Stickling

Stickle Stic"kle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Stickled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Stickling}.] [Probably fr. OE. stightlen, sti?tlen, to dispose, arrange, govern, freq. of stihten, AS. stihtan: cf. G. stiften to found, to establish.] 1. To separate combatants by intervening. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

When he [the angel] sees half of the Christians killed, and the rest in a fair way of being routed, he stickles betwixt the remainder of God's host and the race of fiends. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

2. To contend, contest, or altercate, esp. in a pertinacious manner on insufficient grounds. [1913 Webster]

Fortune, as she 's wont, turned fickle, And for the foe began to stickle. --Hudibras. [1913 Webster]

While for paltry punk they roar and stickle. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

The obstinacy with which he stickles for the wrong. --Hazlitt. [1913 Webster]

3. To play fast and loose; to pass from one side to the other; to trim. [1913 Webster]