• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the expression “to stick to one’s guns” come from and What does it mean?

Where does the expression “to stick to one’s guns” come from and What does it mean?

April 6, 2020 by Karen Hill

The expression “to stick (or stand) to one’s guns” means: To persevere in one’s course despite obstacles; to hold out for, or insist on, a desired course; to maintain one’s position.

Obviously, the origin is military, pertaining to any commander who is determined to maintain a present position in the face of heavy attack by an enemy.

As such, it could have been said of any determined leader since the invention of the gun.

Curiously, however, our figurative usage traces back little more than a century, the earliest being found in Samuel Warren’s popular farcical novel, Ten Thousand a Year (1839), in which the timorous character, Mr. Titmouse, in an argument, “though greatly alarmed,” is said to have “stood to his gun pretty steadily.”

Related Facts

  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever
  • How do Ballistics Experts trace bullets to specific guns?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World
  • What does the expression “to spike one’s guns” mean and Where does it come from?
  • History of Alcohol

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What does the phrase “to add insult to injury” mean and Where does it come from?
Next Post: What does the phrase “to bite the dust” mean and Where does it come from? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy