Link Centre Dictionary

stonewall

sto·ne·wall

UK/ˈstəʊnwɔːl/ US/ˈstoʊnwɔl/ uncommon informal uk

verb

1.

obstruct or hinder any discussion

  • “Nixon stonewalled the Watergate investigation”
  • “When she doesn”
2.

engage in delaying tactics or refuse to cooperate

  • “The President stonewalled when he realized the plot was being uncovered by a journalist”

Origin

From stone + wall. The drink is so named because its effect is likened to running into a stone wall. The riots take their name from the Stonewall Inn where they began (in the 1840s, the property was called Bonnie's Stone Wall, later renamed to Bonnie's Stonewall Inn, then the Stonewall Inn Restaurant, and then the Stonewall Inn). The Confederate general acquired his nickname after a battle in which, while other troops were in motion, fellow general Barnard E. Bee observed "there stands Jackson like a stone wall" (either resolutely, or unhelpfully). The chess setup is so named because it is a solid formation which is hard to overrun by force, like a stone wall.

Phrases

  • Stonewall Attack
  • Stonewall County

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.