, let her swing to her anchor.
1887 G. B. Goode & J. W. Collins Fisheries U.S.: Fishermen 133 If the proper depth is obtained the orders are given..Pay away (or ‘stick out’) the cable; while this is being done by part of the crew the next order is..Furl the jib.
II. To persist in a course of action.
3. intransitive.
a. To continue to resist; to hold out.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > be constant or steadfast [verb (intransitive)] > endure without giving way
bearOE
sustaina1382
dreec1400
to bear, hold tack1580
to stick out1677
to tough it (out)1830
to keep (carry, have) a stiff upper lip1837
to take it (or life) on the chin1928
to hang in1969
the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > oppose [verb (intransitive)] > resist > resist resolutely
i-standOE
atstand?c1225
to hold out rubbers1573
to stand out1574
to hold out1585
stay1593
to stand one's ground1600
to stick out1677
to stand brush1794
1677 E. Ravenscroft Scaramouch iii. i. 42 Come, Sir, ne'r stick out for so small a matter; don't go to intangle your self in Law: give it, give it, to save the trouble of going to Law.
1682 London Gaz. No. 1741/3 When the design..is made publick, several others will contribute, and none..who wish well to the Town will stick out.
1725 W. Berriman Hist. Acct. Controv. Church vi. 286 Theodorit himself, who stuck out for many years, did yet at last consent to it in the council of Chalcedon.
1886 R. L. Stevenson Strange Case Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde 8 He would have clearly liked to stick out; but..at last he struck.
1904 N.Z. Parl. Deb. 129 381/2 I should be very glad it the Minister would be resolute enough to stick out against the Premier.
1970 Austral. Women's Weekly 5 Aug. 64/3 Apparently my grandmother set out to smash the romance, and Aunt Amanda didn't have the gumption to stick out against her.
1985 R. Blake Decline of Power 1915–64 vi. 106 On the merits of the debt settlement he was right. Countries which stuck out longer got better terms.
†b. To go on strike; to continue to strike. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1792 W. Dawson Diary 5 Nov. in J. Everett Mem. William Dawson (1842) (ed. 2) ii. 27 At Aberford Statute the colliers stuck out.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil III. vi. viii. 242 As long as you can give us money, I don't care..how long we stick out.
1894 Coal Trade Jrnl. 14 Nov. 828/2 The miners say that they cannot live decently on a further reduction and will stick out against it if it is forced.
1909 J. Galsworthy Strife i, in Plays 196 Who'd have supposed the men were going to stick out like this.
1921 Industr. Pioneer Aug. 12/2 The sea workers..stuck out for eight weeks while their union officials hobnobbed with legislators.
†4. transitive. colloquial.
a. With clause as object. To persist in asserting, to maintain. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1815 W. B. Heweston Hist. N. Bonaparte & Wars of Europe II. lxxv. 131 The articles..were, however, very much in favour of the French, who stuck out, that the Ligurian government should not be interfered with.
1877 S. Carolina 1876: Testimony Denial Elective Franchise I. 1071 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (44th Congr., 2nd Session: Senate Misc. Doc. 48) VI I stuck out that way that any man entered I would shoot, by which not one didn't enter the store at all, but they stuck out if I didn't come out they would tear the house down.
1894 Chambers's Jrnl. 3 Mar. 143/1 But she stuck out she couldn't think of anywhere to go.
1904 R. Hichens Woman with Fan iii. 33 Do you stick out that Carey didn't love you?
1915 F. M. Hueffer Good Soldier iv. i. 224 That checked Florence a bit; but she fell back upon her ‘heart’ and stuck out that she had merely been conversing with Edward.
b. With double object. To insist (that something is the case) to (a person). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > insistence or persistence > insist or persist [verb (transitive)]
to countenance outa1529
to face down (also out)1530
to stand to ——1551
to stand upon it1590
to stand in ——1594
to stand out1653
to stick out1885
sledgehammer1976
1885 Tinsley's Mag. Oct. 331 He..stuck me out that if only he could manage to eat a pound of pickled pork and half a pound of plum pudding in that position as how his fortune'd be made.
1910 A. Bennett Clayhanger i. vii. 49 She would not hear a word about the toast being a little hard... Maggie..‘stuck her out’ that the toast was in fact hard.
1916 A. Bennett Lion's Share vii. 53 I knew he was going to be ill when I left him in the cabin, but he stuck me out he wasn't.
1925 Traralgon (Victoria) Rec. 17 Apr. 6/4 Our butcher wanted to stick me out that I give 'im a bad 'alf crown yesterday.
5. transitive. colloquial. To put up with or persevere with (something difficult or disagreeable), esp. so as to see it through to the end. Chiefly in to stick it out. Cf. sense 20b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > persevere or persist in [verb (transitive)]
to stand in ——a1382
maintainc1385
willc1400
to stand fortha1425
to stick to ——1525
to tug out1631
worry1727
to stick out1833
to stick at ——1845
slog1846
stay1956
to chase up1958
1833 S. Smith Life & Writings Major Jack Downing xlii. 164 We stuck it out most of the evening, till we found out how it was going, and then we cleared out.
1863 Let. 9 May in N. Carolina Standard 3 June 2 Many others from a more oily State slipped to the rear, and left the ‘Tar Heels’ to stick it out.
1882 ‘M. Twain’ Let. 17 May (1917) I. 419 I have promised Osgood, and must stick it out.
1901 Washington Post 22 Sept. 8/5 When the crowds are missing the few that stick out the season are more or less indifferent as to the outcome.
1916 E. W. Hamilton First Seven Div. 259 By this method, companies, and sometimes whole battalions, which had stuck out the shell-fire, were overwhelmed and annihilated.
1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. iii. ii. 509 If you went, I'm durned sure I couldn't stick it out another week.
1963 Ebony Oct. 81/2 Many EE [= Education Employment] students who have stuck out the 10 month period have bagged full time jobs.
2011 Daily Tel. 25 July 23/4 Mothers are usually told they have just to stick it out—not least because of fears that anti-sickness medication may harm the baby.
6. intransitive. To persist in one's demand for.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > demand > insistently
exagite1623
to stick out1834
1834 Metropolitan Dec. sig. Y3v We bought a good allowance [of pork] for a shilling, and after sticking out for a greater proportion of mustard than the woman said we were entitled to, and some salt, we wrapped it up in a piece of paper.
1902 Cornhill Mag. July 55 Th' old leech was only sticking out for every brass farthing he could get.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 28 Dec. 2/1 It is to be hoped that when the new boundary is determined we shall ‘stick out’ (if the expression be permitted) for the whole of Ruwenzori.
1918 D. Haig Diary 7 June in War Diaries & Lett. 1914–18 (2005) 420 Foch stuck out for full powers as Generalissimo to order troops of any nationality wherever he thought fit.
1955 P. H. Gulliver Family Herds iii. 62 He had received his due, but since the bridewealth was a large one he obviously felt he could stick out for more.
2010 Scunthorpe Evening Tel. (Nexis) 6 July 4 They are also sticking out for a shorter working week and extended holidays in line with Corus steelworkers in Holland.
7. intransitive. With for: to stand up for, to champion; to insist on.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > resolution or determination > be determined on [verb]
willa1387
set1390
to be bentc1400
to stand on?1440
to sit fast upon (something)1565
consist1588
to stick out1837
1837 New Sporting Mag. June 366 The younkers..held that nothing could be done except with a pack [of fox-hounds] of pure English blood. The Nestors of the chase talked of good old times, and stuck out for the old blood.
1860 Frank Leslie's Monthly July 2/2 But what do old ladies care for pretty faces? They stick out for noble descents—the fine rich scrofulous old English blood.
1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings III. ix. 133 Nobody sticks out for politeness more than Carrick.
1916 J. Buchan Power-house vi. 146 Your pals played you a pretty low trick, and that was why I stuck out for you.
2000 Essex Jrnl. 35 2/1 We have—or so we are told by all but the few pedants who stick out for accuracy in these things—a new millennium to celebrate.
 to stick through
transitive. To pierce (a person or thing) all the way through (with a pointed object).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > transfix
through-driveOE
through-nimc1275
stickc1330
through-piercec1330
to stick througha1382
preenc1390
spitc1430
thirlc1450
broacha1470
prickc1475
to stick up1528
transfix1590
fix1638
bestick1667
impalea1678
spiculate1835
skewer1837
to strike through1893
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 2 Kings ii. 23 Abnerr þe spere turned awei smoot hym in þe shere, & stikede hym þurȝ [L. eum..transfodit] & he is dead.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 207 Iulius come to þe Capitoil, and was i-stiked þoruȝ [L. confossus] and..deyde.
1550 W. Lynne tr. J. Carion Thre Bks. Cronicles iii. f. cxcvv Then dyd Artaxerxes the Persian stick through and slaye Artabanus the last kyng of the Parthians.
1580 J. Stow Chrons. of Eng. 1088 I woulde sticke thee throughe with my Dagger.
1663 R. Boyle Some Considerations Usefulnesse Exper. Nat. Philos. i. 23 The Body to be preserv'd (being, if that be needful, stuck through with a Pin) must be gently plung'd into it.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 7. ⁋17 We thought we saw the Figure of a Man stuck through with a Sword.
1773 D. Barrington tr. King Ælfred Anglo-Saxon Version iii. ix. 105 Darius marched with 600,000 men, and he was found on the way stuck through with spears [OE mid sperum tosticad], and yet half quick.
1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey II. 16 The shepherd was despatched in quest of snow.., and soon returned with a huge lump of it, several pounds' weight, which he carried over his shoulder, stuck through with a pole.
1876 Cape Monthly Mag. Aug. 98 There are people who think they could examine a butterfly accurately if they could stick it through with a needle upon paper.
1904 Pall Mall Mag. Mar. 407/1 They twist the plaits into a sort of double knot on the nape of the neck, and stick it through with an amber pin.
1943 Bowie (Texas) News 23 July 4/4 Wasn't Bob a beauty as he lay there like a frog stuck through with a wooden dagger?
2014 J. Ellison Small Indiscretion (2016) 216 Her cheekbones like small round apples, her gray hair plunked haphazardly into a bun and stuck through with chopsticks.
 to stick together
1. intransitive. Of two or more people or (occasionally) animals: to remain in a group, to keep together; (in extended use) to remain loyal to one another, to present a united front. colloquial in later use.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > associate for common purpose [verb (intransitive)]
jousta1325
ally?a1400
joinc1400
associe1441
confederc1460
to stick together1525
band1530
to join forces1560
colleaguec1565
alliance1569
to enter league1578
unite1579
interleague1590
confederate1591
to join hands1598
combine1608
injointa1616
combinda1626
bandy1633
comply1646
federate1648
leaguea1649
associate1653
coalesce1657
to understand each other1663
sociate1688
to row in the same (also in one) boat1787
rendezvous1817
to make common cause (with)1845
to sing the same song1846
cahoot1857
to gang up1910
jungle1922
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. cxlviii. f. clxiii Certayne knyghtes and squyers drewe togyther..and promysed eche other to stycke togyther lyke bretherne.
1560 Bp. J. Pilkington Aggeus the Prophete sig. Eij To teach vs..that they should loue & sticke together like brethren.
?1606 M. Drayton To Camber-Britans in Poemes Lyrick & Pastorall sig. C6v None from his death now starts, but..like true English harts, stuck close together.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. iv. 67 Like true, inseparable, faithfull loues, Sticking together in calamitie. View more context for this quotation
1680 Sir J. Scot in Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1913) 3rd Ser. VI. 576 Let us..sticke togither and positively refuse and..it shall not carry.
1735 J. Swift Humble Addr. to Parl. in Wks. IV. 232 Nature hath instructed even a Brood of Goslings to stick together while the Kite is hovering over their Heads.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. iii. 46 While we live we will stick together: one fate shall belong to us all.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island i. vi. 52 Jim and I shall stick together in the meanwhile.
1908 Magnet 1 1 The Remove don't like you now, but we'll stick together, and bring them round.
1955 S. J. Perelman in New Yorker 5 Mar. 29/1 It just proved that a few spunky people could trounce a big, soulless corporation if they stuck together.
1972 M. Glenny tr. A. Solzhenitsyn August 1914 xi. 108 The younger General Staffers of recent vintage all knew each other and stuck together like members of a secret order.
2012 Z. Smith NW (2013) 317 Listen, me and my girls stick together. That's all you need to know. They got my back. I've got theirs.
2.
a. intransitive. Of two or more things: to adhere or cling to one another.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > be or become joined together [verb (intransitive)] > be or become closely, intimately, or permanently joined > cohere
to hold togetherc1330
to hang togetherc1400
gluec1420
to stick together1535
cohere1616
cement1660
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Nahum i. B Like as the thornes that sticke together, and as the drye strawe, so shal the dronckardes be consumed together.
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) sig. Ccivv Good counsell and affection agre like iron and clay, which by no meanes can be brought to sticke together.
1677 G. Miege New Dict. French & Eng. ii. sig. Aaa2v/2 To stick together like burs.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. iii. 119/1 Bake, is when Letters stick together in distributing.
1718 I. Newton Opticks (ed. 2) iii. i. 365 How such very hard Particles..can stick together..so firmly.
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 78 When rollers are tacky or stick together they are said to lug.
1898 Agric. Jrnl. (Dept. Agric. Cape Good Hope) 3 Feb. 145 If the tobacco is..quite moist, the bulks have to be turned over frequently in order..to shake out the leaves which would otherwise stick together.
1917 F. S. Henry Printing for School & Shop xiv. 237 Never use enameled paper for slipsheets, or the sheets will stick together.
1988 J. Trefil Dark Side of Universe iii. 49 For a brief period, protons and neutrons collided with each other and stuck together, forming the light nuclei.
2015 Daily Tel. 17 Feb. 10/3 Alzheimer's develops when proteins in the brain malfunction and stick together to become fibres.
b. transitive. To join (two or more things) together (with or by some substance or means); to cause (a thing) to adhere or cling to another or others. Frequently in passive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > join (together) [verb (transitive)] > join closely, intimately, or permanently > cause to cohere
belimeOE
to hold togethera1225
glue13..
cement1340
conglutinate1546
agglutinate1586
solder1601
coagment1603
glutinate1604
coagmentate1615
concement1628
to stick together1634
1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. xxv. xviii. 993 The skinnes of..frogges, laid upon it, and stucke together with glew.
