stickle
Americanverb (used without object)
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to argue or haggle insistently, especially on trivial matters.
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to raise objections; scruple; demur.
verb
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to dispute stubbornly, esp about minor points
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to refuse to agree or concur, esp by making petty stipulations
Etymology
Origin of stickle
1520–30; variant of obsolete stightle to set in order, frequentative of stight to set in order, Middle English stighten, Old English stihtan to arrange; cognate with German stiften, Old Norse stētta to set up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Classicists from Nick's, who stickle for the traditions of the Chicago Style, nodded their heads in austere approval.
From Time Magazine Archive
Meanwhile in London His Majesty's Government continued to stickle for the oath in a sharp note to the Irish Free State, so sharp that last week neither sender nor receiver would divulge the contents.
From Time Magazine Archive
Theer ’s my shadder ’pon the bank a mile behind you; an’ I didn’t ope my mouth till you’d fished the stickle to the bottom and missed two rises.”
From Children of the Mist by Phillpotts, Eden
Such is the influence of Government, that the Devil will every where stickle mightily, to have that siding with him.
From The Wonders of the Invisible World Being an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches Lately Executed in New-England, to which is added A Farther Account of the Tryals of the New-England Witches by Mather, Cotton
But he was disposed to stickle for the hereditary rights of the crown, both public and private, and he greatly disliked the details of his expenditure being scrutinised by a parliamentary committee.
From The Political History of England - Vol XI From Addington's Administration to the close of William IV.'s Reign (1801-1837) by Brodrick, George C. (George Charles)
Ammon stickled for the eternal principle of righteousness, and contended that it had been violated in the first instance.
From Cotton is King, and Pro-Slavery Arguments Comprising the Writings of Hammond, Harper, Christy, Stringfellow, Hodge, Bledsoe, and Cartrwright on This Important Subject by Elliott, E. N.
He was followed by Peel who, professing to uphold the independence of the upper house, declared against the more obnoxious amendments, and stickled only for points which the ministry was not unwilling to concede.
From The Political History of England - Vol XI From Addington's Administration to the close of William IV.'s Reign (1801-1837) by Brodrick, George C. (George Charles)
He stickled as little against mere forms as for them; only, if they stood between the soul and Christ or between a Christian and his brethren, then he was their uncompromising opponent.
From The Life of St. Paul by Stalker, James
"One party of English soldiers stickled not to contravene these commands, being tempted with the desire of finding victuals."
From On the Spanish Main Or, Some English forays on the Isthmus of Darien. by Masefield, John
"Ten to one as a County magnate he stickled for it, and the High Sheriff put him on the panel to keep him amused."
From Lady Good-for-Nothing by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir
The film, which was made largely with a $20,000 grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, spends time showing what has been lost to Wikipedia because of stickling rules of citation and verification.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2011
After the "Schweinehund Speech," however, it was clear that Briand and Poincare are one in stickling for cash.
From Time Magazine Archive
"All the caves you want," said Bernel, scornful at such unusual stickling on the part of his chum.
From A Maid of the Silver Sea by Oxenham, John
There is little use in stickling on details.
From The Social Principles of Jesus by Rauschenbusch, Walter
This is seen in their way of stickling for accuracy when others repeat familiar word-forms.
From Children's Ways by Sully, James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
