still huntn.

1860 M. Reid Hunters' Feast (new ed.) xvii It was to be a ‘still’ hunt, and we went afoot.

1861 G. F. Berkeley Eng. Sportsman xiv. 261 They started to a still hunt.

1843 N.-Y. Daily Tribune 4 May The friends of Protection..were thrust out by secret caballing, or what is known as a ‘still hunt’.

1876 N.Y. Tribune 28 Aug. 4/4 It will be well for the Republican managers to bear in mind that a ‘still hunt’ is Gov. Tilden's favorite campaign method.

1890 C. L. Norton Polit. Americanisms 109 Still Hunt, originally a sporting term, but applied during the campaign of 1876 to political methods conducted in secret, or underhanded methods.

1893 Lightning 9 Feb. 89/2 We go on the ‘still-hunt’ principle.

1916 ‘B. M. Bower’ Phantom Herd ii. 32 I'm out on a still hunt for some real boys.

1920 W. S. Wallace Family Compact v. 69 Under the guidance of Mackenzie, who did not conduct himself with the caution and reserve of a new member, the House went on a still hunt for grievances.

1936 H. Hagedorn Brookings ix. 131 He took to riding afternoons in Forest Park along the western edge of the city, on a persistent, still-hunt for a site.

1948 E. N. Dick Dixie Frontier 241 Sometimes a candidate..slipped off and went on a ‘still hunt’; that is, he visited the people house-to-house and attended small gatherings unheralded.