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. I. ii. 82 Fourteen or fifteen pieces of green wax taper, stuck together in a square, would make a strong fire.
1836 Mechanics' Mag. 19 Mar. 493/2 A coat formed of two pieces of cloth stuck together by an India-rubber cement.
1891 J. P. Mahaffy Flinders Petrie Papyri 9 The coffins were made of layers of papyrus..stuck together so as to form a thick carton.
1921 Sunday Times (Perth, W. Austral.) 1 May 20/5 Anzac Biscuits... When cold stick together with raspberry jam.
1955 Sci. News Let. 17 Sept. 183/3 The plugs [in the arteries]..are made up of blood platelets stuck together.
1998 N. Lawson How to Eat (1999) 502 With the pink birthday cake I made two full-size ones... and stuck them together with strawberry butter-cream.
2010 Observer 28 Mar. (Kids Suppl.) 16/1 The board looks like two bodyboards stuck together which means that a parent can take to the waves alongside a child.
 to stick up
†1. transitive. To pull in or gather up (a garment). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > shortness > make short(er) [verb (transitive)] > by tucking up
to stick upc1330
tuckc1440
uptucka1529
c1330 (?c1300) Amis & Amiloun (Auch.) (1937) 988 (MED) He stiked vp his lappes þo; In his way he gan to go.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 475 Stykkyn, or tukkyn vp cloþys, suffarcino,..succingo.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 504 Tukkyn vp, or stykkyn vp, suffarcino.
2. intransitive. To stand out vertically from a surface; to stand on end.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > horripilation > [verb (intransitive)]
bristle1480
to stick upa1500
to stand or start widdershins1513
upstart1513
starta1522
stare?1523
to start up1553
rousea1616
horripilate1623
stiver1790
uprise1827
upstare1886
the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > project or be prominent [verb (intransitive)]
tootc897
shootc1000
to come outOE
abuta1250
to stand outc1330
steek?c1335
risea1398
jutty14..
proferc1400
strutc1405
to stick upa1500
issuec1515
butt1523
to stick outc1540
jut1565
to run out1565
jet1593
gag1599
poke1599
proke1600
boke1601
prosiliate1601
relish1611
shoulder1611
to stand offa1616
protrude1704
push1710
projecta1712
protend1726
outstand1755
shove1850
outjut1851
extrude1852
bracket1855
to corbel out1861
to set out1892
pier1951
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 230 (MED) Who-so hath the browes stikkynge vp anent the noose into the templis in euery syde, bene foolis..tho wyche bene a-dred haue hare lokkis stickynge vp.
1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) vi. f. 74 The neckes of them doe seeme cut off, the ridgebone of their backe stickes vp of colour greene.
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. I Goshawke goes in a shag-ruffe band, with a face sticking vp in't, which showes like an agget set in a crampe ring.
1657 J. Rowland tr. J. Johnstone Hist. Wonderful Things of Nature ix. xvii. 300 When the South winds blow, their hair sticks up; but when the wind is in the North they fall so flat, that you would think they had none.
1762 London Chron. 29 June 3/2 It [sc. a fishing rod] stuck up in the mud by the side of her.
1861 Amer. Agriculturist Jan. 15/3 Is it any wonder that cattle become diseased under such treatment, that the ribs stick out, and the hair sticks up, and the crows scent their prey?
1902 V. Jacob Sheep-stealers xi. 115 The toll-gate..had not yet been re-erected, and the bare posts stuck dismally up at the wayside.
1993 R. Doyle Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (1994) 142 All we wanted to do was look at his tail, that was all. It was sticking up in the air.
2013 H. Black Doll Bones (2015) vi. 76 The hairs on the back of his neck stuck up, tickling his skin and making him shiver.
3. transitive.
a. To place (something) so that it stands vertically; to plant (a spear, stake, etc.) by driving its point into the ground. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > vertical position > make vertical [verb (transitive)] > make upright or erect
rearOE
rightOE
to set upa1225
raisea1250
upreara1300
risea1400
to dress upc1400
stand?a1425
upsetc1440
dress1490
to stick up1528
arrect1530
erect1557
prick1566
upright1590
mounta1616
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > transfix
through-driveOE
through-nimc1275
stickc1330
through-piercec1330
to stick througha1382
preenc1390
spitc1430
thirlc1450
broacha1470
prickc1475
to stick up1528
transfix1590
fix1638
bestick1667
impalea1678
spiculate1835
skewer1837
to strike through1893
1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. xxviiv To worshippe them with a Pater noster, an Ave & a Credo, or to sticke vp candels before their images.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. iii. 83 The skilful sheepheard pyld me certaine wands, And..stuck them vp before the fulsome Ewes. View more context for this quotation
1608 J. Dod & R. Cleaver Plaine Expos. Prov. ix–x. 78 His heart is not as..a stake that is sticked up, which euery hand may plucke awry.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. vii. xiii. 21 Stick up in the Vertical Line two Pins of equal height.
1755 Connoisseur No. 56. ⁋5 I likewise stuck up two Midsummer Men, one for myself, and one for him.
a1777 S. Foote Nabob (1778) ii. 36 [You] only wanted a wife to..stick up in your room, like any other fine piece of furniture?
1851 J. R. Lowell Unhappy Lot of Mr. Knott in Graham's Mag. Apr. 281/1 ‘The woodland I've attended to’; (He meant three pines stuck up askew).
1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 219 As most photographers never do anything but ‘stick it up’ and ‘fire away’.
1914 C. T. Ames Rep. Work done Holly Springs Branch Exper. Station 1913 11 Now let him move the rod up or down the hill until the target is again on a line with the cross wires in the telescope. When this point is found, stick up a stake.
1986 I. Wedde Symmes Hole (1988) 213 If she'd set nice and the breeze was good, he'd stick up the stub mast and the lug.
b. To impale (something, esp. a head or body) (on a stake or other pointed object). Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > transfix > on the point of an instrument
prickc1475
to stick up1535
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Chron. xi. B His weapens layed they in the house of their god, and styckte vp [Ger. hefften] his heade vpon the house of Dagon.
1657 N. Billingsley Brachy-martyrologia i. 3 With his keen javelin, spirit-haunted Saul Assay'd to stick up David 'gainst the wall.
1665 J. Brown Apologeticall Relation Sufferings Church Scotl. iv. 77 He..is beheaded & his head is stuck up upon the tolbooth of Edenburgh.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. viii. 123 We should then find that wretches, now stuck up for long tortures, lest luxury should feel a momentary pang, might..serve to sinew the state.
1837 S. Hack Let. Nov. in Austral. National Dict. (1988) at Stick up Cut from the hindquarters of a kangaroo and stuck up before the fire to roast, called in colonial phrase ‘stick ups’.
1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians I. 31 After it [sc. a scalp] has been stuck up upon a pole..and the warriors have danced around it for two or three weeks at intervals.
1891 Euroa (Victoria) Advertiser 5 June Slices of the meat were stuck up on ramrods and were soon frizzling before the fire.
1962 M. Scammell tr. K. Fedin Cities & Years 80 Disheveled, battered human heads stuck up on iron rods.
1997 A. Warner These Demented Lands 44 He..produced a crab apple from his biker jacket and stuck it up onto an end spike of the antler horns.
4. transitive. To fix (a sign, bill, notice, etc.) to a wall, post, etc.; to post, put up.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > publishing or spreading by leaflets or notices > [verb (transitive)] > publish by placard, notice, or bill > put up a placard, notice, or bill
stickc1425
to set upc1540
to stick up1562
post1647
to put up1693
poster1938
1562 A. Golding tr. Briefe Treat. Burnynge Bucer & Phagius sig. E.4 Thys Cytacion, Uincent of Noally theyr common Notary..caused to be stucked vp in places conueniente.
1678 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 426 Programma stuck up in every College hall under the vicechancellor's hand that no scholar abuse the soldiers.
1703 Mirth & Wisdom 32 Even amidst this Croud of Reformers, there are Bills stuck up here and there, to encourage Debauchery.
a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) iii. 94 The Piece..was..reprinted..on a Broadside to be stuck up in Houses.
1821 Act 1 & 2 Geo. IV c. 44 § 65 The Company..shall..affix and stick up..upon every Stop-gate..an Account or List of the several Rates of Tonnage.
1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt II. xxviii. 197 You should be on the look-out when Debarry's side have stuck up fresh bills, and go and paste yours over them.
1922 P. S. O'Hegarty Short Mem. Terence MacSwiney v. 17 Many a night they spent in sticking up bills and posters on hoardings and on walls and on doors.
1937 Aiken (S. Carolina) Standard & Rev. 25 June 4/3 A laundryman stuck up a poster in yellow and purple and red, showing a heroic lion trainer.
2014 S. C. Robinson Bk. in Society iv. 120 Instead of sticking up posters in public places..businesses could send their messages directly into their potential customers' homes.
5. transitive.
a. To raise or thrust up (a part of the body); to put (one's head, hand, etc.) up.
ΚΠ
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 336 Hurple, to stick up the back, as cattle under a hedge in cold weather.
1853 M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer Homes of New World 110 Do not thousands of little dwarfs stick up their heads and fight with pins or pen-points?
1868 Athenæum 1 Aug. 142/3 He shrank up his snout, stuck up his bristles, and ran forward on all fours.
1938 A. I. Bezzerides Long Haul 93 ‘This to you—’ and he stuck up a thick forefinger.
1952 B. Mauldin Bill Mauldin in Korea 89 Last month you couldn't stick your head up without getting potted at.
2006 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 3 Nov. iii. 10/3 If you've never given your heart to Jesus and want to today, stick your hands up.
b. colloquial (originally U.S.). In the imperative phrase stick 'em up!: a command, typically given by an armed robber or police officer, to put both hands in the air in surrender or to preclude resistance. Cf. hands up int. 2, put 'em up at put v. Phrasal verbs 1.
ΚΠ
1903 Defiance (Ohio) Evening Express 1 May ‘Stick 'em up, Bill,’ quietly ordered Harper. ‘Wild Bill's’ hands went up.
1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock v. iii. 203 The children were scouting among the rubble with pistols from Woolworth's... Someone said in a high treble: ‘Stick 'em up.’
1960 R. Dahl Kiss Kiss 245 ‘Stick 'em up!’ the cops shouted. ‘Stick 'em up!’
1972 P. G. Wodehouse Pearls, Girls, & Monty Bodkin vi. 76 Sequences of spine-chilling drama, with people telling other people to stick 'em up and prodding them in the stomach with pistols.
2015 National Post (Canada) (Nexis) 26 Feb. Commission of crime used to be a uniquely human affair. Someone would hide in a dark alley and yell ‘stick 'em up!’
6. transitive. colloquial. To charge (something) (to an account); to obtain on credit. Now rare (Australian & New Zealand in later use).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > solvency > be solvent [verb (transitive)] > give credit to or for
trustc1450
trist?a1600
frist1637
to stick upa1790
a1790 H. T. Potter New Dict. Cant & Flash Langs. (1795) Hang, or stick it up, to leave a reckoning unpaid, to run a score.
1821 W. T. Moncrieff Tom & Jerry iii. iii. 63 Verry vell, two pound, vith a pickled cowcumber, and a pen'orth o'ketchup, to make some gravy of; and stick it up to the bell!—d'ye hear?
1858 Bell’s Life in Sydney 17 July 3 That flash customer contrived to stick it up at my place to the tune of three bob; he also borrowed a couple of bottles of ginger pop.
1865 Chambers's Jrnl. 11 Feb. 82/1 The means to get drunk, too, were obtained by all manner of contrivances. Some would ‘stick it up’ till Saturday night.
1871 Ovens & Murray Advertiser (Victoria) 21 Jan. 1/2 I do not keep an account at Kett's; I may sometimes stick up drinks at Kett's; I believed that Kett gave the beer away free.
1906 E. W. Elkington Adrift in N.Z. 244 We then ‘stick up’ provisions in the store.
1922 Northern Miner (Charters Towers, Queensland) 14 Oct. Get your photo published Bill, because someone may stick up a few drinks in your name.
1931 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 22 Dec. 21/2 I'll just have to stick it up at Fisher's and pay it off week by week.
7. intransitive. colloquial.
a. to stick up for: to support or defend (a person, cause, etc.). Cf. to stand up for at stand v. Phrasal verbs 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > support or encourage [verb (transitive)] > support or defend
to stand by ——OE
to speak for ——a1300
to stand for ——1384
maintainc1390
to stand up for1562
to stand out for?c1576
to stand to ——1582
patronize1595
stickle1632
to stick up for1792
championize1840
champion1844
to take up the cudgels1869
1792 Sentimental & Masonic Mag. Nov. 459 Rights of Woman—Ay—ay—women always stick up for absolute power, wherever they can.
1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 167 I have..always stuck up for my college and never telegraph'd the big wigs.
1837 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 20 I shall always like him the better for ‘sticking up’ for old New England.
1878 M. Oliphant in Littell's Living Age 23 Feb. 476/1 Stick up for yourself, and other folks will think of you according, that's what I say.
1918 D. Haig Let. 16 June in War Diaries & Lett. 1914–18 (2005) 421 I will give him every credit for being in a very difficult situation, and will stick up for him as I have hitherto done.
1969 J. Rhys in Times 28 June 19/2 He had liked the man, stuck up for him, laughed off his obvious eccentricities, denied point blank that he was certifiable.
2001 Independent 1 Feb. i. 13/1 I've got to stick up for what I believe in.
2003 M. Salzman True Notebooks xix. 223 If he was to survive, he had to stick up for himself.
b. To stand up to a person; to offer resistance to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > oppose [verb (transitive)] > resist
withstandc888
withsake971
forstanda1000
to stand again ——OE
withsetc1000
again-standOE
to stand againOE
warnc1175
wiþerhaldec1175
atstandc1220
astand1250
withsitc1300
sitc1325
asitc1330
(it) may well withc1395
reversea1400
resist1417
ofstandc1425
onstandc1425
gainstand?c1450
endure1470
obsista1475
repugna1513
recountera1525
occur1531
desist1548
impugn1577
obstrigillate1623
counter-stand1648
stem1675
repique1687
to make face to1807
to fight off1833
to stick up1838
bay1848
withstay1854
buck1857
1838 Central Criminal Court: Minutes of Evid. 9 217 When they got off the van, Fowler squared up at me—Conner called out to Fowler to stick up to me, and Conner made his escape.
