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stand pat
verb
- poker to refuse the right to change any of one's cards; keep one's hand unchanged
- to resist change or remain unchanged
Derived Forms
- ˈstandˈpatter, noun
Idioms and Phrases
Refuse to change one's position or opinion, as in We're going to stand pat on this amendment to the bylaws . This expression may be derived from the verb pat in the sense of “strike firmly and accurately.” [Late 1800s]Example Sentences
They may stand pat on it, but their standing will drop badly.
All good leaders hate letting people go, but it's perilous to stand pat today.
I'm somewhat puzzled to know why they didn't stand pat and make a clean job of us both.
I stand pat, just where I stood at first, and it'll take a lot uh cackling to make me back down.
Never mind warning me, Inspector: I'm ready to stand pat upon the truth.
Take Ellis' papers, otherwise you stand pat for a heap of trouble, and I can't help you.
Now, we want to stand pat on this—don't tip me off to 'em—and pretty soon I'll have 'em all spraddled out ag'in.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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