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Reader question: In this headline – Governor Romney is courageous to stick to his guns about the 47% (FoxNews.com, September 20, 2017) – what does “stick to his guns” mean exactly? My comments: Here, Mitt Romney the Republican Party presidential candidate is commended for not wavering in his opinion, that 47% of Americans are dependent on the government. In face of stiff criticism. That’s what Romney’s sticking to his guns is about. There are no real guns involved of course. “Stick to one’s guns” here is a metaphor. It is a good metaphor, too, considering that US presidential campaigns are a serious battlefield, where candidates can get really belligerent and bellicose, taking warlike stances and never budge, much like the way a soldier will not willingly lose an inch of ground in combat. Again, battlefield and warlike stances are military metaphors and that is where the expression sticking to one’s guns originally comes from. In the heat of battle, when a soldier is seen sticking his guns, he is shooting at the enemy and keeps shooting, not minding superior enemy firepower or whether he and his fellow soldiers are heavily outnumbered. What’s implied is that the soldier who sticks to his guns is single minded in his task, not wavering in face of danger. That’s what’s implied in our headline example, where Romney is deemed courageous for sticking to his position in face of criticism over his famous, or infamous depending on your political leaning, 47% comment about his fellow Americans. | 