1889 Contemp. Rev. Feb. 173 No matter how excellent may be the original disposition of the head boy, if there is no one who dare stick up to him, he soon becomes intolerable.
1935 N.Z. Herald 29 June (Suppl.) 15/4 He's the only man I've ever met who has stuck up to me.
2007 Lincoln (Nebraska) Jrnl. Star (Nexis) 17 Aug. b1 Stick up to the bully. Don't say anything rude. Just say, ‘I don't like the way you're talking to me.’
†c. To hold one's ground in argument. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > argue, dispute, discuss [verb (intransitive)] > hold one's own
to stick up1858
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > putting forward for discussion > put forward for discussion [verb (intransitive)] > be successful
to stick up1858
to have a point1908
1858 C. Darwin Let. 23 Feb. in Life & Lett. (1887) II. 110 I admired the way you stuck up about deduction and induction.
8. intransitive. regional. With to: to pay amorous attention to, to woo. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > courtship or wooing > court or woo [verb (transitive)]
wooc1290
court1580
suitc1586
accourt1590
suitor1672
address1700
gallantize1728
philander1787
to stick up1830
spark1888
romance1931
lumber1938
1830 Monthly Traveller (Boston) Nov. 328/2 There was not a girl in the neighborhood whom Bill had not edged round, ‘or stuck up to’.
1853 ‘Dow, Jr.’ in W. Jerdan Yankee Humour 85 I will..stick up to them, so long as there is anything sticky in the first principles of love.
1858 A. Mayhew Paved with Gold ii. xvi. 216 It soon became known to the ladies..that the captain ‘was sticking up to “Miss”’.
1899 C. Gearey Rural Life x. 237 I doan't like ter see..a boy of sixteen sticking up to a gal.
1932 Adelaide Chron. 22 Sept. 58/3 Over on the Dandy run station was a little bit of skirt—housemaid or something—and I had an idea the little chap was sticking up to her, though I wasn't absolutely sure.
1940 Gnowangerup Star (W. Austral.) 24 Feb. This is terrible, Sergeant; f'r goodness sake don't drag us into this. He was stickin' up to our Poppy there.
9. transitive. slang (originally Australian, chiefly North American in later use).
a. To stop and rob (a person or vehicle) at gunpoint; to rob (a bank or other establishment) at gunpoint; to hold up. Also in extended use: to stop and demand something from (a person), to extort something from. Cf. to hold up 5 at hold v. Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > rob [verb (transitive)] > hold up
to stick up1838
to hold up1887
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)] > hold up (a suspect)
to stick up1838
1838 Hobart Town Crier 29 June 3 One of Mr. Solomon's men,..asked Regan for a fowling piece, saying he would stick up Mr. Wright and his people.
1846 J. L. Stokes Discov. Austral. II. xiii. 502 It was only the previous night that he had been ‘stuck up’, with a pistol at his head.
1868 Bruce (N.Z.) Herald 16 Sept. 5/4 Cobb's coach was stuck up..by three armed men, who robbed the passengers and plundered the mails.
1877 Tel. & St Kilda Guardian (Victoria) 10 Nov. So long as they don't stick me up for a contribution—which they wouldn't get if they did—it perhaps matters little what I think or say about it.
1881 A. C. Grant Bush-life in Queensland (1882) xi. 116 They stuck up Wilson's station there, and murdered the man and woman in the kitchen.
1902 ‘O. Henry’ in Ainslee's Mag. Mar. 130/2 Gotch-Ear Rodgers was to stick up the station agent.
1906 G. E. Stevens Wicked City ii. i. 260 It wuz him an some odder guy wat does de stall act while dey as de ‘long an short’ go in an stick em up an cop de coin.
1978 S. Brill Teamsters iii. 76 They had served time for sticking up a variety store in Akron, Ohio.
1990 S. Turow Burden of Proof i. xii. 147 Two young neighborhood hoods, looking for nickels and dimes, tried to stick up the grandfather, and ended up shooting him dead.
2008 News Courier (Athens, Alabama) 26 July 1 A white male wearing a bandanna and white cap and brandishing a silver-plated handgun, stuck up the bank.
b. Criminals' slang. Of the police: to stop or apprehend (a suspect). Now rare.
ΚΠ
1856 Mt. Alexander Mail (Castlemaine, Austral.) 18 Mar. I have been stuck up for grog selling, and I want to prove that I am not guilty of it.
1878 Sydney Morning Herald 14 May 5/7 A son of Purukutu was the chief of the patrol of police who stuck up Te Kooti, and took away his stock of spirits.
1926 J. Black You can't Win vii. 81 Anyway we'll sure be stuck up and frisked at Evanston.
1940 F. Sargeson Man & his Wife 57 George told a yarn about how he'd been stuck up by the police over that old man that was found dead in a swamp.
†10. transitive. Cricket. Of a bowler or bowling attack: to prevent (a batter) from scoring freely, typically by accurate bowling which can only be countered with cautious or defensive batting. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > bowl [verb (transitive)] > put batsman on defensive
to stick up1844
1844 John Bull 15 June 371/3 Surrey then took up the bat, but the bowling fairly stuck them up.
1864 Baily's Monthly Mag. Sept. 297 Grundy and Wootton..put every batsman on the defensive, stuck them up, man after man, over after over,..and then sent each back to the Pavilion.
1891 W. G. Grace Cricket ix. 243 There are some bowlers who, by their wonderful accuracy of length, stick up the batsmen and get wickets on the most perfect grounds.
1904 P. F. Warner How we recovered Ashes v. 70 Rhodes stuck up all the batsmen, with the exception of Trumper.
1924 Times 8 Aug. 5/1 He stuck up all the batsmen, except Butterworth, who faced him.
11. transitive. Australian and New Zealand. To bring (an animal, esp. a kangaroo) to bay. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > hunt down or bring to bay
stallc1400
to set up1608
to run down1650
to hunt down1711
to tire down1835
to stick up1850
bail1872
1850 Illustr. London News 2 Mar. 144/3 A party of men and dogs have come up with the kangaroo—or, as it is called, are ‘sticking up a boomer’.
?a1880 G. L. Meredith Adventuring in Maoriland (1935) 97 In the morning our dogs stuck up a mob of pigs on a small, clear-topped rise.
1887 D. Macdonald Gum Boughs 15 The fiercest fighter [sc. a kangaroo] I ever saw ‘stuck up’ against a red gum tree.
1932 Dungog (New S. Wales) Chron. 16 Feb. Johnny Andrews and Tom Pritchell came down with a mob of wild 'uns [sc. cattle]... Some broke through. We had to ‘stick them up’ with the dogs.
1952 News (Adelaide) 23 Jan. 2/4 The two dogs stuck up a big ‘old man’..so in I went with a big malee stick and knife.
12. transitive. Australian and New Zealand.
a. To prevent (a person, vehicle, etc.) from making progress; to hinder, frustrate; (also) to perplex, confound. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > hinder completely or prevent [verb (transitive)] > bring to an impasse
checkmatea1400
stalec1470
set1577
stallc1591
embog1602
nonplus1605
stalemate1765
stump1807
pound1827
to stick up1853
snooker1889
stymie1902
biff1915
dead-end1921
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > act of perplexing > confuse, perplex, bewilder [verb (transitive)] > nonplus
stagger1556
gravel1566
set1577
trump1586
bumbaze1587
puzzlec1595
ground1597
stunt1603
nonplus1605
pose1605
stumble1605
buzzard1624
quandary1681
bamboozle1712
hobble1762
stump1807
have1816
floor1830
flummox1837
stick1851
get1868
to stick up1897
buffalo1903
1853 Argus (Melbourne) 10 June A very loud and general complaint about the condition of the northern part of Elizabeth-street, where we were lately told some seventeen bullock-drays were seen ‘stuck up’ at one time.
1863 S. Butler First Year Canterbury Settl. v. 68 At last we came to a waterfall... This ‘stuck us up’, as they say here concerning any difficulty.
1887 J. W. Horsley Jottings from Jail 11 Now don't stick me up (disappoint); meet me at six to-night.
1897 Australasian 2 Jan. 33/1 The professor seems to have stuck up any number of candidates with the demand that they should construct [etc.].
1937 Morning Bull. (Rockhampton, Queensland) 5 Nov. 14/4 A man who drove to town in a sulky, had his horse stick him up when he started home.
1959 L. Masters Tales of Mails 25 When they got stuck up in trying to get over the saddle..they naturally made back to get him to help them over with his horses.
b. to be stuck up for: to be lacking or in need of (something). Cf. to be stuck for at sense 24d.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > non-possession > [adjective] > devoid of something > lacking or without
wane971
quit?c1225
helpless1362
desolatec1386
wantsomea1400
ungirtc1412
voidc1420
wantinga1475
destitutea1500
unfurnished1541
defect1543
bankrupt1567
frustrate1576
wanting1580
wanting1592
sterile1642
minus1807
lacking1838
to be stuck up for1860
short1873
wanting1874
quits1885
light1936
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > need [verb (transitive)] > have need of or to do
needa1398
misterc1450
necessitya1616
to be stuck up for1860
1860 Sydney Morning Herald 27 Mar. 4/5 He took this step in order that the miners might not be stuck up for provisions when they arrived.
1864 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 1 Mar. 2/3 And so the Lyttelton jetty is stuck up for an engineer, just as the Cathedral is for an architect.
1915 ‘A. Hope’ Young Man's Year 299 We were absolutely stuck up for the rest of the money—couldn't go on without it, and didn't know where to get it.
1950 West Austral. (Perth) 22 July 13/3 (advt.) No ‘Chamberlain’ owner will be stuck-up for Spares.
1996 A. M. Young in M. Huxley AC/DC viii. 54 I used to get offered parts in these strip places... I did one once when I was a bit stuck up for money.
†13. intransitive. colloquial. To claim or profess to be something. Cf. to set up 40 at set v.1 Phrasal verbs 2. Obsolete.Recorded only in the writings of R. D. Blackmore.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [verb (intransitive)]
protesta1486
assertionate1593
aver1599
contest1607
asseverate1807
gage1811
predicate1828
pose1840
to take one's dick1861
to stick up1876
1876 R. D. Blackmore Erema in Cornhill Mag. Dec. 743 Finer liars than he could ever stick up to be for a score of years have gone, time upon time, to the land of truth by means of that same view of things.
1882 R. D. Blackmore Christowell III. i. 4 I never knew any good come, of those fellows, who stick up to be everything wonderful.
PV2. With prepositions in specialized senses. to stick at ——
1. intransitive.
a. To hesitate or scruple at; to be deterred by; to object to. Chiefly in negative constructions, esp. in to stick at nothing: to allow nothing to deter one from achieving one’s aim, however wrong or dishonest. Cf. sense 19a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > unwillingness > hesitate or scruple at [verb (transitive)]
to make bones of1520
to stick at ——1525
scotch1601
fear1603
to strain at1609
to stand at ——1632
the mind > language > statement > objection > object [verb (intransitive)]
opposec1380
repugna1382
object?a1425
to stick at ——1525
quarrel1570
except1597
formalize1597
demur1639
society > morality > moral evil > lack of principle or integrity > be unprincipled [verb (intransitive)] > be unscrupulous
to stick at nothing1525
to think it no conscience1578
to stand at nothing1632
1525 W. Warham Let. 5 Apr. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 361 If they loved their Prince, they wold not sticke at this demaund.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxxiiij Whiche thynge when he sawe me somewhat stycke at..he then brought in instrumentes, autentike doctours, proctoures, and notaries of the lawe.
1585 T. Bilson True Difference Christian Subiection iv. 649 O mouthes prepared to sticke at nothing that may any way serue to hoodwinke your hearers!
a1618 W. Raleigh Prerogatiue Parl. (1628) Ep. Ded. sig. A4 It is loue which obeyes,..which giues, which stickes at nothing.
1685 H. Consett Pract. Spiritual Courts Ep. to Rdr. sig. A3v Such time serving Wretches, as stick at no Extortion or Oppression.
1737 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 486 I shall Never Stick at any expence tho' it puts me into a thousand difficulties.
1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxiii. 328 Who, she had too much Reason to think, would stick at nothing to gain his Ends.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest II. viii. 172 He stuck at no injustice which was needed to carry out his purpose.
1884 F. Marryat Under Lilies & Roses xxvii Such women..who do not stick at telling a falsehood, will not hesitate to listen at a door.
1901 Times 9 Nov. 12/6 The machinations of an enterprising spinster..who stuck at nothing to oust the child-sweetheart.
1928 Bedford (Pa.) Gaz. 17 Feb. 6/3 I told you in the beginning that I stuck at murder, and I still do. D—d if I'll kill them unless I have to.
2001 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 13 Sept. 23 What the carnage shows is quite how mad and malevolent are the enemies of America, and that they will stick at nothing.
b. To stop on encountering (an obstacle to progress); to be brought to a standstill by (a difficulty). Cf. sense 24. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > hindering completely or preventing > hinder completely or prevent [verb (transitive)] > bring to an impasse > be brought to a stand by
to stick at ——1560
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cclxxvijv The matter stickyng at this harde poynte, the Duke of Cleaue his next neighbour, for the auoyding of further trouble, sendeth his Counsellours thither to make intreatie.
a1627 T. Middleton Chast Mayd in Cheape-side (1630) iv. 46 He was eight yeeres in his Grammer, and stucke horribly at a foolish place there call'd Asse in presenti.
1688 J. Bunyan Heavenly Foot-man (1811) 6 They who will have heaven must not stick at any difficulties they meet with, but press, crowd, and thrust through all that may stand between heaven and their souls.
a1704 J. Locke Conduct of Understanding §6 in Posthumous Wks. (1706) 30 Sometimes they [sc. young scholars] will stick a long time at a part of a Demonstration..for want of perceiving the Connection of two Ideas.
