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stick
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Idioms

    stick it, Slang: Often Vulgar. shove1(def 7).
    stick it to (someone), Slang. to take advantage of; treat unfairly.
    stick it out, to endure something patiently to the end or its completion: It was a long, dusty trip but we stuck it out.
    stick it up your/one's ass, Slang: Vulgar. shove1(def 8).
    stick one's neck out. neck(def 23).
    stick to one's guns. gun1(def 17).
    stick to the/one's ribs, to be substantial and nourishing, as a hearty meal: Hot cereal sticks to your ribs on those cold winter mornings.

Origin of stick

2
before 900; Middle English stiken, Old English stician to pierce, thrust; akin to German stechen to sting, Latin -stīg- in instīgāre (see instigate), Greek stízein (see stigma)
Related formsstick·a·ble, adjectivestick·a·bil·i·ty, nounre·stick·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms for stick

1. penetrate, spear. 6. transfix. 9. pin. 12. glue, cement, paste. 22. Stick, adhere, cohere mean to cling to or be tightly attached to something. Adhere implies that one kind of material clings tenaciously to another; cohere adds the idea that a thing is attracted to and held by something like itself: Particles of sealing wax cohere and form a mass that will adhere to tin. Stick, a more colloquial and general term, is used particularly when a third kind of material is involved: A gummed label will stick to a package. 29. stickle, waver, doubt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for stick to the ribs

stick

1

noun

a small thin branch of a tree
  1. any long thin piece of wood
  2. such a piece of wood having a characteristic shape for a special purposea walking stick; a hockey stick
  3. a baton, wand, staff, or rod
an object or piece shaped like a sticka stick of celery; a stick of dynamite
See control stick
informal the lever used to change gear in a motor vehicle
nautical a mast or yard
printing See composing stick
  1. a group of bombs arranged to fall at intervals across a target
  2. a number of paratroops jumping in sequence
slang
  1. verbal abuse, criticismI got some stick for that blunder
  2. physical power, force (esp in the phrase give it some stick)
(usually plural) a piece of furniturethese few sticks are all I have
(plural) informal a rural area considered remote or backward (esp in the phrase in the sticks)
(plural) Canadian West coast and Northwestern Canadian informal the wooded interior part of the country
(plural) hockey a declaration made by the umpire if a player's stick is above the shoulders
(plural) goalposts
US obsolete a cannabis cigarette
a means of coercion
informal a dull boring person
(usually preceded by old) informal a familiar name for a personnot a bad old stick
in a cleft stick in a difficult position
wrong end of the stick a complete misunderstanding of a situation, explanation, etc

verb sticks, sticking or sticked

to support (a plant) with sticks; stake

Word Origin for stick

Old English sticca; related to Old Norse stikka, Old High German stecca

stick

2

verb sticks, sticking or stuck

(tr) to pierce or stab with or as if with something pointed
to thrust or push (a sharp or pointed object) or (of a sharp or pointed object) to be pushed into or through another object
(tr) to fasten in position by pushing or forcing a point into somethingto stick a peg in a hole
(tr) to fasten in position by or as if by pins, nails, etcto stick a picture on the wall
(tr) to transfix or impale on a pointed object
(tr) to cover with objects piercing or set in the surface
(when intr, foll by out, up, through, etc) to put forward or be put forward; protrude or cause to protrudeto stick one's head out of the window
(tr) informal to place or put in a specified positionstick your coat on this chair
to fasten or be fastened by or as if by an adhesive substancestick the pages together; they won't stick
(tr) informal to cause to become sticky
(when tr, usually passive) to come or cause to come to a standstillwe were stuck for hours in a traffic jam; the wheels stuck
(intr) to remain for a long timethe memory sticks in my mind
(tr) slang, mainly British to tolerate; abideI can't stick that man
(intr) to be reluctant
(tr; usually passive) informal to cause to be at a loss; baffle, puzzle, or confuseI was totally stuck for an answer
(tr) slang to force or impose something unpleasant onthey stuck me with the bill for lunch
(tr) to kill by piercing or stabbing
stick in one's throat or stick in one's craw informal to be difficult, or against one's conscience, for one to accept, utter, or believe
stick one's nose into See nose (def. 17)
stick to the ribs informal (of food) to be hearty and satisfying

noun

the state or condition of adhering
informal a substance causing adhesion
obsolete something that causes delay or stoppage
See also stick around, stick at, stick by, stick down, stick out, stick to, stick together, stick-up, stick with, stuck

Word Origin for stick

Old English stician; related to Old High German stehhan to sting, Old Norse steikja to roast on a spit
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for stick to the ribs

stick

n.

Old English sticca "rod, twig, spoon," from Proto-Germanic *stikkon- "pierce, prick" (cf. Old Norse stik, Old High German stehho, German Stecken "stick, staff"), from PIE *steig- "to stick; pointed" (see stick (v.)). Meaning "staff used in a game" is from 1670s (originally billiards); meaning "manual gearshift lever" first recorded 1914. Stick-ball is attested from 1824. Alliterative connection of sticks and stones is recorded from mid-15c.

stick

v.

Old English stician "to pierce, stab," also "to remain embedded, be fastened," from Proto-Germanic *stik- "pierce, prick, be sharp" (cf. Old Saxon stekan, Old Frisian steka, Dutch stecken, Old High German stehhan, German stechen "to stab, prick"), from PIE *steig- (cf. Latin in-stigare "to goad;" Greek stizein "to prick, puncture," stigma "mark made by a pointed instrument;" Old Persian tigra- "sharp, pointed;" Avestan tighri- "arrow;" Lithuanian stingu "to remain in place;" Russian stegati "to quilt").

Figurative sense of "to remain permanently in mind" is attested from c.1300. Transitive sense of "to fasten (something) in place" is attested from late 13c. Stick out "project" is recorded from 1560s. Slang stick around "remain" is from 1912; stick it as a rude bit of advice is first recorded 1922.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with stick to the ribs

stick to the ribs

Be substantial or filling, as in It may not be health food but steak really sticks to the ribs. This idiom was first recorded in 1603.

stick

In addition to the idioms beginning with stick

  • stick around
  • stick at
  • stick by
  • stick in one's craw
  • stick it
  • stick it to someone
  • stick one's neck out
  • stick out
  • stick to
  • stick together
  • stick to one's guns
  • stick to one's last
  • stick to the ribs
  • stick up
  • stick up for
  • stick with
  • sticky fingers

also see:

  • carrot and stick
  • get on the stick
  • make stick
  • more than one can shake a stick at
  • short end of the stick
  • stand (stick) up for
  • wrong end of the stick

Also see understuck.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.