Over on a question about The Lord of the Rings, the phrase "stick-at-naught" has been brought up. There's some debate over its meaning.
In The Lord of the Rings, Book One, Chapter 11: A Knife in the Dark, the following line is spoken:
I suppose you know who you've taken up with? That's Stick-at-naught Strider, that is! Though I've heard other names not so pretty.
Some users believe it means that Strider has no scruples (in the sense of he doesn't stop at anything), while others have suggested that it means he is some sort of wanderer (in the sense he doesn't stick around anywhere). Yet another suggestion is that it means he doesn't see things through to their finish.
What does it mean? And is (or was) this a common phrase in England, or is this something Tolkien made up or took from another culture?
I have found a few results on Google suggesting meanings, but these seem to be random forums or wikis. I'm not sure of their reliability.
Best Answer
It's a variant on stick at nothing
{ODO}: PHRASE
Here, it's used as a compound premodifier.
The verbal form is used by Thomas Ward in England's Reformation: A Poem, in Four Cantos as early as 1845 :
There is not a necessary implication of unscrupulousness, though 'he won't let anything defeat him' or 'indefatigable' or better still 'valiant' would remove most of the connotation of such. The backbiters exploit the negative connotation.