1774 Ld. Monboddo Of Orig. & Progress of Lang. (ed. 2) I. Pref. p. ix This ingenious author..had not prosecuted it far, having stuck at this difficulty.
1835 New Monthly Mag. Oct. 174 Never stops for you when she finds you sticking at a difficult passage, but rattles on, and finishes five minutes before you.
1995 W. M. Spellman in C. Levin & P. A. Sullivan Polit. Rhetoric, Power, & Renaissance Women 243 Winning the support of Tory politicians who stuck at the question of legitimacy and hereditary principle in the removal of James II.
2. intransitive. To keep at (a task or endeavour); to persevere with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > continue (an action) [verb (transitive)] > with persistence
to stick unto ——a1555
to stick at ——1845
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > persevere or persist in [verb (transitive)]
to stand in ——a1382
maintainc1385
willc1400
to stand fortha1425
to stick to ——1525
to tug out1631
worry1727
to stick out1833
to stick at ——1845
slog1846
stay1956
to chase up1958
1845 H. Cockton Love Match xiv. 145 She's bin at a milliner's over two year, but they makes her stick at it sich a hawful lot of hours, that now she thinks she'd rayther have a tidy sittiwation.
1886 G. Allen For Maimie's Sake xxii. 147 We've stuck awfully close at this thing while we've been working at it.
1902 Secret Service 25 Apr. 19/2 He made up his mind to stick at it if it took all night.
1977 J. F. Fixx Compl. Bk. Running iv. 49 One must stick at one's sport if it is to continue doing any good.
2014 T. McCulloch Stillman 133 I read a handwritten poem called This Night. It was pretty good, she should have stuck at it.
 to stick by ——
1. intransitive. To adhere to or stand by (an opinion, promise, principle, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > observance > observe [verb (transitive)]
yieldc825
behold971
hold971
keepc1000
at-holdc1175
takec1300
spare1387
observec1391
to stand by ——c1405
to stick by ——a1530
to stand to ——1537
a1530 T. Lupset Compend. Treat. Dyenge Well (1534) sig. A.ii It semeth not to wise men, that a promis shulde be sticked by, in as moche there maye chaunce greater causes to breke a promys.
1532 R. Whitford Pype or Tonne xxii. f. xcviiv They fall nat onely vnto false erroures: but also vnto pleyne heresies, and so styfly done clyue and stycke by them.
1646 R. Baillie Let. 15 May (1841) II. 371 We shall be honest, and sticke by our Covenant... Hitherto we have stucke by our principles in many great and long tentations.
1648 R. J. Compunction xxxvi. 353 Men in love with their own opinions, will stick by them, lest they seem inconstant.
1759 A. Smith Theory Moral Sentiments iii. 308 There is no pedantry in sticking fast by the rules of justice.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xx. 171 He knew what a savage determined man Osborne was, and how he stuck by his word.
1869 Ld. Tennyson Northern Farmer: New Style in Holy Grail & Other Poems 168 Thim's my noätions, Sammy, wheerby I means to stick.
1927 S. Lewis Elmer Gantry vi. 90 There's one galoot here that's got sense enough to stick by the Old Book and get himself right with God.
1955 Z. N. Hurston Let. 11 Aug. (2002) 740 Thems my sentiments and I am sticking by them.
1987 B. Duffy World as I found It (1990) 108 Wittgenstein was rather pleased with..whatever it was making him stick by his decision to remain in England over the vacations.
2009 Daily Tel. 22 Oct. 4/1 Last night, the Tories stuck by their commitment to scrap the act.
2. intransitive. To be faithful or loyal to (a person or group); to stay with; to refuse to abandon.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > fidelity or loyalty > be faithful or loyal to [verb (transitive)]
teemc1275
to bear faithc1300
to hold firm (to)a1340
to stick to ——1531
to stick unto ——1531
to stick by ——1533
rely1582
to summer and winter1602
1533 J. Frith Bk. answeringe Mores Let. sig. I.5 As manie as doo eate of this sacrament do magnifie theyr god testifying that he onlie is the god allmightiy & they his people styckinge by him to be deliuered by his power from all danger.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 v. iii. 67 Sha. I thanke thee, the knaue will sticke by thee. View more context for this quotation
1716 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 157 To stick to the last extremity by them who were so unanimously engaged in my cause.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1783 II. 432 The Stuarts had friends who stuck by them so late as 1745.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond III. x. 238 But Swift..had this merit of a faithful partisan, that he..stuck by Harley bravely in his fall.
1855 Harper's Mag. June 109/2 You, the only fellow who has stuck by me through thick and thin, for my own sake, I do believe, and not for my property.
1926 Amer. Mercury Mar. 335/2 I'm going to stick by you, girlie!
1962 Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Mississippi) 27 Dec. 5/5 I've stuck by him through one raunchy affair after another.
2005 GQ Sept. 245/1 While many of the club's biggest names jumped ship..Robinson stuck by his boyhood club.
3. intransitive. Esp. of an experience, emotion, or memory: to remain with (a person); to linger in the mind of (a person).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > lasting quality, permanence > be permanent [verb (intransitive)] > remain, continue
bidec893
ofstandeOE
astandc1000
restOE
holdc1175
dure1297
akeepc1300
lastc1300
arrest1393
containc1400
perseverec1425
reserve1529
to run on1533
to stick by ——1533
persist1538
persist1539
to hold up1582
retaina1631
persist1659
1533 T. More Apologye xxxvi. 196 Wythout any greate hurte that afterwarde sholde stycke by them.
1628 W. Prynne Vnlouelinesse of Louelockes 52 This Beautie will sticke by vs, and continue with vs for all eternitie.
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 54 The remembrance of which will stick by me as long as I live. View more context for this quotation
1708 A. Pope Corr. 18 May (1956) I. 43 At present I am satisfy'd to triffle away my Time any way, rather than let it stick by me; as Shop-keepers are glad to be rid of those Goods [etc.].
1770 C. Jenner Placid Man I. i. vii. 42 Norris had met with some disappointment which stuck by him.
1857 J. T. Trowbridge Neighbor Jackwood xxviii. 333 I heerd one o' yer sarmons once;'t was on the uses o' the Sabbath; an' one thing you said in it hasstuck by me to this day.
1889 S. J. Lippincott in L. C. Holloway Woman's Story 303 I have let bigger things of the sort pass, and soon forgotten them; but this stuck by me.
1908 J. Webster Four-pools Myst. i. 9 He had received a more theoretical training in the University of New York, but I think it was his early education which stuck by him longest.
1970 R. Lynes Art-makers xi. 361 His was a way of seeing and of using chiaroscuro which stuck by Eakins and served him well.
2014 Z. la Grange Good Morning, Mr. Mandela (2015) viii. 206 Mrs Machel said: ‘Well done Zeldina, Madiba was really honoured tonight.’ Those words stuck by me.
4. intransitive. Of a person: to continue with (an activity, course of action, etc.); to keep persistently to (a place). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > continue (an action) [verb (transitive)]
i-haldOE
to hold fortha1325
sustainc1325
containc1330
continuea1340
maintainc1385
carrya1393
keepc1425
to keep upa1535
to stick by ——1551
to hold on1568
to hold out1595
to carry on1609
subsist1633
to keep at ——1825
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Piiiiv And therfore if the other part sticke so harde by it [L. modo perstent], that the battell come to their handes, it is fought with great slaughter & bloodshed.
1797 C. M'Cormick Mem. Edmund Burke 287 Those..would stick by the king's loaf as long as a single cut of it remained.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. i. 23 On Friday, he stuck by the powdered beef and carrot, though there were..good spitchcock'd eels.
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein II. i. 12 Have the peasant-clods..stuck by the flask till cock-crow?
1879 R. L. Stevenson in Cornhill Mag. Jan. 59 You mean to stick by your inn. Now I mean you shall come for a turn with me in my barouche; and before this bottle's empty, so you shall.
1950 Motor Boating Mar. 124/2 They seem to think they have to stick by the desk to ‘blue pencil’ such verbal wanderings as this.
 to stick into ——
1. transitive. slang. to stick it into: to charge (a person) an extortionate amount for something; to defraud. Now rare (Australian in later use).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > charges > [verb (intransitive)] > make excessive charges
to lay it ona1593
to stick it into1797
to put it on1843
1797 T. B. Pettyfogger Dramatized i. i. 17 Dam'me, they shan't stick it into me so.—I shall be ruined and starved!
1825 Sydney Gaz. 23 June 2/4 A late adventurer from Tasmania has not only taken the knowing ones in there, but posted to Sydney, stuck it into several of our first merchants.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xxvii. 335 In short, my good fellow, we stick it into B up hill and down dale, and make a devilish comfortable little property out of him.
1853 C. Dickens Another Round of Stories: Schoolboy's Story in Househ. Words Extra Christmas No., 1/1 How they do stick it into parents—particularly hair-cutting, and medical attendance.
1947 Wellington (New S. Wales) Times 3 Nov. 2/5 There was a roar of laughter and someone said: ‘Well, you will be able to stick it into him to-morrow.’
2.
†a. intransitive. colloquial (originally Australian). to stick into: to attack (a person) with blows; to lay into. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1855 S. Austral. Reg. (Adelaide) 8 Feb. Told him it was loaded, and begged him to let it alone, but he stuck into him and the gun went off in the scuffle.
1875 Clarence & Richmond Examiner (Grafton, New S. Wales) 16 Mar. 3/1 He had got the worst of the wrestling, being under on both occasions; when he wanted to quiet him, plaintiff ‘stuck into him’, and he slipped down.
b. transitive (in passive). colloquial (originally Australian and New Zealand). to get stuck into: to attack with blows, to lay into; (subsequently) to make a serious start on, to get down to (a task, a meal, etc.). Cf. to get stuck in at Phrasal verbs 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > make an attack upon [verb (transitive)]
assail?c1225
to set on ——c1290
saila1300
to turn one's handc1325
lashc1330
to set against ——c1330
impugnc1384
offendc1385
weighc1386
checka1400
to lay at?a1400
havec1400
to set at ——c1430
fraya1440
rehetea1450
besail1460
fray1465
tuilyie1487
assaulta1500
enterprise?1510
invade1513
sturt1513
attempt1546
lay1580
tilt1589
to fall aboard——1593
yoke1596
to let into1598
to fall foul1602
attack1655
do1780
to go in at1812
to pitch into ——1823
tackle1828
vampire1832
bushwhack1837
to go for ——1838
take1864
pile1867
volcano1867
to set about ——1879
vampirize1888
to get stuck into1910
to take to ——1911
weigh1941
rugby-tackle1967
rugger-tackle1967
the world > action or operation > undertaking > beginning action or activity > begin or enter upon (an action) [verb (transitive)] > begin an action or fall to doing something > resolutely or vigorously
to sit in1736
strap1823
to get down1826
tackle1841
to buckle down (to)1865
to bite on1904
to wade into1904
to get stuck into1910
to get one's teeth into1935
to sink one's teeth into1935
to get stuck in1938
to get to grips with1947
1910 N.Z. Truth 9 Apr. 7/2 He described the whole of the details of the fracas in Princes-street, winding up by saying: ‘Regan got stuck into him. Regan cracked him.’
1914 Essendon (Moonee Ponds, Victoria) Gaz. 15 Oct. Then we got stuck into them again, and two more German officers surrendered.
1942 G. Casey It's Harder for Girls 228 A bit o' peace..after you an' Winch nearly getting stuck into each other at the pub.
1948 C. Fry Thor with Angels 3 You get stuck Into some work, you whitebellied weasel.
1958 I. Cross God Boy xix. 160 Though arithmetic wasn't my best subject, I was quite glad at the idea of getting stuck into some figures.
1962 Observer 18 Feb. 23/4 I heard a terrific clanging downstairs and went down to see Pancho getting stuck into the gas meter with an iron bar.
1974 A. Morice Killing with Kindness iii. 31 He reached out a hand and promptly got stuck into his beloved evening paper.
1999 H. Redknapp & D. McGovern 'Arry (new ed.) ii. 29 Opposing players all wanted to get stuck into Bobby, to rough him up, and to shatter his immense calm.
2007 Olive May 24/1 Get stuck into pakoras and juicy lamb shashlik at the city's finest Kashmiri and Pakistani restaurants.
 to stick on ——
†1. transitive. slang. to stick it on: to deceive, defraud. Cf. to stick it into at Phrasal verbs 2. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1857 ‘Ducange Anglicus’ Vulgar Tongue 20 Sticking it on, deceiving or defrauding.
2. transitive. To place (the blame for a mistake or wrongdoing) on someone.
ΚΠ
1870 Mason's Monthly Coin & Stamp Collectors' Mag. July 111 The postmaster..can stick the blame on the National Bank Note Company.
1896 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. 13 May 5/2 They wanted someone to stick the blame on, and here was I handy as a brick wall.
1936 Port Arthur (Texas) News 6 Sept. 2/7 It was up to me to solve the case as they were trying to stick it on me.
1989 Independent (Nexis) 2 June 21 You know the proof cannot stand up in court... You cannot stick it on him.
2011 S. Attwood Hard Time xxvii. 212 Those few prescription pills were found on day one. Claudia has nothing to do with them. How can they stick them on her like this?
3. transitive (in passive). slang (originally U.S.). to be stuck on: to be infatuated with (a person); to have a crush on. Also: to be taken with (a person or thing); to be fond of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > amorous love > be in love or infatuated with [verb (transitive)]
loveOE
paramoura1500
to love with1597
to be sweet on (upon)1740
to be cracked about or on1874
to be stuck on1878
mash1881
to be shook on1888
to go dingy on1904
to fall for ——1906
lurve1908
to have or get a crush on1913
to be soppy on1918
to have a pash for (or on)1922
to have a case on1928
to be queer for1941
the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > [verb (transitive)]
willeOE
wilnec897
desirec1230
catcha1350
appetec1385
appetitec1385
to wait after ——1393
to set (also have, keep, turn) one's mind onc1450
list1545
exopt1548
to have a mind1553
desiderate1646
lust1653
to have eyes for1657
like1685
want1698
choose1766
to be stuck on1878
1878 New Orleans Times 19 July 8/4 Hannegan's statement is to the effect that ‘he was stuck on the girl and she was stuck on him’.
