stickit
Definition
Adjective (chiefly Scottish): - Unsuccessful or failed in a profession: "stickit" describes a person, especially a minister, who has completed their training but has not obtained a position or appointment in their chosen field. It implies a sense of being "stuck" or left without a role.
Usage Examples
- (He completed his training for the clergy but was never appointed as a minister.)
- (He was a failed schoolteacher.)
- (She was a doctor who could not secure a medical position.)
Advanced Usage
- "stickit minister": This is the most common collocation, referring specifically to a candidate for the ministry who has been "stuck" or left without a charge.
- The novel's protagonist is a stickit minister who turns to farming. (A failed clergyman who changes his occupation.)
- Extended use: The term can be applied to other professions by analogy, though this is less common.
- He was a stickit lawyer, having passed the bar but never finding a client. (A failed lawyer.)
Variants and Related Words
- Stick (verb): to become fixed or jammed; to be unable to move forward.
- The key stuck in the lock. (It became jammed.)
- Stuck (adjective): unable to move or progress.
- She was stuck in a dead-end job. (She could not advance.)
Synonyms
- Failed: unsuccessful in achieving a goal.
- Unplaced: not given a position or appointment.
- Frustrated: prevented from achieving a desired outcome.
Related Idioms
- Stick in one's throat: to be difficult to accept or say.
- The criticism stuck in his throat. (He found it hard to accept.)
- Stick to one's guns: to maintain one's position or opinion.
- Despite the pressure, she stuck to her guns. (She refused to change her mind.)
Notes on Usage
- This word is primarily historical and regional, found in Scottish English and literature. It is rarely used in modern, everyday speech outside of historical or literary contexts.
- The term often carries a connotation of sympathy or pity for the person who, despite qualifications, could not secure a position.