stick-in-the-mud是什么意思

adj. 保守的；迟钝的

n. 守旧的人；顽固保守者

中文词源

stick-in-the-mud 墨守成规的人

来自俚语义 stick,停留。字面意思即留在泥水里面不肯走的人，用以讽刺墨守成规的人。

stick-in-the-mud (n.): 1852, from verbal phrase, stick (v.) on notion of "one who sticks in the mud," hence "one who is content to remain in an abject condition." The phrase appears in 1730, in city of London court records, as the alias of an accused named John Baker, who with two other men received a death sentence at the Old Bailey in December 1733 for "breaking open the House of Mr. Thomas Rayner, a Silversmith, and stealing thence Plate to a great Value."

1. But legal experts are not sure if such a charge can stick.: 但法律专家们不能肯定这一指控是否成立。

3. He walks with a stick but still leads his soldiers into battle.: 他虽然拄着拐杖，但依然带领士兵们投入战斗。

4. I'm not a fashion victim; I stick to what suits me.: 我不是一味赶时髦的人，我只穿适合自己的服装。

5. If a window is broken, you can't stick it back together again.: 如果窗户碎了，就无法再把它粘回到一起了。