1886 American 13 14 The latter's family so ridiculed him for having been ‘stuck’ on the canvas that he put it away.
1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous x. 221 I'm not stuck on myself any just now—that's all.
1909 J. Masefield Trag. Nan i, in Trag. Nan & Other Plays 9 'Er father, as she's so stuck on—'E was 'ung.
1934 R. Chandler in Black Mask 13 Oct. 11/1 You'd like to have some protection along—me... I'm not much stuck on bodyguarding.
1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock vii. ii. 295 I'd stake you a fiver she's straight. Why—you told me yourself—she's stuck on you.
1974 A. Lurie War between Tates (1977) vi. 128 Sandy, who was rather pathetically stuck on her for a while, took her to hear The Magic Flute.
1992 P. Auster Leviathan (1993) v. 239 ‘You had a falling out.’ ‘Yeah, something like that.’ ‘About Ben, I suppose. You're still stuck on him, aren't you?’
4. transitive. slang. to stick one (also it) on: to hit (a person, his or her face, etc.); to punch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > strike [verb (transitive)]
swingc725
slayc825
knockc1000
platOE
swengea1225
swipa1225
kill?c1225
girdc1275
hitc1275
befta1300
anhitc1300
frapa1330
lushc1330
reddec1330
takec1330
popc1390
swapa1400
jod?14..
quella1425
suffetc1440
smith1451
nolpc1540
bedunch1567
percuss1575
noba1586
affrap1590
cuff?1611
doda1661
buffa1796
pug1802
nob1811
scud1814
bunt1825
belt1838
duntle1850
punt1886
plunk1888
potch1892
to stick one on1910
clunk1943
zonk1950
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the hand > with the fist
boxc1390
punch1530
nevela1572
fist1600
transfisticate1600
fisticuff1653
nubble1673
befist1718
plug1847
to put a head on (also upon)1866
to stick one on1910
1910 Bloomfield (Indiana) News 2 June There's a doc there told me just where to stick one on the old man's jaw so it won't hurt him much after he comes to.
1960 Times 21 Sept. 3/7 As he got near Lutt ‘stuck it on him’. He only hit him once. The chap went down and I grabbed him as he fell.
1967 Guardian 6 June 5/3 If that doesn't stop, I'm going to stick one on that bastard.
1986 Making Music Apr. 24/3 I could have fallen through the floor—I thought he was there to stick one on me.
2002 ‘H. Hill’ Flight from Deathrow xxxviii. 223 Either you help us, or I'll stick one on that big, smug, bearded face of yours!
 to stick to ——
1. intransitive. To abide by or keep to (a decision, opinion, commitment, ruling, etc.); to refuse to renounce or abandon.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > persevere or persist in [verb (transitive)]
to stand in ——a1382
maintainc1385
willc1400
to stand fortha1425
to stick to ——1525
to tug out1631
worry1727
to stick out1833
to stick at ——1845
slog1846
stay1956
to chase up1958
1525 C. Tunstall & R. Sampson Let. 28 July in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. II. 26 Th' Emperor havyng his enemy in his hande made the best argument that could be, and to suche argument must he styk if he entende to get any thing.
1540 L. Ridley Comm. vpon Sayncte Paules Epyst. to Ephesyans iii. sig. B.6 Affliccion or persecution prouyth whether men trust surely in god & stycke to his word or no.
1655 tr. C. Sorel Comical Hist. Francion iii. 67 Being a man that stuck to his resolves.
a1688 J. Bunyan Israel's Hope Encouraged in Wks. (1692) 220/2 The Word Redemption, therefore must be well understood, and close stuck to.
1776 H. Cowley Runaway iv. 52 Faith, if so, I may lose more than I get by the bargain—he'll stick to his word.
1785 Polit. Mag. Aug. 100/1 If the Right Hon. Gentleman had stuck to his promise made in the opening of his speech, and had not deviated from the question in the manner that he had done.
1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk II. ix. 212 I like a person who knows his own mind and sticks to it.
1887 A. Lang Myth, Ritual & Relig. I. vi. 179 The old men do not know... But they stick to it that ‘that bed of reeds still exists’.
1887 E. A. Freeman in Life & Lett. (1895) II. 368 I stick tight to Gladstone's best proposal, to clear the Irishry out of Westminster.
1962 M. Trevor Newman 441 He stuck to his opinion that Bayswater was not the place for them.
1967 S. Marshall Fenland Chron. i. v. 49 We made this bargain and we stuck to it.
1991 Here's Health Jan. 42/4 He proposes to create an independent watchdog organisation..to ensure that both the Government and food industry stick to the law.
2. intransitive. To keep at or attend to (a task, occupation, or activity); to persevere with.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > earnest attention, concentration > fix the attention, concentrate [verb (transitive)]
intend1429
to run upon ——c1443
to run on ——?1499
to run of ——?1504
to stick to ——?1530
affix1553
medite1606
fix1664
meditate1700
linger1835
?1530 St. German's Dyaloge Doctoure & Student xxxii. sig. s.ivv To do no more to brynge theym out of it, then they haue done, for if it be trewe as they saye, they ought to stycke to it with effecte in all charytie tyll it were reformyd.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. x The Iryshemen, although they foughte hardely and stucke to yt valyauntly, yet..they were stryken downe and slayne.
1612 J. Brinsley Ludus Lit. ii. 11 They being nuzled vp in play abroad, are very hardly reclaimed and weaned from it, to sticke to their bookes indeede.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iv. ii. 10 Sticke to your Iournall course: the breach of Custome, Is breach of all. View more context for this quotation
1662 H. Newcome Diary (1849) 112 Fell to my studdy on Ecles. xii. 1, and stucke to it allmost all day.
1720 D. Manley Power of Love iv. 279 She was obliged to stick close to her Needle, and not stir out of her Chamber.
1821 J. W. Croker in L. J. Jennings Croker Papers (1884) I. vii. 189 He..would advise him to stick to his law.
1874 J. S. Blackie On Self-culture 76 I never knew a man good for anything in the world, who, when he got a piece of work to do, did not know how to stick to it.
1877 ‘H. A. Page’ T. De Quincey: Life & Writings II. xvi. 7 His incapacity to stick to work was increased by his nervous dread of putting others to inconvenience.
1902 Onward 1 Feb. 37/3 Mr. Atherton spoke..of the serenity of sticking to our task, despite discouragements.
1922 Everygirl's Mag. Oct. 47/1 She struck out to cross the gully from where she was. It would be rough climbing, but she stuck to it.
2012 Silver State Post (Deer Lodge, Montana) (Nexis) 6 June I have been confirmed into the Honors College and am sure it will be tough at first to stick to the studying.
3. intransitive.
a. To be faithful or loyal to (a person or group); to stay with; to refuse to abandon.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > fidelity or loyalty > be faithful or loyal to [verb (transitive)]
teemc1275
to bear faithc1300
to hold firm (to)a1340
to stick to ——1531
to stick unto ——1531
to stick by ——1533
rely1582
to summer and winter1602
1531 tr. E. Fox et al. Determinations Moste Famous Vniuersities vi. f. 119 The housbande shuld euermore with out any departynge, sticke to his wyfe [L. coniugi..adhaereat].
1536 Act 28 Henry VIII c. 7 §9 in Statutes of Realm III. (1963) 660 And holly to styck to them, as true and faithfull subjectes ought to doo to their regall rulers.
1670 J. Wilson Summe of Treat. 11 in Treat. Relig. & Governm. A man is more engaged to stick to the King by a red scarf, or a garniture of ribands of the Kings colours, then by an oath of so incredible a thing as the Supremacy.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 680 When the Kings Cause declined he stuck close to the said family.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 200 He promised to all the Earl of Midletoun's friends, that he would stick firm to him.
1785 M. Lonsdale Spanish Rivals (new ed.) 7 I have stuck to my master like a Scotch plaid, in all weathers.
1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. iv. 235 Under Rolf, Normandy had stuck faithfully to the King.
1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ Valerie's Fate vi But I should have stuck to him through thick and thin.
1908 Canad. Mag. Apr. 524/1 I'll make you some good money, Lane; you stick to me, an' you don't have to train for nobody by an' by; you'll have your own stable.
1971 E. Spencer in New Yorker 23 Jan. 31/1 One of the girls married a pharmacist who turned to dope and lost his license, but she stuck to him and he finally got over it.
1994 A. M. Scott Divisions & Solidarities 119 Many of them were reliant on custom markets—networks of regular clients who stuck faithfully to them despite competition.
b. To stay physically close to (a person), esp. in a demanding or oppressive manner; to follow closely or doggedly.Often in similative phrases and constructions.In quot. 1685 punning on sense 13b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow [verb (transitive)] > pursue > pursue closely
suea1350
dog1519
to follow up1598
to stick to ——1685
1685 N. Tate Cuckolds-Haven ii. iii. 28 Wax... Oh, Sir, your Wife!.. She's gone Eastward by Boat... Bramb... Thy Name is Wax, Thou should'st have stuck to her.
1705 J. Browne Secret Hist. Queen Zarah 15 Albania was never free from her Influence, no more than she was from her Person, for she stuck to her like a Bur to a Garment.
1797 T. B. Pettyfogger Dramatized i. iii. 29 Damn the fellow, he sticks to one as fast as old mortar!
1891 National Rev. 17 365 I..waylaid him, stuck to him, following him into public-houses, haranguing him.
1939 D. Whipple Priory xxix. 342 Why did she make such a nuisance of herself?.. She..stuck to him at every turn.
2003 C. Berlinski Loose Lips v. 94 The man's a puppy dog... He's stuck to you like white on rice these days.
†4. intransitive. To have as a belief or doctrine; to believe in. Also: to believe in the doctrine of (a person). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > adhere constantly or steadfastly to [verb (transitive)]
to stand in ——a1382
abidea1393
saddena1500
to bide bya1513
to stick to ——?1531
to stout out1568
to make good1606
winter1608
buckle1793
maintain1819
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > support or encourage [verb (transitive)] > a cause, principle, etc. > give support to a cause or principle
beclipc1380
to take up1502
to stick to ——?1531
espouse1595
spouse1603
wed1626
?1531 J. Frith Disput. Purgatorye ii. sig. g3v A nother sayed that he was Peters man. The thirde did sticke to Apollo and so forth.
1644 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) 4 Many points..likely to remain intricate and hopelesse upon the suppositions commonly stuck to.
1661 J. Glanvill Vanity of Dogmatizing Ep. Ded. sig. A3 The way to bring men to stick to nothing, is confidently to perswade them to swallow all things.
1706 D. Cotes tr. L. E. Dupin New Eccl. Hist. 16th Cent. II. v. 139 Those who had taught Scotus had maintained Propositions which were not approved by those who stuck to the Doctrine of S. Thomas or S. Bonaventure.
†5. intransitive. To cling to for support. Obsolete.In quots. in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person: keep from falling > cling to for support
to stick to ——1534
1534 Psalm cxxv in Prymer in Eng. sig. Nvv They that stycke to the lord [L. qui confidunt in Domino] shal neuer stacker.
1586–7 Queen Elizabeth I in W. B. Scoones Four Cent. Eng. Lett. (1880) 31 My stable amitie; from wiche, my deare brother, let no sinistar whisperars..persuade to leave your surest, and stike to unstable staies.
6. intransitive. To follow (a particular source or model) closely when providing one's own version or interpretation of something; not to deviate from (a particular source or model).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > imitate [verb (transitive)] > repeat in a copy > word for word
verbate1512
to stick to ——1539
to stick unto ——1568
1539 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Prouerbes sig. D.iijv Whan they most supersticiously stycke to the letters of lawes not regardyng thintent of the makers.
1697 J. Vanbrugh Æsop Pref. For I confess in the Translation, I have not at all stuck to the Original.
1782 D. E. Baker Biogr. Dramatica I. 217/2 He has been very correct in the meaning of his author, where he has stuck to the original.
1819 Parl. Deb. 1st Ser. 40 985 If ministers had been so anxious to stick to the letter of the treaty with Spain, why had they not stuck to the letter of the treaty regarding the Ionian islands.
1862 Notes & Queries 11 Oct. 321/2 When Knight comes to ‘struck the deep sorrows of his lyre’, he shows his power of sticking to his original by giving as the translation [etc.].
1920 E. S. Sampson Miss Minerva's Baby ix. 145 He was determined to stick to the letter of Judge Turpin's ruling.
1980 Church Times 3 Apr. 6/3 The story of his verses is part fairy-tale (with a moral), part themes from the Bible..though neither sticks to the original story.
2005 Maximum PC Dec. 95/1 Acolytes of the Marvel universe..will be enamored with how faithfully this action RPG sticks to the source material.
7. intransitive. To remain by or in (a place, etc.); to refuse to desert or leave (a position, post, etc.).See also to stick to one's colours at colour n.1 Phrases 7b, to stick to one's guns at gun n. 6c, to stick to one's tackle at tackle n. 4b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > render immobile [verb (transitive)] > remain in (a place)
holda1387
keep1413
to stick to ——1539
1539 R. Morison Exhort. to styrre All Eng. Men (new ed.) sig. D If he a traytour, forsaketh his countreye, changeth Englande for Rome, fyghting for them, ayenste vs, shall we not stycke to our countrey, not fight ayenst al men, in defence of Englande?
1597 E. Hoby tr. B. de Mendoza Theorique & Practise Warre 22 There is no other helpe lefte then to sticke close to some Towne or stronge place.
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xxiv. vii. 249 The Persians sticking close to their walls,..assayed to checke..our deadly violence.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 119 The Rains came on, and made me stick close to my first Habitation.
1780 tr. A. Berquin Sel. Stories 110 Bring up our children carefully; make them stick to home and be fond of work.
1859 C. Reade Love me Little I. viii. 231 While she [sc. a boat] floats they stick to her.
1898 F. D. How Life Bp. W. How xxii. 313 He felt that this was an additional reason for sticking to his post.
1937 Life 16 Aug. 66/2 (caption) No one was drowned, crews wisely sticking to capsized hulls until motorboats rescued them.
