stick to one\'s guns

[guhn] Origin

gun

1[guhn] noun, verb, gunned, gun·ning.
noun
1.
a weapon consisting of a metal tube, with mechanical attachments, from which projectiles are shot by the force of an explosive; a piece of ordnance.
2.
any portable firearm, as a rifle, shotgun, or revolver.
3.
a long-barreled cannon having a relatively flat trajectory.
4.
any device for shooting something under pressure: a paint gun; a staple gun.
5.
Slang. a person whose profession is killing; professional killer: a gangland gun.
EXPAND
6.
British. a member of a shooting party.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
8.
to shoot with a gun (often followed by down): The guards gunned down the fleeing convict.
9.
to cause (an engine, vehicle, aircraft, etc.) to increase in speed very quickly by increasing the supply of fuel.

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Stick to one's guns is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
verb (used without object)
10.
to hunt with a gun.
11.
to shoot with a gun.
12.
gun for,
a.
to seek with intent to harm or kill.
b.
to seek; try earnestly to obtain: He is gunning for a raise.
13.
give the gun, Slang. to put into motion or speed up: We gave the motor the gun and drove off.
14.
jump the gun, Slang.
a.
to begin a race before the starting signal.
b.
to begin prematurely; act too hastily.
15.
spike someone's guns, to frustrate or prevent someone from accomplishing a plan: Our competitors planned a surprise reduction in their rates, but we discovered it and were able to spike their guns.
16.
stick to one's guns, to maintain one's position in the face of opposition; stand firm: They stuck to their guns and refused to submit. Also, stand by one's guns.
17.
under the gun, under pressure, as to meet a deadline or solve a problem: We're all under the gun with these new sales quotas.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English gunne, gonne, apparently short for Anglo-Latin Gunilda, gonnyld, name for engine of war; compare Old Norse Gunna, short for Gunnhildr woman's name

gun·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To stick to one's guns
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

gun
mid-14c., gunne "an engine of war that throws rocks, arrows or other missiles," probably a shortening of woman's name Gunilda, found in M.E. gonnilde "cannon" and in an Anglo-L. reference to a specific gun from a 1330 munitions inventory of Windsor Castle ("...una magna balista de cornu quae Domina Gunilda
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..."), from O.N. Gunnhildr, woman's name (from gunnr + hildr, both meaning "war, battle"); the identification of women with powerful weapons is common historically (cf. Big Bertha, Brown Bess, etc.); meaning shifted with technology, from cannons to firearms as they developed 15c. Great guns (cannon, etc.) distinguished from small guns (such as muskets) from c.1400. First applied to pistols and revolvers 1744. Meaning "thief, rascal" is from 1858. The verb meaning "to shoot with a gun" is from 1620s; the sense of "to accelerate an engine" is from 1930. Gun-shy is 1884, originally of sporting dogs. Son of a gun is originally nautical. Gun-metal (commonly an alloy of copper and zinc) used attributively of a dull blue-gray color since 1905. Gunboat is from 1793; gunboat diplomacy is from 1927, originally with reference to China.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

gun definition


  1. n.
    a hired gunman; a bodyguard, an assassin, or a member of a gang of criminals. (Underworld and Western.) : Willie and his guns came by to remind Gary of what he owed Mr. Gutman.
  2. n.
    a leader; the key member of a group. : Who's the gun around here?
  3. tv.
    to race an engine; to rev up an engine. : See how loud it is when I gun it?

  4. Go to guns. :
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

stick to one's guns

Hold fast to a statement, opinion, or course of action, as in The witness stuck to her guns about the exact time she was there. This expression, originally put as stand to one's guns, alluded to a gunner remaining by his post. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1800s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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