to stick it to
40
8.6
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
vengarse de
- He decided to stick it to the company by quitting on the last day of the month.
- stick it to the man
- want to stick it to
- really stick it to
The best way to stick it to a narcissist is to not take their bait.
- The best way to stick it to a narcissist is to not take their bait.
- But once in a while I say yes mainly to stick it to them and teach them a life lesson.
- Nothing makes me happier than to stick it to you.
- Was this person a David versus Goliath wanting to stick it to the United States government for doing wrong?
- Not only shrug it off, recognize that you're about to actually stick it to them by not even acknowledging it happened.
- Look what he's willing to go through just to stick it to the man, right.
- It's going to be a shout out to when you can successfully stick it to the man.
- So then now we are fully ready to both browse the web and stick it to the man at the same time.
- Louis I, I think the biggest way to handle that is to stick it to your mom.
Examples
-
She found a clever way to stick it to her boss after he ignored her ideas.
-
You can tell your little Marxist buddies that you "stuck it to the man!"
Blog text (19) -
I just would love to be able to just stick it to them and pay clear off, go somewhere and pay no income tax.
-
You really know how to stick it to a guy.
-
What, are you trying to stick it to the old man?
-
We'll stick it to them next time.
-
Let's stick it to the man.
-
But ever since he lost that election, it's been "how do I stick it to Obama?"
Blog text (4) -
I just hope he uses that opportunity to really stick it to Obama and make him look silly.
Blog text (7) -
Look what he's willing to go through just to stick it to the man, right.
Synonyms
77
5.6
To do something to hurt someone because they hurt you
46
5.4
To do something to hurt someone because they hurt you
45
9.0
To beat or punish someone very badly
44
8.1
To tell someone angrily that they did something wrong
37
8.1
To scold someone very strongly for something they did
29
8.2
To get revenge on someone for something they did
11
8.1
To angrily tell someone off
1
8.1
To scold or punish someone angrily for something they did wrong
1
8.7
Tell someone angrily that they did something wrong
1
9.4
Say or do something on purpose to hurt someone who is already in trouble
Antonyms
How Harsh
∞
2.0
105
7.3
821
1.0
- Informal
40
8.6
- Formal
33
6.1
22
7.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
stick + it + to
The sense 'to punish or get back at someone' is metaphorically related to 'stick' as a punitive force (as in the 'stick' of 'carrot and stick'), so there is a partial compositional link. However the construction is colloquial and idiomatic—'it' is a dummy element and the precise target/action meaning cannot be fully predicted from the parts alone—so a B1 learner who knows the words would likely need prior exposure.
Etymology
Stick it to makes a simple picture: the verb stick and the word it feel like pressing a sticker or mark onto someone to blame or shame them. One popular story says this image is why to stick it to someone means 'to punish' or 'get back at' them.