n. [ OE. ban, bon, bone + stickle prickle, sting. See Bone, n., Stickleback. ] (Zool.) A small fish, the three-spined stickleback. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bestuck p. pr. & vb. n. Besticking. ] To stick over, as with sharp points pressed in; to mark by infixing points or spots here and there; to pierce. [ 1913 Webster ]

Truth shall retire
Bestuck with slanderous darts. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. One whose occupation is to post handbills or posters in public places. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a policeman's club.
Syn. -- truncheon, nightstick, billy, billy club. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Far.) A piece of hard wood loaded at one end with lead, and used to strike the fleam into the vein. Youatt. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A stick used as a handle of a broom. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. candel-sticca; candel candle + sticca stick. ] An instrument or utensil for supporting a candle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Candlestick. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A stick or club employed in the game of ball called cat or tipcat. Massinger. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. chopstick /sing> 1. a pair of slender sticks made of wood, ivory, plastic, etc., used chiefly by the Chinese and Japanese to lift food into the mouth while dining; -- also commonly used around the world by persons of Oriental heritage or in restaurants serving oriental food. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Coup + stick. ] A stick or switch used among some American Indians in making or counting a coup. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A stick, cane, or cudgel, made of the wood of the crab tree. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a graduated rod dipped into a container to indicate the fluid level; as, to check the oil level in a car with a dipstick. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. A stick with which a drum is beaten. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Anything resembling a drumstick in form; -- applied especially to the tibiotarsus, or second joint, of the leg of a fowl, when cooked and served at the table. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. The bow, strung with horsehair, used in playing the fiddle; a fiddle bow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Front stick of a hearth fire. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gob mouth + stick. ] 1. (Angling) A stick or device for removing the hook from a fish's gullet.

He . . . wrenched out the hook with the short wooden stick he called a “gobstick.” Kipling. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. A spoon. [ Prov. Eng. or Slang ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A stick to ram down the charge of a musket, etc.; a rammer or ramrod. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Struck with horror; horrified. [ 1913 Webster ]

Blank and horror-stricken faces. C. Kingsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who refuses to join, or withdraws from, a trade union. [ Cant, Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A stick, cane, or club terminating in a knob; esp., such a stick or club used as a weapon or missile; a knobkerrie. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ G. malerstock; maler a painter + stock stick. ] A long stick that a painter uses to support the hand holding the brush while painting. Same as Maul-stick. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ G. malerstock; maler a painter + stock stick. ] A stick used by painters as a rest for the hand while working. [ Written also mahl-stick and mahlstick. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

. A stick, carved with lines and dots, used, esp. by Australian aborigines, to convey information. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. The long handle of a mop. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ See Maul-stick. ] A painter's maul-stick. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A policeman's club.
Syn. -- truncheon, billy, billy club, billystick. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. permitting easy removal of adherent food particles; -- of surfaces, especially of cooking utensils; as, a frying pan with a nonstick surface. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Boar hunting; -- so called by Anglo-Indians. [ Colloq. ] Tackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A small stick or rod of steel, formerly used in adjusting the plaits of ruffs. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (a) In England and Scotland, a cudgel used in fencing or fighting; a backsword. (b) The game played with singlesticks, in which he who first brings blood from his adversary's head is pronounced victor; backsword; cudgeling. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. sticke, AS. sticca; akin to stician to stab, prick, pierce, G. stecken a stick, staff, OHG. steccho, Icel. stik a stick. See Stick, v. t.. ] 1. A small shoot, or branch, separated, as by a cutting, from a tree or shrub; also, any stem or branch of a tree, of any size, cut for fuel or timber. [ 1913 Webster ]

Withered sticks to gather, which might serve
Against a winter's day. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any long and comparatively slender piece of wood, whether in natural form or shaped with tools; a rod; a wand; a staff; as, the stick of a rocket; a walking stick. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Anything shaped like a stick; as, a stick of wax. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A derogatory expression for a person; one who is inert or stupid; as, an odd stick; a poor stick. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Print.) A composing stick. See under Composing. It is usually a frame of metal, but for posters, handbills, etc., one made of wood is used. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A thrust with a pointed instrument; a stab. [ 1913 Webster ]

