stick to one's guns
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English[edit]
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Verb[edit]
stick to one's guns (third-person singular simple present sticks to one's guns, present participle sticking to one's guns, simple past and past participle stuck to one's guns)
- (dated, military, of gunners) To persist in faithfully attending to cannons while under fire.
- 1970, James Henderson, The Frigates, an account of the lesser warships of the wars from 1793 to 1815, London: Wordsworth, page 73:
- Capitan Beaulieu-de-Long and his first lieutenant were both killed, several guns dismounted, and many of the [French frigate] crew killed and wounded. . . . Nevertheless the French stuck bravely to their guns, while the flame of the cannonade illuminated the scene beneath the canopy of smoke.
- (idiomatic, by extension) To maintain one’s position or viewpoint when faced with opposition.
- 1898, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Quiller-Couch, chapter 29, in St. Ives:
- Ronald had stuck to his guns and refused me to the last.
- 1922, Agatha Christie, chapter 15, in The Secret Adversary:
- "I intend to marry, of course," replied Tuppence. "That is, if"—she paused, knew a momentary longing to draw back, and then stuck to her guns bravely—"I can find some one rich enough to make it worth my while."
- 2004 September 3, Mitch Frank, “Bush Finds His Agenda”, in Time, retrieved 19 September 2015:
- The President . . . stuck to his guns on that, not repeating any of his recent admissions that there had been "miscalculations" in planning for the war.
- 2018 December 8, Phil McNulty, “Chelsesa 2 - 0 Manchester City”, in BBC Sport[1]:
- Sarri has been questioned for his decision to use Jorginho as the hub of his team while pushing Kante into a more advanced role out on the right - why have the player many regard as the finest holding midfield player in world football and not utilise him there?
Sarri has stuck to his guns and this was a game - and performance by Kante - that added significant weight to his argument.
Translations[edit]
to maintain one's viewpoint when faced with opposition
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