stickwoman

English

Etymology

From stick +‎ -woman.

Noun

stickwoman (plural stickwomen)

1. A simple drawing of a woman with lines to represent limbs and torso.
   • 1988, John Hildebrand, Reading the River: A Voyage Down the Yukon, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 137:

     Some had illustrated their cards in crayon, and I found these drawings strangely moving. A stickwoman convalescing in bed. A stickwoman weeping tears in red dashes like tracer rounds. In one card, I found myself joining the hapless stickwoman in a transparent, rocket-shaped house.

   • 2016, Michael Hiebert, Sticks and Stones, Kensington Books, →ISBN, page 237:

     The stickwoman was terribly drawn, her arms and legs all different lengths.

   • 2019, Donna Thomson, Zachary White, The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation from Loved One to Caregiver, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 156:

     Use simple symbols to represent different people. Although you can make up your own, here are some suggestions: • stickmen and stickwomen—for yourself and the people in your household as well as male and female family and friends

2. A female dealer in gambling who gathers the dice with a stick.
   • 1992, Edward Allen, Mustang Sally, New York, N.Y., London: W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 72:

     I step up to the least-crowded crap table, taking my place to the right of a country-and-western-type stickwoman with tightly permed blond hair who looks as if she would be more comfortable dressed in the square-dance outfit of the Frontier than wearing the chinoiserie, or maybe the japonaiserie, of her purple kimono uniform.

   • 1996, Olaf Vancura, Smart Casino Gambling: How to Win More and Lose Less, San Diego, Calif.: Index Publishing Group, Inc., →ISBN, page 137:

     The boxman hunches over the house chips on the left, while the stickwoman on the right eyes the dice.

   • 2005, R. D. Ellison, Gamble to Win Advanced Craps, Lyle Stuart, Kensington Publishing Corp., →ISBN, page 109:

     The other day, while at a craps table at Argosy, I saw a 12-11-10 countdown. On a lark, I called out: “Here comes a 9!” Sure enough, the next roll was a 9. I glanced around. Anybody impressed? I looked at the boxman. He was talking to the dealers about patio furniture. I think the stickwoman must have heard it, but there was no sign of recognition of the fact.

3. A female player in a game played with a stick (such as hockey or lacrosse).
   • 1981 winter, Max Petersen, “Sports”, in Middlebury College News Letter, volume 55, number 2, page 27:

     Panther stickwomen recorded five shutouts in the regular season and outscored their opponents by a solid 24-12 margin.

   • 1984 March 23, Sue DePasquale, “Are All College Athletics Created Equal?”, in The Washington College Elm, page 6:

     In order to reach the women’s lacrosse field, team members must descend a steep 30 foot embankment into a ravine, cross a set of railroad tracks, and then clamber up the opposite side with the aid of small trees and vines. The stickwomen complain that the conditions become especially muddy and dangerous when it rains.

   • 1991 September 26, Rick Harrison, “Field hockey team posts win, loss and tie”, in Andover Townsman, 105th year, number 3, Andover Publishing Company, page 40:

     The AHS junior varsity stickwomen also continued to roll with 2-0 victories over both Wilmington and Tewksbury.

Coordinate terms

• stickman