A stick of eels, twenty-five eels. [ Prov. Eng. ] --
Stick chimney, a chimney made of sticks laid crosswise, and cemented with clay or mud, as in some log houses. [ U.S. ] --
Stick insect, (Zool.), any one of various species of wingless orthopterous insects of the family Phasmidae, which have a long round body, resembling a stick in form and color, and long legs, which are often held rigidly in such positions as to make them resemble small twigs. They thus imitate the branches and twigs of the trees on which they live. The common American species is Diapheromera femorata. Some of the Asiatic species are more than a foot long. --
To cut one's stick, or
To cut stick, to run away. [ Slang ] De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Stuck Obs. Sticked ; p. pr. & vb. n. Sticking. ] [ OE. stikien, v.t. & i., combined with steken, whence E. stuck), AS. stician, v.t. & i., and (assumed) stecan, v.t.; akin to OFries. steka, OS. stekan, OHG. stehhan, G. stechen, and to Gr. &unr_; to prick, Skr. tij to be sharp. Cf. Distinguish, Etiquette, Extinct, Instigate, Instinct, Prestige, Stake, Steak, Stick, n., Stigma, Stimulate, Sting, Stitch in sewing, Style for or in writing. ] 1. To penetrate with a pointed instrument; to pierce; to stab; hence, to kill by piercing; as, to stick a beast. [ 1913 Webster ]

And sticked him with bodkins anon. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

It was a shame . . . to stick him under the other gentleman's arm while he was redding the fray. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to penetrate; to push, thrust, or drive, so as to pierce; as, to stick a needle into one's finger. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou stickest a dagger in me. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To fasten, attach, or cause to remain, by thrusting in; hence, also, to adorn or deck with things fastened on as by piercing; as, to stick a pin on the sleeve. [ 1913 Webster ]

My shroud of white, stuck all with yew. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The points of spears are stuck within the shield. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To set; to fix in; as, to stick card teeth. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To set with something pointed; as, to stick cards. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To fix on a pointed instrument; to impale; as, to stick an apple on a fork. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To attach by causing to adhere to the surface; as, to stick on a plaster; to stick a stamp on an envelope; also, to attach in any manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Print.) To compose; to set, or arrange, in a composing stick; as, to stick type. [ Cant ] [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Joinery) To run or plane (moldings) in a machine, in contradistinction to working them by hand. Such moldings are said to be stuck. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. To cause to stick; to bring to a stand; to pose; to puzzle; as, to stick one with a hard problem. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

11. To impose upon; to compel to pay; sometimes, to cheat. [ Slang ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To stick out, to cause to project or protrude; to render prominent. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To adhere; as, glue sticks to the fingers; paste sticks to the wall. [ 1913 Webster ]

The green caterpillar breedeth in the inward parts of roses not blown, where the dew sticketh. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To remain where placed; to be fixed; to hold fast to any position so as to be moved with difficulty; to cling; to abide; to cleave; to be united closely. [ 1913 Webster ]

A friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Prov. xviii. 24. [ 1913 Webster ]

I am a kind of bur; I shall stick. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

If on your fame our sex a bolt has thrown,
'T will ever stick through malice of your own. Young. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To be prevented from going farther; to stop by reason of some obstacle; to be stayed. [ 1913 Webster ]

I had most need of blessing, and “Amen”
Stuck in my throat. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The trembling weapon passed
Through nine bull hides, . . . and stuck within the last. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To be embarrassed or puzzled; to hesitate; to be deterred, as by scruples; to scruple; -- often with at. [ 1913 Webster ]

They will stick long at part of a demonstration for want of perceiving the connection of two ideas. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some stick not to say, that the parson and attorney forged a will. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To cause difficulties, scruples, or hesitation. [ 1913 Webster ]

This is the difficulty that sticks with the most reasonable. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

To stick by. (a) To adhere closely to; to be firm in supporting. “We are your only friends; stick by us, and we will stick by you.” Davenant. (b) To be troublesome by adhering. “I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me.” Pope. --
To stick out. (a) To project; to be prominent. “His bones that were not seen stick out.” Job xxxiii. 21. (b) To persevere in a purpose; to hold out; as, the garrison stuck out until relieved. [ Colloq. ] --
To stick to, to be persevering in holding to; as, to stick to a party or cause. “The advantage will be on our side if we stick to its essentials.” Addison. --
To stick up, to stand erect; as, his hair sticks up. --
To stick up for, to assert and defend; as, to stick up for one's rights or for a friend. [ Colloq. ] --
To stick upon, to dwell upon; not to forsake. “If the matter be knotty, the mind must stop and buckle to it, and stick upon it with labor and thought.” Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

obs. imp. of Stick. Stuck. [ 1913 Webster ]

