Sherris Sher"ris noun Sherry. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Sherry Sher"ry noun [ So called from Xeres , a Spanish town near Cadiz, x in Spanish having been formerly pronounced like sh in English.] A Spanish light-colored dry wine, made in Andalusia. As prepared for commerce it is colored a straw color or a deep amber by mixing with it cheap wine boiled down.

Sherry cobbler , a beverage prepared with sherry wine, water, lemon or orange, sugar, ice, etc., and usually imbided through a straw or a glass tube.

Sherryvallies Sher"ry·val`lies noun plural [ Confer Spanish zaraquelles wide breeches or overalls.] Trousers or overalls of thick cloth or leather, buttoned on the outside of each leg, and generally worn to protect other trousers when riding on horseback. [ Local, U.S.] Bartlett.

Shet Shet transitive verb & i. [ imperfect Shet . (Obsolete Shette (... or ...)); present participle Shet ; present participle & verbal noun Shetting .] To shut. [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.] Chaucer.

Shete Shete transitive verb & i. To shoot. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Sheth Sheth noun The part of a plow which projects downward beneath the beam, for holding the share and other working parts; -- also called standard , or post .

Shetland pony Shet"land po"ny One of a small, hardy breed of horses, with long mane and tail, which originated in the Shetland Islands; a sheltie.

Shew Shew transitive verb & i. See Show .

Shew Shew noun Show. [ Obsolete except in shewbread.]

Shewbread Shew"bread` See Showbread .

Shewel Shew"el noun A scarecrow. [ Obsolete] Trench.

Shewer Shew"er noun One who shews. See Shower .

Shewn Shewn past participle of Shew .

Shiah Shi"ah noun Same as Shiite .

Shibboleth Shib"bo·leth noun [ Hebrew shibbōleth an ear of corn, or a stream, a flood.] 1. A word which was made the criterion by which to distinguish the Ephraimites from the Gileadites. The Ephraimites, not being able to pronounce sh , called the word sibboleth . See Judges xii.

Without reprieve, adjudged to death,
For want of well pronouncing shibboleth .

Milton.

Shicer Shi"cer (shī"sẽr) noun [ Prob. from German scheisser one who dungs.] (Mining) An unproductive mine; a duffer. [ Australia]

Shide Shide noun [ Middle English shide , schide , Anglo-Saxon scīde ; akin to Old High German scīt , German scheit , Icelandic skīš , and English shed , v.t.] A thin board; a billet of wood; a splinter. [ Prov. Eng.]

Shie Shie transitive verb See Shy , to throw.

Shied Shied imperfect & past participle of Shy .

Shiel Shiel noun A sheeling. [ Scot.] Burns.

Shield Shield noun [ Middle English sheld , scheld , Anglo-Saxon scield , scild , sceld , scyld ; akin to Old Saxon scild , OFries. skeld , D. & German schild , Old High German scilt , Icelandic skjöldr , Swedish sköld , Danish skiold , Goth. skildus ; of uncertain origin. Confer Sheldrake .] 1. A broad piece of defensive armor, carried on the arm, -- formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body. See Buckler .

Now put your shields before your hearts and fight,
With hearts more proof than shields .

Shak.

2. Anything which protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection. "My council is my shield ." Shak.

3. Figuratively, one who protects or defends.

Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield , and thy exceeding great reward.

Gen. xv. 1.

4. (Botany) In lichens, a Hardened cup or disk surrounded by a rim and containing the fructification, or asci.

5. (Her.) The escutcheon or field on which are placed the bearings in coats of arms. Confer Lozenge . See Illust. of Escutcheon .

6. (Mining & Tunneling) A framework used to protect workmen in making an adit under ground, and capable of being pushed along as excavation progresses.

7. A spot resembling, or having the form of, a shield. "Bespotted as with shields of red and black." Spenser.

8. A coin, the old French crown, or écu, having on one side the figure of a shield. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Shield fern (Botany) , any fern of the genus Aspidium , in which the fructifications are covered with shield-shaped indusia; -- called also wood fern . See Illust. of Indusium .

Shield Shield transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Shielded ; present participle & verbal noun Shielding .] [ Anglo-Saxon scidan , scyldan . See Shield , noun ] 1. To cover with, or as with, a shield; to cover from danger; to defend; to protect from assault or injury.

Shouts of applause ran ringing through the field,
To see the son the vanquished father shield .

Dryden.

A woman's shape doth shield thee.

Shak.

2. To ward off; to keep off or out.

They brought with them their usual weeds, fit to shield the cold to which they had been inured.

Spenser.

3. To avert, as a misfortune; hence, as a supplicatory exclamation, forbid! [ Obsolete]

God shield that it should so befall.

Chaucer.

God shield I should disturb devotion!

Shak.

Shield-bearer Shield"-bear`er noun 1. One who, or that which, carries a shield.

2. (Zoology) Any small moth of the genus Aspidisca , whose larva makes a shieldlike covering for itself out of bits of leaves.