1942 ‘E. Queen’ Calamity Town xviii. 125 Pat was sticking close to Nora's bedside.
2006 Portsmouth (New Hampsh.) Herald 19 Jan. a3/4 Some of the residents..tend to stick to their rooms in the afternoon.
8. intransitive. To keep possession of; to refuse to part with. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > retain or keep [verb (transitive)]
holda855
haveeOE
witec1000
at-holdc1175
withholdc1200
keepc1400
reserve?a1439
retain1449
detain1541
to stick to ——1560
contain1600
to make good1606
preserve1617
inhold1726
to hang on to1873
1560 Bible (Geneva) Num. xxxvi. 9 Nether shal the inheritance go about from tribe to tribe: but euerie one of the tribes of the children of Israel shal sticke to his owne inheritance.
a1660 in J. T. Gilbert Contemp. Hist. Ireland (1880) II. 162 Major Charles..did call for Colonell Moore, bidinge him to leade that horse as proper colonell, which he did and left, Dungan stikinge onely to one or two troupes.
1705 C. Cibber Careless Husband iii. i. 22 Sir Cha. If you keep your Temper she's Undone. L. Mo. Provided she sticks to her Pride, I believe I may.
1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset II. xxxvii. 323 She'll stick to every shilling of it till she dies.
1884 Christian World 12 June 442/5 A bishop of Antioch, deposed and excommunicated, chose to stick to the church-buildings.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. I. xx. 283 Congress..may request the President to dismiss him, but if his master stands by him and he sticks to his place, nothing more can be done.
1978 T. Murphy Crucial Week in Life of Grocer's Assistant iii. 29 Fine new spade I lent him too, the bastard, and he stuck to it.
9. intransitive.
a. To keep to (a particular topic or subject) when writing or speaking; not to digress from (a particular topic or subject). to stick to one's text: to refuse to deviate from a particular course of action. See also to stick to one's muttons at mutton n. Phrases 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > be occupied with a topic [verb (intransitive)] > stick to the point
to stick to one's text1795
revenons à nos moutons1816
1565 A. Nowell Reproufe f. 81v You, like a good Logician stickyng to the matter, dooe prooue that there bee diuers seuerall heades in the Churche vnder Christe.
1566 J. Rastell Treat.: Beware of M. Iewel ii. f. 123 Here loe, he refuseth to haue the sense discussed, but sticketh to the bare text.
1698 J. Gailhard Epist. to Bk. against Socinian Heresie Vindicated 81 When I am engaged in any Controversie I stick to the Point, beg for no Foreign help, and Answer not with Injuries but with good Arguments.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 66. ¶5 The Boy I shall consider upon some other Occasion, and at present stick to the Girl.
1785 M. Holford Fanny III. 256 I am not such a pigeon as he takes me for! I told him I had made a vow not to marry till I was twenty-one, and I'll stick to my text.
1795 E. Burke Let. 18 May in Corr. (1969) VIII. 249 Lord Fitzwilliam sticks nobly to his Text and neither abandons his Cause or his friends.
1870 Boston Daily Advertiser 29 Nov. Although it has been supposed that Mr. Gough cannot stick to his subject.., he sub-headed his lecture..like an essayist.
1880 G. A. Sala in Illustr. London News 4 Dec. 539 Still I stick to my text as regards champagne and raki imbibing among the upper classes in Turkey.
1915 Motor World 3 Feb. 21/3 Facts are incontrovertible, and if you stick to the facts about your own goods you will never have to worry about the other fellow.
1993 Camcorder User Mar. 38/1 Good screen dialogue is not a faithful reproduction of real life talk where people waffle..and..rarely stick to the point.
2005 Independent 23 Feb. 30/4 If there is one person who can be relied on not to stick to the script, it is Ken Livingstone.
b. To confine oneself to (doing or using a particular thing); to keep exclusively to.See also to stick to the shop at shop n., adj., and int. Phrases 11.
ΚΠ
1606 R. West Newes from Bartholmew Fayre sig. B2v That it might be inacted there, That all noses wan or pale, That loued wine, beere, and ale. With a constant mind; and a merry heart, They should stick to the pot, and neuer part.
a1627 T. Middleton Witch (1945) i. i. 53 He..sticks to small drinck like a Water-Rat.
1702 Compar. between Two Stages v. 182 The repeated Disappointments, I hope, have cur'd him of the itch of Play making: Let him stick to his Criticisms.
1789 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 984/2 Of the..British poets, who mostly stuck to their own language, there was not one of them..that ever heard of the name of Geoffry the translator.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. xxi. 337 Some drawings I have attempted, but I succeed vilely... I must stick to the flageolet, for music is the only one of the fine arts which deigns to acknowledge me.
1879 F. W. Robinson Coward Conscience I. i. viii. 104 Thank you, I'll stick to the claret.
1907 J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. (ed. 6) 125 The beginner should select one particular make, and stick to it.
1971 D. Bagley Freedom Trap iii. 20 I said there was to be no lally-gagging around with the staff, Rearden; you just stick to doing your job.
1991 Western Living June 70/3 Prices are good:..dinner for $25 a person, easily, if you stick to a glass of the house.
1995 Pop. Sci. July 81/1 We were ‘treading lightly’, which means respecting the fragile environment by sticking to established trails.
2004 New Statesman 6 Sept. 31/1 The Beeb should stick to making great programmes and leave the geek stuff to others.
10. intransitive. To keep close to in a pursuit or race; to follow closely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow [verb (transitive)] > follow closely
to foot and handc1300
to follow foot-hot1513
shadow1602
tantony1675
to stick to ——1801
to tread or follow on the kibes of1820
bedog1858
tag1884
hotfoot1902
1801 Sporting Mag. Oct. 34/2 They were the only sportsmen who stuck to Reynard when he first broke cover.
1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia V. xviii. v. 133 Our hussars stuck to him, chasing him into Ostritz.
1879 H. C. Powell Amateur Athletic Ann. 19 Crossley had all his work cut out to win, as A. S. Smith..stuck closely to him all the way.
1903 Michigan Alumnus June 439/2 The race was between Hall, Kellogg and McEachron, with Stone of Michigan, a dark horse, sticking to Kellogg.
1925 Times 7 Jan. 5/6 Sticking to their fox, the pace continued good to Chesterton, where he was marked to ground.
1980 Daily Times-News (Burlington, N. Carolina) 26 May b2/1 Parsons stuck to Waltrip's bumper to gain a draft and on the 370th lap of a 400-lap race, he passed the Franklin, Tenn. youngster.
2007 Bedfordshire on Sunday (Nexis) 5 Nov. But with Wami sticking to her, Radcliffe..found an extra reserve of energy in the final mile to power to the tape in 2hrs 23 mins and 9 secs.
† to stick unto ——
1. intransitive. To abide by or keep to (a decision, opinion, commitment, ruling, etc.); to refuse to renounce or abandon; = to stick to —— 1 at Phrasal verbs 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > persevere or persist [verb (intransitive)]
continuec1340
perseverec1380
stick1447
to rub on1469
to stick unto ——1529
persist1531
to make it tougha1549
whilea1617
subsist1632
to rub along1668
let the world rub1677
dog1692
wade1714
to stem one's course1826
to stick in1853
to hang on1860
to worry along1871
to stay the course1885
slug1943
to slug it out1943
to bash on1950
to soldier on1954
to keep on trucking1972
1529 J. Frith Pistle Christen Reader f. lxxxiii We must put confidence in no man vsinge an example of the holye men, but only sticke to the suer testimony of scripture, and vn to the trueth.
1538 J. Bale Tragedye Promyses God sig. Aiv Pater cœlestis [to Adam]. Than wyll I tell the, what thu shalt stycke vnto, Lyfe to recouer.
1574 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Job (new ed.) 46/2 If wee sticke vntoo his promises, he will neuer fayle to haue his hande stretched out ouer vs to succour vs.
?1587 R. Southwell Epist. Comfort viii. f. 110v The times be such that those whiche sticke vnto the truthe, are in a manner designed to the slaughterhouse.
a1600 R. Hooker Learned Serm. Faith in Elect (1612) 3 The certainty of adherence, is when the hart doth cleaue and sticke vnto that which it doth beleeue.
1731 J. Bisset Right of Patronages Considered ii. 6 This Book of Discipline..was stuck unto, by all the faithful Maintainers of this Churches Liberty.
1873 Punch 31 May 229/2 One who.., having an opinion, sticketh unto it, As the wax clingeth to the Cobbler's thread.
2. intransitive. To be faithful or loyal to (a person or group); to stay with; to refuse to abandon; = to stick to —— 3 at Phrasal verbs 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > fidelity or loyalty > be faithful or loyal to [verb (transitive)]
teemc1275
to bear faithc1300
to hold firm (to)a1340
to stick to ——1531
to stick unto ——1531
to stick by ——1533
rely1582
to summer and winter1602
1531 tr. E. Fox et al. Determinations Moste Famous Vniuersities i. f. 15v A man shal leaue his father and mother, and shall stycke vnto his wyfe [L. adhaerebit uxori suae]: and they shall be two in one flesshe or body.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Prov. xviii. C A frende..doth a man more frendshipe, and sticketh faster vnto him then a brother.
1563 T. Gresham in J. W. Burgon Life & Times Sir T. Gresham (1839) II. 34 Praying you now (as my trust ys in God and you,) that you will stycke unto me.
1610 T. Morton Encounter against M. Parsons i. xii. 197 They were obedient vnto their Bishop Henry, who stucke vnto the Emperour.
1647 J. Howell New Vol. of Lett. 87 My love I had bequeathed to be diffus'd among all my dear friends, specially those that have stuck unto me in this my long affliction.
1748 C. Brown Itinerarium Totius Sacræ Scripturæ 71/1 Besides many other of his Subjects that stuck unto him, Hushai shewed himself a special Friend in overthrowing the Counsel of Achitophel.
1848 Satirist 26 Mar. 99/3 As I think the Captain's right, I'll stick unto him fast and tight.
1893 Leeds Mercury Weekly Suppl. 30 Sept. 7/7 ‘I sticks unto my pals!’ quoth he.
3. intransitive. To keep at or attend to (a task, occupation, or activity); to persevere with; = to stick to —— 2 at Phrasal verbs 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > continue (an action) [verb (transitive)] > with persistence
to stick unto ——a1555
to stick at ——1845
a1555 H. Latimer Frutefull Serm. (1572) ii. f. 215 And therfore let vs sticke hard vnto it, and be content to forgo all the pleasures and riches of this world for his sake.
1641 C. Burges 1st Serm. House of Commons 63 She makes it her businesse that she must stick unto, and daily manage.
1916 E. A. Guest Heap o' Livin' 174 Promotion comes to him who sticks Unto his work and never kicks.
4. intransitive. To follow (a particular source or model) closely when providing one's own version or interpretation of something; = to stick to —— 6 at Phrasal verbs 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > imitate [verb (transitive)] > repeat in a copy > word for word
verbate1512
to stick to ——1539
to stick unto ——1568
1568 T. Harding Detection Sundrie Foule Errours v. i. 285v Wherunto sticke you? vnto the Greeke word, or vnto the Latine? If you sticke vnto the Latine worde, Patres, which signifieth Fathers, or Ancestours, you meane not I trow, that Polycrates had seuen Fathers, for that were to much by six, you knowe.
1612 J. Brinsley Ludus Lit. x. 157 The sense & drift of the Latine Author is principally to be obserued, and not the phrase nor propriety of the tongue, to bee so much sought to bee expressed or stucken vnto.
1656 H. Jeanes Mixture Scholasticall Divinity 118 The second exposition is that I shall sticke unto, which rendreth bodily, personally.
 to stick with ——
1. intransitive.
a. To be faithful or loyal to (a person or group); to stay with; to refuse to abandon.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > support or encourage [verb (transitive)] > take someone's side or side with
favoura1375
to stand with ——1384
takec1400
to take (a) part witha1470
to hold sides1490
to take the part ofc1500
to stick with ——1523
partake1546
follow1548
to join issue1551
to make with ——1559
favourize1585
side1585
party1587
to take in1597
part1669
to fall in1709
to take for ——1770
to take up for1824
range1874
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. f. lxxxx/1 And there [he]..promysed the duke to stycke with hym in good & yuell.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 281 Because thei had taken parte and sticked hard with the enemies of Sylla [L. quod hostium partibus adhæsissent].
a1896 J. G. Bourke Diary (2005) II. 83 [He] says he will stick with the column if he has to be hauled on a travois.
1913 Internat. Socialist Rev. Sept. 157/1 Get one of your shopmates to stick with you. Then you two get two more, and continue thus until you have enough members for a charter.
1958 M. L. King Stride toward Freedom vii. 127 We would stick with them through their difficulties. ‘We must remain together,’ we kept repeating.
2014 Wall St. Jrnl. 27 Dec. a20/3 They stick with stylists they like. Other players use the friseurs that teams find for them.
b. To adhere to (an account, plan, course of action, etc.); to persevere or continue with (something).
ΚΠ
1915 J. London Jacket iv. 28 Stick with it. Don't ever let'm know.
1938 K. Burke Let. 8 Aug. (1988) 222 I feel that I should try to stick with agro-Bohemianism, for all its financial rigors.
1976 M. Machlin Pipeline xlviii. 505 ‘I've known all along it was a Goddamn fool plan.’.. ‘Then why have you stuck with it so long?’
1991 Gay Times Mar. 98/2 It is essential to stick with water-based lubricants.
2014 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 22 Oct. a5/3 The students stuck with their demands for immediate changes to Hong Kong's election law.
†2. intransitive. To persist in arguing with (a person). Also: to haggle with (a person). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > controversy, dispute, argument > argue about, dispute [verb (transitive)] > persistently
to stick with ——1529
wring1567
1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters i. xvii. f. xxi/1 Albe yt that I haue long stycked wyth you to wythstand any credence to be geuen to myracles don now adayes.
1531 W. Tyndale Answere Mores Dialoge f. cxxiiij He sayth it is euident..that a man..maye geue..his body to burne for ye name of Christe, and all with out charite. Well I wyll not stycke wyth him: he maye so doo [etc.].
