Golf. Also steimy, stimy. [Of obscure origin: cf. prec. and STYME sb. and v.] An opponent’s ball that lies on the putting green in a line between the ball of the player and the hole he is playing for, if the distance between the balls is not less than six inches; also, the occurrence of this; often in the phrase to lay a stymie.
1857. H. B. Farnie, in Golfiana Misc. (1887), 173. Wooden patters are used to play stimies when the intercepting ball is at some distance from that of the player. A curving-in motion is imparted to the ball, causing it to pass the stimy.
1862. Remarks on Golf, 17. The iron is … used for lofting what are called steimies. A steimy occurs when your opponent’s ball lies so directly in a line between the hole and your own ball that you cannot hole by putting. The only resource … is to take the iron and ‘loft’ your ball over the steimy and into the hole. It is not considered quite fair to play intentionally so as to lay a steimy.
1894. Times, 28 April, 13/3. Mr. Ball left his opponent a stimie and Mr. Laidlay in trying to hole out sent his opponent’s ball in.
1897. Westm. Gaz., 10 Dec., 9/3. His partner laid him a stimie.
attrib. 1857. H. B. Farnie, in Golfiana Misc. (1887), 172. These clubs are handled for stimy-playing on the same principle.
Hence Stymie v. trans., to put (one’s opponent or oneself) into the position of having to negotiate a stymie; also intr. (of a ball) to intervene as a stymie. Hence Stymied ppl. a.
1857. H. B. Farnie, in Golfiana Misc. (1887), 172. The ball stimying may be lifted if within six inches of that of the player, until the stroke is done.
1862. Remarks on Golf, 17. Steimies … frequently occur, and often cause the hole to be halved which the steimied man felt confident of winning.
1894. A. Lang, in Daily News, 5 July, 5/2. A man often stimies himself, by a bad putt.
1896. R. B. Mansfield, New & Old Chips, 320. When he stimied me, I managed to play round him into the hole.
1901. Scotsman, 5 Sept., 7/3. Mr. Worthington was stimied and in trying to loft, knocked Mr. Williamson’s ball into the hole.