Shielddrake Shield"drake` noun (Zoology) A sheldrake.

Shieldless Shield"less adjective Destitute of a shield, or of protection. -- Shield"less*ly , adverb -- Shield"less*ness , noun

Shieldtail Shield"tail` noun (Zoology) Any species of small burrowing snakes of the family Uropeltidę , native of Ceylon and Southern Asia. They have a small mouth which can not be dilated.

Shieling Shiel"ing noun A hut or shelter for shepherds of fishers. See Sheeling . [ Scot.]

Shift Shift transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Shifted ; present participle & verbal noun Shifting .] [ Middle English shiften , schiften , to divide, change, remove. Anglo-Saxon sciftan to divide; akin to LG. & Dutch schiften to divide, distinguish, part Icelandic skipta to divide, to part, to shift, to change, Dan skifte , Swedish skifta , and probably to Icelandic skīfa to cut into slices, as noun , a slice, and to English shive , sheave , noun , shiver , noun ] 1. To divide; to distribute; to apportion. [ Obsolete]

To which God of his bounty would shift
Crowns two of flowers well smelling.

Chaucer.

2. To change the place of; to move or remove from one place to another; as, to shift a burden from one shoulder to another; to shift the blame.

Hastily he schifte him[ self].

Piers Plowman.

Pare saffron between the two St. Mary's days,
Or set or go shift it that knowest the ways.

Tusser.

3. To change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to turn; as, to shift the helm or sails.

Carrying the oar loose, [ they] shift it hither and thither at pleasure.

Sir W. Raleigh.

4. To exchange for another of the same class; to remove and to put some similar thing in its place; to change; as, to shift the clothes; to shift the scenes.

I would advise you to shift a shirt.

Shak.

5. To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively. [ Obsolete]

As it were to ride day and night; and . . . not to have patience to shift me.

Shak.

6. To put off or out of the way by some expedient. "I shifted him away." Shak.

To shift off , to delay; to defer; to put off; to lay aside. -- To shift the scene , to change the locality or the surroundings, as in a play or a story.

Shift the scene for half an hour;
Time and place are in thy power.

Swift.

Shift Shift intransitive verb 1. To divide; to distribute. [ Obsolete]

Some this, some that, as that him liketh shift .

Chaucer.

2. To make a change or changes; to change position; to move; to veer; to substitute one thing for another; -- used in the various senses of the transitive verb.

The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon.

Shak.

Here the Baillie shifted and fidgeted about in his seat.

Sir W. Scott.

3. To resort to expedients for accomplishing a purpose; to contrive; to manage.

Men in distress will look to themselves, and leave their companions to shift as well as they can.

L'Estrange.

4. To practice indirect or evasive methods.

All those schoolmen, though they were exceeding witty, yet better teach all their followers to shift , than to resolve by their distinctions.

Sir W. Raleigh.

5. (Nautical) To slip to one side of a ship, so as to destroy the equilibrum; -- said of ballast or cargo; as, the cargo shifted .

Shift Shift noun [ Confer Icel skipti . See Shift , transitive verb ] 1. The act of shifting. Specifically: (a) The act of putting one thing in the place of another, or of changing the place of a thing; change; substitution.

My going to Oxford was not merely for shift of air.

Sir H. Wotton.

(b) A turning from one thing to another; hence, an expedient tried in difficulty; often, an evasion; a trick; a fraud. "Reduced to pitiable shifts ." Macaulay.

I 'll find a thousand shifts to get away.

Shak.

Little souls on little shifts rely.

Dryden.

2. Something frequently shifted; especially, a woman's under-garment; a chemise.

3. The change of one set of workmen for another; hence, a spell, or turn, of work; also, a set of workmen who work in turn with other sets; as, a night shift .

4. In building, the extent, or arrangement, of the overlapping of plank, brick, stones, etc., that are placed in courses so as to break joints.

5. (Mining) A breaking off and dislocation of a seam; a fault.

6. (Mus.) A change of the position of the hand on the finger board, in playing the violin.

To make shift , to contrive or manage in an exigency. "I shall make shift to go without him." Shak.

[ They] made a shift to keep their own in Ireland.

Milton.

Shiftable Shift"a·ble adjective Admitting of being shifted.

Shifter Shift"er noun 1. One who, or that which, shifts; one who plays tricks or practices artifice; a cozener.

'T was such a shifter that, if truth were known,
Death was half glad when he had got him down.

Milton.

2. (Nautical) An assistant to the ship's cook in washing, steeping, and shifting the salt provisions.

3. (Machinery) (a) An arrangement for shifting a belt sidewise from one pulley to another. (b) (Knitting Mach.) A wire for changing a loop from one needle to another, as in narrowing, etc.

Shiftiness Shift"i·ness noun The quality or state of being shifty.

Diplomatic shiftiness and political versatility.

