to stick to one's text
- idiom
:
ceñirse al texto
- Well, I write the lines for them, but they don't always stick to the text, and often we can't really remember what the actors have actually said.
Examples
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In order to deliver the message effectively, the politician chose to stick to one's text during the press conference.
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To maintain clarity, the lecturer decided to stick to one's text instead of adding personal anecdotes.
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During the presentation, it was crucial for the speaker to stick to one's text to ensure all important points were covered.
Synonyms
343
3.0
Keep doing something without changing it, for example following a plan
Antonyms
How Scripted
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from the phrasal verb 'stick to' (to adhere to or keep to something) plus 'text' (written material), so a learner who knows those constituents can infer 'follow the prepared script' without prior exposure. This compositional pattern (stick to X = keep to X) is common in English and across many languages, making the phrase immediately predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Stick to one's text comes from the simple image of a speaker who keeps their hand on the written lines and will not change them, literally stick to the text. That's why it means 'to follow a prepared script' and not improvise during a talk.