And in the sand her ship sticked so fast. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

They sticked not to give their bodies to be burnt. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, sticks; as, a bill sticker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which causes one to stick; that which puzzles or poses. [ Colloq. ] Tackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mus.) In the organ, a small wooden rod which connects (in part) a key and a pallet, so as to communicate motion by pushing. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Same as Paster, 2. [ Political Cant, U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Stickfuls (Print.) As much set type as fills a composing stick. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being sticky; as, the stickiness of glue or paste. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. & n. from Stick, v. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sticking piece, a piece of beef cut from the neck. [ Eng. ] --
Sticking place, the place where a thing sticks, or remains fast; sticking point. [ 1913 Webster ] But screw your courage to the sticking place,
And we'll not fail. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] --
Sticking plaster, an adhesive plaster for closing wounds, and for similar uses. --
Sticking point. Same as Sticking place, above. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Stuck; spoiled in making. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Stickit minister, a candidate for the clerical office who fails, disqualified by incompetency or immorality. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See the Note under Lac. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Stickled p. pr. & vb. n. Stickling. ] [ Probably fr. OE. stightlen, sti&unr_;tlen, to dispose, arrange, govern, freq. of stihten, AS. stihtan: cf. G. stiften to found, to establish. ] 1. To separate combatants by intervening. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

When he [ the angel ] sees half of the Christians killed, and the rest in a fair way of being routed, he stickles betwixt the remainder of God's host and the race of fiends. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To contend, contest, or altercate, esp. in a pertinacious manner on insufficient grounds. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fortune, as she 's wont, turned fickle,
And for the foe began to stickle. Hudibras. [ 1913 Webster ]

While for paltry punk they roar and stickle. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

The obstinacy with which he stickles for the wrong. Hazlitt. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To play fast and loose; to pass from one side to the other; to trim. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To separate, as combatants; hence, to quiet, to appease, as disputants. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Which [ question ] violently they pursue,
Nor stickled would they be. Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To intervene in; to stop, or put an end to, by intervening; hence, to arbitrate. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

They ran to him, and, pulling him back by force, stickled that unnatural fray. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. stick, v. t. & i. ] A shallow rapid in a river; also, the current below a waterfall. [ Obs. or Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Patient anglers, standing all the day
Near to some shallow stickle or deep bay. W. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. & Prov E. stickle a prickle, spine, sting (AS. sticel) + back. See Stick, v. t., and cf. Banstickle. ] (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of small fishes of the genus Gasterosteus and allied genera. The back is armed with two or more sharp spines. They inhabit both salt and brackish water, and construct curious nests. Called also sticklebag, sharpling, and prickleback. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Stickle, v. t. ] One who stickles. Specifically: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

(a) One who arbitrates a duel; a sidesman to a fencer; a second; an umpire. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Basilius, the judge, appointed sticklers and trumpets whom the others should obey. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our former chiefs, like sticklers of the war,
First sought to inflame the parties, then to poise. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

(b) One who pertinaciously contends for some trifling things, as a point of etiquette; an unreasonable, obstinate contender; as, a stickler for ceremony. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Tory or High-church were the greatest sticklers against the exorbitant proceedings of King James II. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A plant (Echinospermum Lappula) of the Borage family, with small blue flowers and prickly nutlets. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The ruddy duck. [ Local, U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) 1. any of several plants having seeds tipped with barbs that may cling to fur or clothing, especially those of the genus Bidens, also called bur marigold, beggar-ticks, and Beggar's ticks, which have prickly flattened achenes. RHUD [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. a seed from a sticktight{ 1 }. [ PJC ]

a. [ Compar. Stickier superl. Stickiest. ] Having the quality of sticking to a surface; adhesive; gluey; viscous; viscid; glutinous; tenacious. [ 1913 Webster ]

Herbs which last longest are those of strong smell, and with a sticky stalk. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]