1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes iii. ii. 71 in Wks. II P. Iu. For that I'll beare the charge: There's two Pieces. Fit. Come, do not stick with the gentleman.
1651 R. Baxter Plain Script. Proof Infants Church-membership & Baptism 179 I will not stick with you for the phrase of Speech, when the thing is the same.
3. intransitive. Of an emotion, thought, memory, etc.: to remain with (a person); to linger in the mind of (a person).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > retention in the mind > remain in the mind [verb (intransitive)] > painfully
to stick with ——1557
rift1636
1557 Dialoge of Comfort (new ed.) iii. xx, in Wks. Sir T. More 1247/2 I cannot then see, that the feare..shold any thing sticke with vs, & make vs toto shrinke.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §997 The Going away of that, which had staid so long, doth yet sticke with mee.
1666 J. Bunyan Grace Abounding §148 And this [sc. fear of eternal damnation] stuck always with me.
1724 D. Defoe Fortunate Mistress 289 I cannot but say, that sometimes the Baseness of the Action stuck hard with me.
1894 Harper's Mag. Oct. 678/1 The sheriff's reason again destroyed the germ of suspicion that something plainly against reason had several times put in his thoughts. Yet it stuck with him that they had hold of the wrong man.
1909 Bull. N. Carolina Dept. Agric. Oct. 50 The thought stuck with me. I believe he was right.
1994 ‘Dr. John’ & J. Rummel Under Hoodoo Moon i. 4 I don't know why, but that memory stuck with me like a remembered dream.
†4. intransitive. Of a theory or argument: to be impossible for (a person) to accept; to present an obstacle to. Also of a person: to be unacceptable to (another). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > disbelief, incredulity > disbelieve [verb (intransitive)] > be incredible
to stick with ——a1628
to stagger belief1757
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > disapprove of [verb (transitive)] > be unacceptable to
to stick with ——a1628
a1628 J. Preston Foure Serm. i. 7 in New Covenant (1629) God that knew Moses heart, knew where that objection lay, where it stucke with him, he was able to bring arguments to perswade him.
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. iii. 140 Because this objection stickes most with many Schollars,..I shall endeavour to give a satisfactory answer to it.
1713 A. Collier Clavis Universalis i. i. 12 I had never any Design to Palm this Distinction upon my Reader gratis, foreseeing it might stick with him.
1719 D. Waterland Vindic. Christ's Divinity 216 The principal Thing which stuck with Him [sc. Arius], was..the strict Eternity or Co-eternity of the Son.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality Concl., in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 342 Lady Margaret was prevailed on to countenance Morton, although the old Covenanter, his father, stuck sorely with her for some time.

Compounds

C1. With nouns.
† stickall n. Obsolete a solution of potassium silicate used as an adhesive cement; = potassium waterglass at water glass n. 5.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > adhesive > [noun]
gluea1382
size1530
cement1562
solder1582
cementum1617
gluten1639
binder1678
conglutinatora1728
glutin1825
cheese cement1839
agglutinant1844
adhesive1849
stickum1877
stickall1880
stick1891
binding agent1933
tackifier1942
bonding1958
agglomerator1975
1880 Spons' Encycl. Industr. Arts II. 628 ‘Stick-all’..is a solution of silicate of potash... It will securely unite fragments of stone, marble, wood, &c.
1893 Work 9 Sept. 121/3 S tickall is a solution of potassium silicate which forms a valuable cement for mending statuary; the solution is brushed upon the broken surfaces, which are then pressed firmly together.
stick culture n. a culture of microorganisms produced by vertically thrusting a wire or other inoculating instrument into a tube of solid medium; also called stab culture.
ΚΠ
1886 Med. News 15 May 540/1 So also the effect of puncture or stick cultures show peculiarities different from plate cultures.
1910 M. Herzog Text-bk. Dis.-producing Microörganisms xii. 163 How is the stick culture method practised for the preparation of anaërobic cultures?
2004 R. M. Swiderski Anthrax ix. 119 (caption) Involuted shapes in a stick culture at two weeks.
† stickdirt n. Obsolete as a term of abuse.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > as abused
warlockOE
swinec1175
beastc1225
wolf's-fista1300
avetrolc1300
congeonc1300
dirtc1300
slimec1315
snipec1325
lurdanc1330
misbegetc1330
sorrowa1350
shrew1362
jordan1377
wirlingc1390
frog?a1400
warianglea1400
wretcha1400
horcop14..
turdc1400
callet1415
lotterela1450
paddock?a1475
souter1478
chuff?a1500
langbain?c1500
cockatrice1508
sow1508
spink1508
wilrone1508
rook?a1513
streaker?a1513
dirt-dauber?1518
marmoset1523
babiona1529
poll-hatcheta1529
bear-wolf1542
misbegotten1546
pig1546
excrement1561
mamzer1562
chuff-cat1563
varlet1566
toada1568
mandrake1568
spider1568
rat1571
bull-beef1573
mole-catcher1573
suppository1573
curtal1578
spider-catcher1579
mongrela1585
roita1585
stickdirta1585
dogfish1589
Poor John1589
dog's facec1590
tar-boxa1592
baboon1592
pot-hunter1592
venom1592
porcupine1594
lick-fingers1595
mouldychaps1595
tripe1595
conundrum1596
fat-guts1598
thornback1599
land-rat1600
midriff1600
stinkardc1600
Tartar1600
tumbril1601
lobster1602
pilcher1602
windfucker?1602
stinker1607
hog rubber1611
shad1612
splay-foot1612
tim1612
whit1612
verdugo1616
renegado1622
fish-facea1625
flea-trapa1625
hound's head1633
mulligrub1633
nightmare1633
toad's-guts1634
bitch-baby1638
shagamuffin1642
shit-breech1648
shitabed1653
snite1653
pissabed1672
bastard1675
swab1687
tar-barrel1695
runt1699
fat-face1740
shit-sack1769
vagabond1842
shick-shack1847
soor1848
b1851
stink-pot1854
molie1871
pig-dog1871
schweinhund1871
wind-sucker1880
fucker1893
cocksucker1894
wart1896
so-and-so1897
swine-hound1899
motherfucker1918
S.O.B.1918
twat1922
mong1926
mucker1929
basket1936
cowson1936
zombie1936
meatball1937
shower1943
chickenshit1945
mugger1945
motherferyer1946
hooer1952
morpion1954
mother1955
mother-raper1959
louser1960
effer1961
salaud1962
gunk1964
scunge1967
a1585 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart (Tullibardine) in Poems (2000) I. 143 Stif stridand stikdirt [a1625 Harl. stickard], Ise gar þe stink.
stickjaw n. colloquial any food, esp. suet pudding or (later) toffee, which causes one's teeth to stick together when chewed; also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > puddings > [noun] > other puddings
alker1381
moile1381
tansyc1450
tansy-cakea1475
hasty pudding1598
hodge-puddinga1616
bread pudding1623
marrowbone pudding1623
marrow-pudding1631
turmeric puddinga1704
Indian pudding1722
Westminster fool1723
pease pudding1725
pone1725
bread and butter pudding1727
custard pudding1727
purry1751
tartan-purry1751
tansy-pudding1769
vermicelli pudding1769
skimmer-cake1795
dogsbody1818
kugel1823
stickjaw1827
kheer1832
pea pudding1844
dough1848
mousseline1876
mousse1885
goose-pudding1892
payasam1892
tartan1893
malva puddinga1981
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > confections or sweetmeats > sweets > [noun] > a sweet > chewy sweet
stickjaw1827
tie-teeth1879
chew1936
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > confections or sweetmeats > sweets > [noun] > a sweet > toffee
taffy1817
Everton toffee1822
toffeea1825
hardbake1825
stickjaw1827
tom trot1829
tameletjie1838
butterscotch1847
peanut candy1856
caramel1884
treacle toffee1885
Harrogate toffee1890
brittle1892
peanut brittle1892
saltwater taffy1894
brickle1907
spin1913
hokey-pokey1939
1827 E. F. J. Carrington Confessions Old Bachelor ii. ii. 155 Confound the nasty, under-done mutton, and the ‘stick-jaw’ pudding, which is crammed down our throats to take away our appetite for the meat which is to follow.
1828 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 233/2 Their Saturday's commons of scrap-pie and stick-jaw.
1894 E. Skuse Compl. Confectioner 26 Cocoanut toffee, or Stickjaw.
1932 L. Golding Magnolia St. ii. v. 352 Hush, Annie, hush! Here's some stick-jaw!
1938 W. H. Auden & C. Isherwood On Frontier iii. ii. 108 Gone to a demonstration, I suppose, to shout stickjaw slogans with the rest.
2015 Geelong (Austral.) Advertiser (Nexis) 4 Feb. 2 He shoves another piece of honeycomb or stickjaw in his mouth.
stick knife n. a double-edged knife of the kind used for killing or bleeding animals; a sticking knife. [Compare earlier sticking knife n. at sticking n.1 Compounds 2.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > [noun] > knife
dressing knife1362
trencher-knife1392
bread knife1432
kitchen knife1433
dresser knifea1450
carving-knifea1475
sticking knife1495
chipper1508
chipping knife1526
butcher's knife1557
striking knife1578
mincing knife1586
cook's knife1599
oyster knife1637
randing knife1725
stick knife1819
chopping-knife1837
carver1839
butch knife1845
fish-carver1855
fruit-knife1855
rimmer1876
throating knife1879
steak knife1895
paring knife1908
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > knife > [noun] > pocket-knife
pocket knife1676
jackknife1683
barlow knife1779
stick knife1819
shut-knife1879
toad-stabber1885
switch-blade1909
blade1920
Batangas knife1937
switch-knife1955
1819 New Monthly Mag. June 480/1 An elegant knife in miniature, containing 30 instruments, moving on 11 springs, and 11 joints... The following is a list of the articles contained in the above knife: 1 stick-knife blade, 1 pruning-knife blade [etc.].
1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xxiv. 302 An old razor, not so decent-looking nor so sharp as a tolerably good stick knife.
1922 National Provisioner 29 Apr. 52/1 The winners in the attendance contest are Members Vobbe and Rausch and August Schmidt, who received as prizes a stick knife and a skinning knife, respectively.
1998 Microorganisms in Foods 6 (ICMSF) i. 11 With relatively modest hygiene it is unlikely that muscle is often contaminated by either the stick-knife or captive bolt.
stickpin n. North American a straight pin with an ornamental head, worn to keep a tie in place or as a brooch.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > brooch or pin > [noun]
preenOE
brooch?c1225
pina1275
lacec1384
ouchec1384
troche1434
fermilletc1475
bague1477
fermail1480
fibula1673
stickpin1890
1890 J. Hughes Chapters Camp Life vi. 78 She..displayed that tied-up finger, which had experienced a painful encounter in the early evening with a stick pin.
1903 N.Y. Sun 21 Nov. 2 Dr. Amador presented to the President a gold stickpin containing the flag of the new republic.
1973 M. R. Crowell Greener Pastures 132 A dapper tree sparrow, dark stickpin spot on his soft gray breast.
2003 V. O. Carter Such Sweet Thunder 41 In the chairs sat four serious, conservatively but richly dressed men, in immaculate white shirts, perfectly tailored summer suits, with jeweled fingers and diamond stickpins.
stick-pinned adj. North American wearing a stickpin; fastened with a stickpin.
ΚΠ
1906 E. B. Lent Cupid's Middleman xii. 163 He was patent-leathered, smooth-jowled, rosy, crisp, pretty-nailed, creased, stick-pinned and embossed on the vest.
1947 Life 8 Sept. 127/1 All right! the starter said coming out in tall black hat, swallow-tail coat, and stickpinned tie.
2008 Dædalus Spring 114/2 The man impressed Coleman with his stylish double-breasted suit and stick-pinned collared shirt behind a checkered tie.
stickseed n. North American a plant of the genus Hackelia or Lappula (family Boraginaceae), having small dry fruits or nutlets covered with barbed prickles which easily adhere to fur, clothing, etc. Frequently with distinguishing word.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Boraginaceae (bugloss and allies) > [noun]
ribeOE
hound's-tonguec1000
ox-tonguea1325
rotheren tongue?a1350
buglossa1400
dog's tongue?a1425
lungwort1538
anchusa1548
sheep's tongue1552
cowslip of Jerusalem1578
Our Lady's milkwort1578
pulmonaria1578
sage of Jerusalem1578
wild comfrey1578
maiden-lips1589
bugloss cowslip1597
viper's bugloss1597
viper's herb1597
ribbie1607
lithospermon1646
wall bugloss1650
lady's glove1668
Venus's navelwort1678
spotted comfrey1688
cynogloss1705
Jerusalem sage1736
lawn1778
Mertensia1836
stickseed1843
Virginian cowslip1856
bluebell1858
gooseberry fool1858
Jerusalem cowslip1866
borage-wort1882
echium1883
rose noble1886
milksile-
1843 J. Torrey Flora State N.Y. II. 90 Echinospermum... Stickseed.
1919 W. W. Robbins & B. Boyack in Bull. Agric. Exper. Station Colorado Agric. College No. 251 vi. 89 There are a number of species of stickseed in Colorado, the most common being L. floribunda..and L. occidentalis.
1997 B. Hallworth & C. Chengappa Plants Kananaskis Country 212 Hackelia Opiz. Stickseed. Members of this genus are perennials or biennials, 5 to 10 dm tall, with hairy stems and leaves.
2006 Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bull. 7 Apr. a11/2 The state weighed the safety of drivers on Highway 2 against the survival of the showy stickseed.
† stick-toad n. Obsolete rare a person who stabs or pierces toads (used as a term of abuse).
