what does the phrase stay the course mean

Where does the idiom stay the course come from?

Hold or persevere to the end, as in No, he's not resigning; he's going to stay the course. This metaphoric expression, alluding to a horse running an entire race, was first recorded in 1916. See also: course, stay The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust.

What is a synonym for stay the course?

Synonyms for stay the course include keep trying, carry on trying, keep attempting, keep striving, persevere, keep it up, keep on, persist, plug away and press on. Find more similar words at wordhippo.com!

Is it worth it to stay on a course?

stay the course COMMON If you stay the course, you manage to finish something that is very difficult or unpleasant and takes a long time. The training takes years and a great deal of work, but if you stay the course, the rewards are fantastic. You have done remarkably well to stay the course for so long.

What is stay the course mean?

: to continue with a process, effort, etc., even though it is difficult We'll succeed in the end if we just stay the course.

Where does the phrase stay the course come from?

STAY THE COURSE - "Persist in an action or policy; remain with a plan despite criticism or setbacks. This phrase, perhaps based on a sailing metaphor of keeping an unchanged course in navigation, was popularized during the 1980 Presidential campaign. Republicans have helped to popularize the expression.

What is another phrase for stay the course?

What is another word for stay the course?keep tryingpersistpersevere withstand your groundtough it outpersist withbe resolvedbe diligentgo on withkeep going with151 more rows

How do you use stay the course in a sentence?

Use “stay the course” in a sentence | “stay the course” sentence examplesDieters should try hard to stay the course.I don't think he's sufficiently dedicated to stay the course.She interviewed slimmers who had failed to stay the course to find out why they had given up.More items...

Is on course to?

Progressing or developing as planned, scheduled, or expected toward some anticipated action. Everyone in our entire department is on course to meet their sales quotas for the year.

Are endure and persist synonyms?

Some common synonyms of persist are abide, continue, endure, and last. While all these words mean "to exist over a period of time or indefinitely," persist suggests outlasting the normal or appointed time and often connotes obstinacy or doggedness.

What is the difference between course and coarse?

Additionally, "course" is always a noun or verb, while "coarse" is always an adjective. The words "coarse" and "adjective" both contain an "a." So if you have a flair for grammar, this might be a good way to remember how to use "coarse" (an adjective) instead of "course" (a noun or verb).

Are we missing a good definition for stay the course? Don't keep it to yourself..

The ASL fingerspelling provided here is most commonly used for proper names of people and places; it is also used in some languages for concepts for which no sign is available at that moment.

Definitions & Translations

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What does "stay the course" mean?

stay the course. 1. To persevere with as much determination, energy, or fortitude as one can until the end of a race, competition, or contest. Despite an early setback in the first half, the home team stayed the course and managed to earn a draw. 2.

What does it mean to stay the course?

COMMON If you stay the course, you manage to finish something that is very difficult or unpleasant and takes a long time. The training takes years and a great deal of work, but if you stay the course, the rewards are fantastic. You have done remarkably well to stay the course for so long.

What does "to hold out" mean?

To hold out or persevere to the end of a race or challenge.

What does "last to the end" mean?

Hold out or last to the end. This expression alludes to a horse that runs the entire course of a race . It dates from the mid-1800s and was soon transferred to other venues. The Times of London used it during World War I: “If we are to stay the course set before us, other sections must be prepared for greater sacrifices” (May 8, 1916).

What does "continue doing something until it has finished or been completed" mean?

continue doing something until it has finished or been completed, even though it is difficult: Very few of the trainees have stayed the course.

When was the phrase "running an entire race" first used?

This metaphoric expression, alluding to a horse running an entire race, was first recorded in 1916. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

What does "stay the course" mean?

The popular expression stay the course means: 1 Hold or persevere to the end, as in: " No, he's not resigning; he's going to stay the course. " 2 According the AHD this metaphoric expression, alluding to a horse running an entire race, was first recorded in 1916.

When did the phrase "stay the course" come into use?

In the United States, the decisive moment when the public embraced the (relatively) new meaning of "stay the course" and abandoned the old one seems to have occurred in 1982. In the off-year Congressional election (a federal election during a year when the Presidency was not being contested) in 1982 , President Reagan, two years into his first term in office, made "Stay the Course" his rallying cry for electing Republicans to Congress to support his economic policies, which had run into some turbulence. The last gasp of the old understanding of "stay the course" came in this rather airily delivered note in Verbatim, volume 9 (1982) [combined snippets]:

What does "stay" mean in horse racing?

You've answered your own questions (1 & 2) really. The 1885 horse-racing reference appears to be one of the earliest. Some dictionaries ( example) also have another definition for stay (it's labelled as 'archaic' in some and 'informal' in others) which means endurance or stamina (staying power). This meaning of the word is probably where the phrase used in horse-racing came from (my speculation).

What is the policy of the large army?

The policy of the large Army involves the policy of the knockout blow. It means that if you are going to have a large Army you have got to use it at once, and you have got to bring the War to a speedy termination, and the question which we have got to ask ourselves is whether , if we did this , we should be able to stay the course? ... I have always thought this was going to be a long war, and I want to be sure that we can stay the course. It has always seemed to me that when we started this War we were in the position of an athlete who had made the three mile race his special study, and who was suddenly asked to run on a quarter of mile course. The policy of shortening the course is a very dangerous one, and we ought to be quite satisfied that we can stay the course. I do not know what the present Chancellor of the Exchequer thinks of it, but I should have thought that anybody who knows, what is common property, the financial position of our friends, must be perfectly well aware that there is not the remotest chance of our being able to stay the course until the year 1918. We are not likely to stay the course until 1918 at out present rate of expenditure. Let us be satisfied on this subject.

When was "stay the course" first used?

The use of "stay the course" in the very different sense of a horse completing a race appears for the first time in Google Books search results going back to 1885, in a citation in Farmer & Henley Slang and Its Analogues, volume 6 (1903):

When was the phrase "keeping an unchanged course" popularized?

This phrase, perhaps based on a sailing metaphor of keeping an unchanged course in navigation, was popularized during the 1980 Presidential campaign . Republicans have helped to popularize the expression.

Is "stay" a verb?

The intransitive verb stay does carry the meaning President Reagan intended but like its synonym remain, it must be followed by an adverbial, not a direct object. No one would use remain as a transitive verb (e.g., "to remain the course"). To convey his intended meaning, President Reagan would have had to tell Congress to "stay on the course," just as he would have had to say "remain on the course."