1835. Hook, Gilbert Gurney, 111. ii. 'Don't you know our history?—haven't you heard, my dear fellow, we are stumped!' 'Stumped,' said I, almost unconsciously repeating the quaint, but wofully expressive word. 'Positively stumped,' said Daly. 'Don't speak loud. I thought, of course, you had heard of it. Blinkinsop has bolted.'
1849. Kingsley, Alton Locke, ii. Down with the stumpy; a tizzy for a pot of half-and-half.
1882. Blackmore, Christowell, 1. xxiii. How much is the captain going to STUMP UP?
1897. Marshall, Pomes, 63. In the annals of the absolutely stumped.
3. (common).—A blockhead: see Buffle.
4. (venery).—The penis: see Prick. Also carnal stump.
1694. Motteux, Rabelais, v. xlv. I hope To see some brawny, juicy rump Well tickled with my carnal stump.
Verb. (old).—1. To boast; to SWAGGER (q.v.). Hence stumper = a braggart (Bailey and Dyche).
1748. Dyche, Dict., s.v. Bounce . . . to swagger, boast, crack, stump, or pretend to great matters.
2. (colloquial).—To challenge, defy, puzzle, or confound; and (in an absolute sense) to ruin. As subs. (American) = an attempt to puzzle or confound; STUMPER = a puzzler; up a stump = confounded, UP A TREE (q.v.).
1837. Barham, Ingolds. Leg. To be all 'abroad,' to be stumped, not to know where To go, so disgraced as not to be ' placed,' Or, as Crocky would say to Jem Bland, 'to be nowhere.'
1838. Neal, Charcoal Sketches. Instead of stumping his antagonist by launching out his cash, he shakes a portentous fist under his nose, and the affair is settled.
1844. Major Jones's Courtship, 135. Heavens and earth! thinks I, what does all this mean? I knowed I hadn't done any thing to be put in prison for, and I never was so stumped.
1847. Robb, Squatter Life. My note was a stumper to Sally; so she got Jess to explain it.
1853. Bradley, Verdant Green, 11. xi. That beastly Euclid altogether stumps me. . . . Ibid. They say it ain't a bad thing . . . to get your head shaved. . . . I think I shall try the dodge . . . when I've stumped the examiner I can wear my own . . . locks again.
1900. Savage, Brought to Bay, ii. 'And my father and mother?' breathlessly demanded Julian. 'There I'm stumped,' carelessly answered Sir Aubrey.
3. (American).—To travel the country for the purpose of making partizan or personal speeches from stumps or other improvised platforms. Originally backwoods electioneering, and spec. on one's own account: now general. Frequently, but not necessarily, in a derogatory sense. Also to GO ON THE STUMP (or TO TAKE the stump). Hence stumper (stump orator or stump-speaker) = (1) an electioneer; and (2) a bombastic spouter (q.v.), with such derivatives as STUMP-ORATOR, STUMP-SPEECH, etc. [Worcester: 'A cant phrase'.]
1843. Carlton. New Purchase, 1. 211. We had of course a passion for stump speaking. But, recollect, we often mount the stump only figuratively; and very good stump speeches are delivered from a table, a chair, a whiskey-barrel, and the like. Sometimes we make the best stump speeches on horseback.
1848. New York Herald, 21 June, 'Letter from Washington.' The Hon. W. R. Thompson of Indiana, one of the most popular stump speakers of the day.
1856. Dow, Sermons, 1. 132. When you see a politician extra full of patriotism, and stuffed with stump speeches, you may take it for granted he wants office either for himself or for some particular friend.
1862. Punch, 5 Ap. Though not clear which stump I'll take, That stump shall be colossal; Whether I'm Slavery's advocate, Or Liberty's apostle.
