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stick to one's guns

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gun

1  [guhn] noun, verb, gunned, gun⋅ning.
Use stick to one's guns in a Sentence
–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.
6. British. a member of a shooting party.
7. electron gun.
–verb (used with object)
8. to shoot with a gun (often fol. 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.
–verb (used without object)
10. to hunt with a gun.
11. to shoot with a gun.
—Verb phrase
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.
—Idioms
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; ME gunne, gonne, appar. short for AL Gunilda, gonnyld, name for engine of war; cf. ON Gunna, short for Gunnhildr woman's name

Related forms:
gunless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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stick   (stĭk)   
n.  

  1. A long slender piece of wood, especially:

    1. A branch or stem cut from a tree or shrub.

    2. A piece of wood, such as a tree branch, that is used for fuel, cut for lumber, or shaped for a specific purpose.

    3. A wand, staff, baton, or rod.

    4. Sports & Games Any of various implements shaped like a rod and used in play: a hockey stick.

    5. The control device of an aircraft that operates the elevators and ailerons.

    6. Informal A stick shift.

    7. A composing stick.

    8. A stickful.

    9. A group of bombs released to fall across an enemy target in a straight row.

    10. Slang A group of paratroopers exiting an aircraft in succession.

    11. A remote area; backwoods: moved to the sticks.

    12. A city or town regarded as dull or unsophisticated.

  2. A walking stick; a cane.

  3. Something slender and often cylindrical in form: a stick of dynamite.

  4. Slang A marijuana cigarette.

    1. The control device of an aircraft that operates the elevators and ailerons.

    2. Informal A stick shift.

    3. A composing stick.

    4. A stickful.

    5. A group of bombs released to fall across an enemy target in a straight row.

    6. Slang A group of paratroopers exiting an aircraft in succession.

    7. A remote area; backwoods: moved to the sticks.

    8. A city or town regarded as dull or unsophisticated.

  6. Nautical A mast or a part of a mast.

  7. Printing

    1. A composing stick.

    2. A stickful.

    3. A group of bombs released to fall across an enemy target in a straight row.

    4. Slang A group of paratroopers exiting an aircraft in succession.

    5. A remote area; backwoods: moved to the sticks.

    6. A city or town regarded as dull or unsophisticated.

    1. A group of bombs released to fall across an enemy target in a straight row.

    2. Slang A group of paratroopers exiting an aircraft in succession.

    3. A remote area; backwoods: moved to the sticks.

    4. A city or town regarded as dull or unsophisticated.

  9. A timber tree.

  10. Informal A piece of furniture.

  11. A poke, thrust, or stab with a stick or similar object: a stick in the ribs.

  12. A threatened penalty: using both a carrot and a stick to keep allies in line.

  13. The condition or power of adhering: a glue with plenty of stick.

  14. sticks Informal

    1. A remote area; backwoods: moved to the sticks.

    2. A city or town regarded as dull or unsophisticated.

  15. Informal A person regarded as stiff, boring, or spiritless.

  16. Archaic A difficulty or obstacle; a delay.

v.   stuck (stŭk), stick·ing, sticks

v.   tr.

  1. To pierce, puncture, or penetrate with a pointed instrument.

  2. To kill by piercing.

  3. To thrust or push (a pointed instrument) into or through another object.

  4. To fasten into place by forcing an end or point into something: stick a hook on the wall.

  5. To fasten or attach with or as if with pins, nails, or similar devices.

  6. To fasten or attach with an adhesive material, such as glue or tape.

  7. To cover or decorate with objects piercing the surface.

  8. To fix, impale, or transfix on a pointed object: stick an olive on a toothpick.

  9. To put, thrust, or push: stuck a flower in his buttonhole.

  10. To detain or delay.

  11. past tense and past participle sticked (stĭkt) To prop (a plant) with sticks or brush on which to grow.

  12. past tense and past participle sticked Printing To set (type) in a composing stick.

  13. Informal To confuse, baffle, or puzzle: Sometimes even simple questions stick me.

  14. To cover or smear with something sticky.

  15. Informal To put blame or responsibility on; burden: stuck me with the bill.

  16. Slang To defraud or cheat: The dealer stuck me with shoddy merchandise.

v.   intr.

  1. To be or become fixed or embedded in place by having the point thrust in.

  2. To become or remain attached or in close association by or as if by adhesion; cling: stick together in a crowd.

    1. To remain firm, determined, or resolute: stuck to basic principles.

    2. To remain loyal or faithful: stuck by her through hard times.

    3. To persist or endure: a bad name that has stuck.

  4. To scruple or hesitate: She sticks at nothing—no matter how difficult.

  5. To become fixed, blocked, checked, or obstructed: The drawer stuck and would not open.

  6. To project or protrude: hair sticking out on his head.

  7. Sports To throw a jab in boxing.

  8. To be prominent.

  9. Informal To put up with: stick out a bad situation.

Phrasal Verb(s):
stick around Informal To remain; linger.
stick out

  1. To be prominent.

  2. Informal To put up with: stick out a bad situation.

stick upTo rob, especially at gunpoint.

Idiom(s):
be stuck on Informal To be very fond of.

Idiom(s):
stick it to Slang To treat severely or wrongfully.

Idiom(s):
stick (one's) neck out Informal To make oneself vulnerable; take a risk.

Idiom(s):
stick to/by one's gunsTo hold fast to an opinion or a set course of action.

Idiom(s):
stick to (one's) knitting Informal To mind one's own business.

Idiom(s):
stick to (one's) ribs Informal To be substantial or filling. Used of food.

Idiom(s):
stick up forTo defend or support.

[Middle English stikke, from Old English sticca; see steig- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
gun

  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.
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Word Origin & History

gun 
1339, 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 ..."), 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.1408. First applied to pistols and revolvers 1744. Meaning "thief, rascal" is from 1858. The verb meaning "to shoot with a gun" is from 1622; 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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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