stickleback (stiklbak)

[Also corruptly stickle bag, and metamorphosed tittlebat; fogy; a slow or insignificant person. [Colloq.] This rusty-colored one [a pin] is that respectable old stick - in - the - mud, Nicias. T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, I. x. Two-spined Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). (From Report of U. S. Fish Con mi ion.) long, of 5 genera, Gasterosteus , Pygosteus , Eucalia , Apeltes , and Spinach i a , but very pugnacious and rapacious, being especially destructive to the spawn and fry of many larger fishes. They inhabit fresh waters and sea-arms of northern Europe, Asia, and North America Sticta (stik'tä), n. [NL. (Schreber, 1774), στικτός , spotted, dappled, punctuated, ver- bal adj. στίζειν , mark with a pointed instru- ment, prick: see stigma . ] A large, mostly trop- ical, genus of par meliaceous lichens, of the family Peltigerei . The thallus is frondose-foliaceous, variously lobed, but for the most part wide-lobed, and co- riaceous or cartilaginous in texture. The apothecia are scut ell i form, submarginal, elevated, and blackened; the spores are fusiform and acicular, two to four-celled, usu- ally colorle . There are about 20 North American species. Some of the exotic species, as S. argyracea , are rich in col- oring matter. See crottles2 , hazel - crottles , lungwort , 3, oak- lungs , rag1 , 3, and cut under apothecium . sticteine (stik'tē-in), a . [Irreg. Sticta + -ine .] In bot . , relating or belonging to the genus Sticta . E. Tucker man , N. A. Lichens, I. 83. stictiform (stik'ti-fôrm), a. [ Sticta + L. form a , form.] In bot . , having the form or characters of the genus Sticta . stidt, n. A Middle English form of stead . stiddyl (stid'i), n. A dialectal form of stithy . cial value for their oil or for manure. They are noted for the construction of elaborate nests which the male builds for the eggs, in which several females often or generally deposit their burden. The eggs are comparatively few, and while being hatched are a iduously guarded by the stiet. See styl , sty2, sty3. James Yorke, a blacksmith of Lincoln,... is a servant as well of Apollo as Vulcan, turning his stiddy into a study. Fuller , Worthies, Lincoln, II. 295. stiddy2, a. A dialectal form of steady1 . stickler (stikʻlėr), n. [An altered form of stiteler , stightler , after stickle for stightle : see stickles, stightle.] 1. An attendant on or a judge of a contest, as a duel; a second; hence, an arbitrator; a peacemaker. The dragon wing of night o'erspreads the earth, And, stickler -like, the armies separates. stick tail (stik'tāl), n. matura rubida . See cut under Erismatura . J. P. Giraud , 1844. [Long Island.] sticktight (stik'tīt), n. A composite weed, Bidens frondosa, whose flat achenia bear two barbed awns; also, one of the seeds. The name is doubtle applied to other plants with adhe- sive seeds. Compare beggar's - ticks , beggar's- lice. sticky1 (stik'i), a . [ sticky day. [Colloq.] sticky2 (stik'i), a . [ stick3 + -y1.] Like a stick; stiff. But herbs draw a weak juyce, and have a soft stalk; and therefore those amongst them which last longest are herbs of strong smell, and with a sticky stalk. Bacon, Nat. Hist., § 583. IMG:content-2124.png:[blocks in formation] stiff (stif), a. and n. [Also dial. stife , stive (with diphthong after orig. long vowel); stef , North Fries. stif , styf , stif (Siebs) stif , styf , steef , stef , stif or stif = OFries. stief , stijf , D. stijf = MLG. stif or stif , LG. stief = MHG. stif (appar. ste if = Dan. stiv = Sw. styf = Norw. stiv (Icel. * stifr (Web- ster), not found, stūfr (Haldorsen), prob., like the other Scand. forms, of LG. origin); Teut. V stif , stif ; akin to Lith. stiprus , strong, stipti , be stiff, L. stīpes , a stem (see stipe ). Cf. stifle1 .] I. a. 1. Rigid; not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not flaccid: as, stiff paper; a cravat stiff with starch. Oh God, my heart! she is cold, cold, and stiff too, Stiff as a stake; she's dead! Hark! that rustle of a dre , Stiff with lavish costline ! Lowell, The Ghost-Seer. The dank, and, rising on stiff pennons, tower The mild aereal sky. Milton , P. L., vii. 441. I was commytted the best archere That was in mery Englonde. 9. Strong: said of an alcoholic drink, or mixed drink of which spirit forms a part. But, tho' the port surpa es praise, My nerves have dealt with stifer. IMG:content-2125.png:[graphic][merged small][merged small] A grene hors gret & thikke, A stede ful stif to strayne [guide]. Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 173. Ther the batayle was stiffest and of more str eng the. Joseph of Arimathie (E. E. T. S.), p. 18. The boy remained stiff in his denial, and seemed not af- fected with the apprehension of death. Winthrop, Hist. New England, II. 58. 11. Hard to receive or accept; hard to bear. This is stiff news - hath with his Part hi an force Extended Asia from Euphrates. 12. Hard to master or overcome; very difficult: as, a stiff examination in mathematics. We now left the carriages, and began a stiff climb to the Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 447. They piled the stiffs outside the door They made, I reckon, a cord or more. 3. Drawn tight; tense: as, a stiff cord. Then the two men which did hold the end of the line, still standing there, began to draw, & drew til they had drawn the ends of the line stiffe , & together. Keep a stiff rein, and move but gently on; The coursers of themselves will run too fast. Add is on , tr. of Ovid's Meta morph., ii. 4. Not easily bent; not to be moved without great friction or exertion; not working smoothly or easily. As he [Rip Van Winkle] rose to walk, he found himself stif in the joints. Irving , Sketch-Book, p. 56. The plugs were stiff , and water could not be got. Mrs. Gaskell , Mary Barton, v. 5. Not natural and easy in movement; not flow- ing or graceful; cramped; constrained: as, a stiff style of writing or speaking. And his addre , if not quite French in ease, Not English stiff , but frank, and form'd to please. Cowper , Tirocinium, 1. 671. Our hard, stiff lines of life with her Are'flowing curves of beauty. Whittier, Among the Hills. 6. Rigidly ceremonious; formal in manner; con- strained; affected; unbending; starched: as, a stiff deportment. This kind of good manners was perhaps carried to an exce , so as to make conversation too stiff , formal, and precise. Add is on , Spectator, No. 119. 7. Strong and steady in motion: as, a stiff breeze. And, like a field of standing corn that's mov'd With a stiff gale, their heads bow all one way. Beau . and Fl . , Phil aster, iii. 1. 8. Strong; lusty; stanch, both physically and mentally. [Now provincial only.] stifian , be stiff, stif , stif , stiff: see stiff , a ., and cf. stivel , the older form of the verb.] To be- come or grow stiff. (a) To become upright or strong. As sone as they [chicks] styffe and that they steppe kunne, Than cometh and crieth her owen kynde dame. Richard the Redele , iii. 54. But Dido affrighted stift also in her obstinat onset. Stan i hurst , Æneid, iv. stiff-borne (stif'born), a. Carried on with un- yielding constancy or perseverance. In this neighbourhood I have frequently heard it said that if a corpse does not stiffen within a reasonable time it is a sign of another death in the family. N. and Q., 7th ser., X. 114. (b) To become le soft or fluid; grow thicker or harder; become inspi ated: as, jellies stiffen as they cool. The tender soil then stiff " ning by degreeев. Dryden. (c) To become steady and strong: as, a stiffening breeze. (d) To become unyielding; grow rigid, obstinate, or for- mal. Sir Aylmer Aylmer slowly stiffening spoke: "The girl and boy, Sir, know their differences!" Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. (e) To become higher in price; become firmer or more un- yielding: as, the market stiffens . [Commercial slang.] II. trans. To make stiff. (a) To make le pliant stiffen (c) To make more thick or viscous; inspi ate: as, to stiffen paste. (d) To make stubborn or obstinate. The man.. who is settled and stiffened in vice. Barrow , Sermons, III. xvi. ( Encyc . Dict .) stiffener (stif'nėr), n. [ stiffen + -er1.] One who or that which stiffens. (a) Formerly used spe cifically for a piece of stiff material worn inside a stock or neckcloth, and also for a similar device worn in leg-of-mutton sleeves. (b) In bookbinding, a thick paper or thin millboard used by bookbinders as an inner lining to book covers to give them the needed stiffne . 5945 She whisper'd, with a stifled moan. Tennyson, Mariana in the South. 4. To suppre ; keep from active manifestation; keep from public notice; conceal; repre ; destroy: as, to stifle inquiry; to stifle a report; to stifle pa ion; to stifle convictions. A record surreptitiously or erroneously made up, to stifle or pervert the truth. Black stone, Com., III. xxv. =Syn. 2. Suffocate, Strangle, etc. See smother.-4. To hush, muffle, muzzle, gag. II, in trans. To suffocate; perish by asphyxia. You shall stifle in your own report, buckram, crinoline.