subs. phr. (American).—Persecution; retribution.
1856. Western Scenes [DE VERE]. If you stay much longer, the old man will be after you with A SHARP STICK, and I don’t know what you’ll do to keep him from killing you.
1871. Trenton State Sentinel, 26 May. The New York Tribune is still after Senators Carpenter, Conkling, and others, with a VERY SHARP STICK, for their ridiculous course in the arrest and imprisonment of the Tribune correspondents, for daring to be true to the profession.