ΚΠ
1591 (?a1425) Slaughter of the Innocents (Huntington) in R. M. Lumiansky & D. Mill Chester Myst. Cycle (1974) I. 197 (MED) Saye, rotten hunter with thy gode, stytton stallon, styck-tode.
stickwater n. liquid obtained during the processing of meat or organic waste; spec. the liquid that is squeezed out when cooked fish are compressed during the manufacture of fish meal and fish oil, often concentrated and used as an animal feed supplement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > substances for food preparation > [noun] > stock or liquor > fish stock or liquor
corbulliona1655
sagamité1698
court bouillon1723
fish-stock1787
fish-liquor1832
fumet1906
stickwater1915
dashi1963
1915 R. L. Greer Menhaden Industry Atlantic Coast (U.S. Bureau of Fisheries Doc. No. 809) 25 An apparatus for evaporating the water which is separated from the oil and known as ‘stick water’ has recently been installed... The residue or ‘stick’ will average about 9 per cent ammonia.
1945 Poultry Sci. 24 379/1 The stickwater from fish-meal manufacture added materially to the riboflavin potency of a feed.
2006 Water Environment Res. 78 816/2 Samples of stickwater (waste water containing lipids and protein from the processing of meat) were obtained from a local abattoir.
stickweed n. North American any of various North American plants having small hooked or barbed seeds which easily adhere to fur, clothing, etc., esp. ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia (family Asteraceae). Also with distinguishing word.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Umbelliferae (umbellifers) > [noun] > ragweed or ambrosia
oak of Cappadocia1597
stickweed1705
ragweed1790
hogweed1811
1705 R. Beverley Hist. Virginia iii. iv. 15 They have no Salt among them, but for seasoning, use the Ashes of Hiccory, Stickweed, or some other Wood or Plant, affording a Salt ash.
1768 J. Hill Veg. Syst. XIII. 35 Genus XVIII. Stickweed. Triumfetta.
1806 M. L. Weems Life G. Washington (ed. 5) i. 4 He will drop his false foliage and fruit, and stand forth confessed in native stickweed sterility and worthlessness.
1891 Bull. W. Va. Agric. Exper. Station No. 19 124 Stickweed, White Devil, (Aster lateriflorus).
1922 W. Scheppegrell Hayfever & Asthma iii. 41 The most common hayfever weed in the United States (Ambrosia elatior) is known in various sections by the following names: ‘ragweed’,..‘stickweed’,..and ‘hayfever weed’.
2010 Appalachian Heritage 38 23 As we turned into the stickweed patch the sparrows fluttered up from the ground.
C2. With prepositional phrases.See also stick-in-the-mud adj. and n., stick-to-itiveness n., stick-to-itness n.
stick-at-it adj. and n. colloquial (a) adj. that perseveres at things; characterized by perseverance; †(b) n. a person who perseveres at things (obsolete rare).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > [noun] > one who perseveres > slowly and laboriously
plodder1584
ploddall1618
stick-at-it1902
1902 Nepean Times (Penrith, New S. Wales) 9 Aug. All the better, of course, if you have such a stick-at-it Member as Mr T R Smith.
1909 H. G. Wells Tono-Bungay (U.K. ed.) ii. ii. 162 I'm a boiler-over, not a simmering stick-at-it.
1919 Weekly News Let. (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 15 Jan. 12/3 Opposition..is being overcome to-day more than ever through the proper approach, the stick-at-it attitude, and the tact of the country and field agents.
2016 www.abc.net.au 10 Mar. (O.E.D. Archive) Colin is a ‘stick at it’ guy.
stick-at-nothing adj. now rare designating a person who will stop at nothing in order to accomplish his or her purpose; characteristic of such a person; cf. to stick at nothing at Phrasal verbs 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > resolution or determination > [adjective]
stallc1275
unflichinga1340
adviseda1393
affirmed1440
constant1481
resolved1518
resolute1522
well-settled?1532
ratified1533
unbashed1536
bent1548
well-resolved1565
unabashed1571
determinate1587
undaunted1587
peremptory1589
confirmed1594
decretal1608
pight1608
intent1610
definitivea1616
unshrinkinga1616
naylessa1618
pitched1642
decisive1658
martyrly1659
certain1667
fell1667
decretory1674
martyrial1678
decretorian1679
invariable1696
unflinching1728
hell-bent1731
decided1767
determined1773
iron-headed1787
adamantine1788
unwincing1802
stick-at-nothing1805
adamant1816
hard-set1818
rock-like1833
bound1844
do-or-die1851
unbased1860
focused1888
capable de tout1899
purposive1903
go-for-broke1946
hard rock1947
take-no-shit1992
1805 C. Lamb Let. 10 Nov. in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1976) II. 188 The stick-at-nothing Herodias' daughter-kind of grace.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xxxix. 158 Here's a new brother..a credit to the cause; one of the stick-at-nothing sort.
1915 J. Conrad Victory 118 A false, lying, swindling, underhand, stick-at-nothing brute.
1990 K. Taylor & K. Mumby Poisoned Tree i. 10 They must get a conviction of some kind, to avoid humiliation or, even worse, exposure. This stick-at-nothing desperation alarmed me.
C3. With adverbs.See also stick-in adj., stickout n. and adj., and stick-up adj. and n.
stick-on adj. that sticks on or can be stuck on; adhesive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > attachment > [adjective] > attached by something adhesive > having adhesive quality
cleavingc1350
holdingc1400
withholdingc1430
fatc1503
gluing1572
adhering1592
viscous1605
tenacious1648
birdlimey1657
adhesive1661
agglutinating1664
sticky1688
clingy1708
adherescent1743
tacky1788
detainable1801
detentive1881
stickfast1888
stick-on1904
1904 H. J. Pearson Three Summers among Birds Russ. Lapland App. 208 Writing paper, pens, ink, pencils, luggage labels, indiarubber bands, money bags, stick-on labels, [etc.].
1941 Sun (Baltimore) 13 Aug. 16/6 There also will be speakers on the stick-on spray..and other matters of interest to apple growers.
1967 Punch 22 Nov. 780/1 False eyelashes, interchangeable wigs, adhesive eyebrows, stick-on fingernails.
2014 Vanity Fair Apr. 108/3 The first and lowest backstage pass is the stick-on ‘After Show’ pass.
sticktight n. chiefly North American (a) a plant of the genus Bidens (family Asteraceae), esp. B. frondosa, having dry, barbed fruits with sharp pappi at one end which easily adhere to fur, clothing, etc.; (also) a barbed fruit of such a plant; cf. beggar-tick n. at beggar n. Compounds 2; (b) (in full sticktight flea) a flea, Echidnophaga gallinacea (family Pulicidae), which when feeding attaches itself firmly to a host by burrowing its head deep below the skin, typically remaining in place for a prolonged period of time; also called hen flea.Infestation by sticktight fleas is a particular problem in the rearing and keeping of poultry.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > weed > [noun] > beggar-tick
sticktight1841
beggar-tick1854
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Siphonaptera or fleas > [noun] > echidnophaga gallinicea (sticktight)
sticktight1841
1841 J. Torrey & A. Gray Flora N. Amer. II. 351 Stick-tight. Burr-Marigold.
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 11 Beggar Ticks, or Stick-tight, Bidens frondosa.
1908 A. Basley Mrs. Basley's Poultry Bk. 134/2 You have the stick tight fleas in your hennery. They are very hard to get rid of, being in some places a perfect pest.
1955 W. W. Denlinger Compl. Boston ii. 77 These sticktights abound in neglected..chicken houses.
1999 S. T. Runkel & D. M. Roosa Wildflowers Iowa Wetlands 235/2 While the seeds of stick-tight are occasionally eaten by wood duck, pheasant, quail, and a few species of songbirds, it is of minor value as a wildlife food.
2004 E. Reid D.B. xiii. 348 His clothes picked up sticktights and burrs.
C4. With verbs.
stick-slip n. alternate sudden movement and cessation of movement of one surface in contact with another, as a result of a difference between the forces of friction during movement and non-movement; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > [noun] > slipping or sliding > alternate slipping and sticking
stick-slip1938
1938 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 167 111 Certain long chain fatty acids may prevent stick-slip and allow continuous sliding to take place.
1940 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 239 1 Certain substances..are able to prevent this ‘stick-slip’ motion and allow continuous sliding to take place.
1993 New Scientist 20 Mar. 19/3 The far end of each wing of the array is fitted with nine coil springs to hold the array taught. The engineers hope these changes will stop the stick-slip behaviour.
2004 Tool & Machinery Catal. 2005 (Axminster Power Tool Centre Ltd.) ii. 11/1 It is a tenacious spray lubricant developed to prevent ‘stick slip’ and protect surfaces against corrosion.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

stickv.2

Brit. /stɪk/, U.S. /stɪk/
Inflections: Past tense and past participle sticked, stuck;
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: stick n.1
Etymology: < stick n.1 With sense 5 compare earlier sticking n.2 2 and also sticker n.1 1.In the past tense and past participle form stuck by association with the corresponding forms of stick v.1
1. transitive. To lay sticks between (timber boards) in order to facilitate the circulation of air during seasoning.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > build or construct with wood [verb (transitive)] > other processes
makec1450
rough-hew1530
rip1532
stick1573
list1635
frame1663
fur1679
beard1711
cord1762
butt1771
drill1785
joint1815
rend1825
broach1846
ross1853
flitch1875
bore1887
stress-grade1955
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 20 Now sawe out thy timber,..Bestow it & stick it, & lay it aright.
1771 Rep. Comm. how Navy may be better supplied with Timber in Rep. Comm. House of Commons (1776) III. 18/1 The Timber generally lies about Six Months after it is sided, sometimes sticked, and sometimes the Sides in Contact with each other.
1846 in Documents Gen. Assembly Indiana (1847) ii. 62 All of which [lumber] was to be stacked and sticked at the Hospital, after being inspected.
1888 Carpentry & Building Dec. 263/2 There is not a mill man in the country who cannot tell just how to stick lumber in the best manner and when to stick it.
1915 Timberman Apr. 48/2 You can readily see the absolute impossibility of lumber sticked in such a manner warping or twisting.
1966 L. E. Akers Particle Board 37 Some manufacturers prefer to ‘stick’ the boards—narrow lengths of batten or board separating each board to facilitate cooling.
1999 Furnit. & Cabinetmaking July 19/3 The wood is sticked and goes into the seasoning shop for six or seven years.
2.
a. transitive. To provide (a plant) with a stick as a support.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > management of plants > [verb (transitive)] > stake
stick1636
stake1664
1636 Min. Archdeaconry of Essex 1635–8 (MS.) f. 53v For cuttinge bowes of a tree to sticke pease.
1766 Compl. Farmer at Pease The chief trouble after sowing them is, to stick the larger sorts which require support.
1816 tr. F. Vanderstraeten Improved Agric. 185 Growing twice as high as the ordinary flax, it must be sticked or supported.
1887 G. M. Fenn This Man's Wife I. i. 6 Going to stick those peas, are you?
1905 Southern Cultivator 15 Mar. 26 This saves a lot of labor for sticking them.
1990 Org. Gardening Nov. 53/1 Where weeds are a serious problem, ‘stick’ your beans after you have routed out the weeds.
†b. transitive. To provide (an artificial leaf or flower) with a stem or stalk. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > floriculture and flower arranging > [verb (transitive)] > furnish artificial leaf or flower with a stalk
stick1896
1896 Daily News 9 June 9/6 Then they [sc. artificial leaves] are carried off to be ‘sticked’ and papered.
3. transitive. North American. Printing. To set (type) in a composing stick. Cf. type-sticker n. at type n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > preparatory processes > composing > compose [verb (transitive)] > set type in stick
stick1834
1834 New Eng. Farmer 30 July 18 We have stuck type..breathed the smoky air of an office.
1915 H. L. Mencken in Smart Set Apr. 303 A tramp printer sticking type, and..the brisk young foreman, making up handbills.
1967 C. Dair Design with Type (new ed.) i. 5/1 The design-oriented craftsman who used to stick type at the case bought himself a drawingboard and a new suit, and became a graphic designer.
2000 J. C. Culver & J. Hyde Amer. Dreamer (2001) i. 7 Earned three dollars a week sticking type, cleaning presses, and delivering copies.
†4. transitive. Croquet. To position (a ball) so that a peg intervenes between it and its target. Obsolete.Quot. 1897 may represent this sense, although the transitivity and object of the verb are uncertain.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > croquet > play croquet [verb (intransitive)] > hit peg
stick1868
1868 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 504 The direction chosen for the rebound should be such as not to leave the balls sticked for each other.
1881 Cassell's Bk. Sports & Pastimes 306 A ball is said to be ‘stuck’, or ‘sticked’, when one of the sticks takes the place of a hoop in hampering its play.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 254/1 (Croquet) Post,..Also called Peg and Stick, the last two being sometimes used as verbs, for hitting the post.
5. intransitive. English regional (chiefly east midlands). To gather sticks for firewood. Cf. sticking n.2 2. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1891 S. O. Addy Suppl. Gloss. Words Sheffield (at cited word) I've been sticking all the morning.
a1904 I. Wilkinson in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1904) V. 758/1 [North Yorkshire] We are stickin' to-day.
6. transitive. slang. To give (a person) the cane; to cane. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > administer corporal punishment [verb (transitive)] > with stick
bastinado1601
bastona1614
cob1802
tund1871
stick1937
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > strike with an object > with a stick or pole
stave1633
pole1687
stick1937
1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 830/1 Sticked (, be), (to be) caned.
1962 M. Duffy That's how it Was iv. 44 The whole of 3A was sticked..Miss Wilkinson..smacking the outstretched palms.
7. transitive. Ice Hockey. To strike (a player) with one's stick during play. Cf. high-stick v. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > ice hockey > engage in ice hockey [verb (transitive)] > actions
cross-check1896
butt-end1926
deke1961
spear1963
slapshoot1968
high-stick1971
stick1981
1981 Inside Sports 30 Apr. 86/1 Ruff trespassed in Smith's crease during a Sabre-Islander semifinal game last year, and in the ensuing scuffle Ruff was sticked near the eye.
1982 Sunday Sun-Times (Chicago) 17 Oct. 138/1 Edmonton's Ken ‘The Rat’ Linseman was suspended..for sticking Toronto's Russ Adam during an exhibition game.
2001 N.Y. Times 2 May d4/3 He was accidentally sticked in the right eye by his teammate Darcy Tucker during a pickup game.
2007 G. Joyce Future Greats & Heartbreaks (2008) ii. 237 At the practice Downie sticked me right in the mouth.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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