still huntn.
U.S.
1. A pursuit for game in a stealthy manner or under cover; stalking.
ΚΠ
1860 M. Reid Hunters' Feast (new ed.) xvii It was to be a ‘still’ hunt, and we went afoot.
1861 G. F. Berkeley Eng. Sportsman xiv. 261 They started to a still hunt.
2. transferred and figurative. The pursuit of any object quietly and cautiously; esp. (see quot. 1890).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > stealthy action, stealth > [noun] > operation
clandestine1656
by-contrivement1657
hidlings1823
still hunt1843
the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > aspiration or ambition > [noun] > pursuit or striving (for)
suit1400
affectingc1443
pursuit1636
pursuance1640
still hunt1843
1843 N.-Y. Daily Tribune 4 May The friends of Protection..were thrust out by secret caballing, or what is known as a ‘still hunt’.
1876 N.Y. Tribune 28 Aug. 4/4 It will be well for the Republican managers to bear in mind that a ‘still hunt’ is Gov. Tilden's favorite campaign method.
1890 C. L. Norton Polit. Americanisms 109 Still Hunt, originally a sporting term, but applied during the campaign of 1876 to political methods conducted in secret, or underhanded methods.
1893 Lightning 9 Feb. 89/2 We go on the ‘still-hunt’ principle.
1916 ‘B. M. Bower’ Phantom Herd ii. 32 I'm out on a still hunt for some real boys.
1920 W. S. Wallace Family Compact v. 69 Under the guidance of Mackenzie, who did not conduct himself with the caution and reserve of a new member, the House went on a still hunt for grievances.
1936 H. Hagedorn Brookings ix. 131 He took to riding afternoons in Forest Park along the western edge of the city, on a persistent, still-hunt for a site.
1948 E. N. Dick Dixie Frontier 241 Sometimes a candidate..slipped off and went on a ‘still hunt’; that is, he visited the people house-to-house and attended small gatherings unheralded.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1917; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1843