J. A. Syminds.

Shifting Shift"ing adjective 1. Changing in place, position, or direction; varying; variable; fickle; as, shifting winds; shifting opinions or principles.

2. Adapted or used for shifting anything.

Shifting backstays (Nautical) , temporary stays that have to be let go whenever the vessel tacks or jibes. -- Shifting ballast , ballast which may be moved from one side of a vessel to another as safety requires. -- Shifting center . See Metacenter . -- Shifting locomotive . See Switching engine , under Switch .

Shiftingly Shift"ing·ly adverb In a shifting manner.

Shiftless Shift"less adjective Destitute of expedients, or not using successful expedients; characterized by failure, especially by failure to provide for one's own support, through negligence or incapacity; hence, lazy; improvident; thriftless; as, a shiftless fellow; shiftless management. -- Shift"less*ly , adverb -- Shift"less*ness , noun

Shifty Shift"y adjective Full of, or ready with, shifts; fertile in expedients or contrivance. Wright.

Shifty and thrifty as old Greek or modern Scot, there were few things he could not invent, and perhaps nothing he could not endure.

C. Kingsley.

Shiite, Shiah Shi"ite, Shi"ah noun [ Arabic shī'aī a follower of the sect of Ali, from shī'at , shī'ah , a multitude following one another in pursuit of the same object, the sect of Ali, from shā'a to follow.] A member of that branch of the Mohammedans to which the Persians belong. They reject the first three caliphs, and consider Ali as being the first and only rightful successor of Mohammed. They do not acknowledge the Sunna, or body of traditions respecting Mohammed, as any part of the law, and on these accounts are treated as heretics by the Sunnites, or orthodox Mohammedans.

Shikaree Shi·ka"ree Shi*ka"ri noun [ Hind .] A sportsman; esp., a native hunter. [ India]

Shilf Shilf noun [ CF. German shilf sedge.] Straw. [ Obsolete]

Shill Shill transitive verb To shell. [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.]

Shill Shill transitive verb [ Confer Sheal .] To put under cover; to sheal. [ Prov.ng.] Brockett.

Shill-I-shall-I, Shilly-shally Shill"-I-shall`-I, Shil"ly-shal`ly adverb [ A reduplication of shall I .] In an irresolute, undecided, or hesitating manner.

I am somewhat dainty in making a resolution, because when I make it, I keep it; I don't stand shill-I-shall-I then; if I say 't, I'll do 't.

Congreve.

Shillalah, Shillelah Shil·la"lah, Shil·le"lah noun An oaken sapling or cudgel; any cudgel; -- so called from Shillelagh , a place in Ireland of that name famous for its oaks. [ Irish] [ Written also shillaly , and shillely .]

Shilling Shil"ling noun [ Middle English shilling , schilling , Anglo-Saxon scilling ; akin to Dutch schelling , Old Saxon & Old High German scilling , German schilling , Swedish & Danish skilling , Icelandic skillingr , Goth. skilliggs , and perhaps to Old High German scellan to sound, German schallen .] 1. A silver coin, and money of account, of Great Britain and its dependencies, equal to twelve pence, or the twentieth part of a pound, equivalent to about twenty-four cents of the United States currency.

2. In the United States, a denomination of money, differing in value in different States. It is not now legally recognized.

» Many of the States while colonies had issued bills of credit which had depreciated in different degrees in the different colonies. Thus, in New England currency (used also in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida), after the adoption of the decimal system, the pound in paper money was worth only $3.333, and the shilling 16... cts., or 6s. to $1; in New York currency (also in North Carolina, Ohio, and Michigan), the pound was worth $2.50, and the shilling 12½ cts., or 8s. to $1; in Pennsylvania currency (also in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland), the pound was worth $2.70, and the shilling 13½ cts., or 7s. 6d. to $1; and in Georgia currency (also in South Carolina), the pound was worth $4.29..., and the shilling 21... cts., or 4s 8d. to $1. In many parts of the country . . . the reckoning by shillings and pence is not yet entirely abandoned. Am. Cyc.

3. The Spanish real, of the value of one eight of a dollar, or 12... cets; -- formerly so called in New York and some other States. See Note under 2.

York shilling . Same as Shilling , 3.

Shilly-shally Shil"ly-shal`ly intransitive verb To hesitate; to act in an irresolute manner; hence, to occupy one's self with trifles.

Shilly-shally Shil"ly-shal`ly noun Irresolution; hesitation; also, occupation with trifles.

She lost not one of her forty-five minutes in picking and choosing , -- no shilly-shally in Kate.

De Quincey.

Shiloh Shi"loh (shī\'b6lō) noun [ Hebrew shīlōh , literally, quiet, rest, from shālāh to rest.] (Script.) A word used by Jacob on his deathbed, and interpreted variously, as "the Messiah," or as the city "Shiloh," or as "Rest."

Shily Shi"ly adverb See Shyly .

Shim Shim noun 1. A kind of shallow plow used in tillage to break the ground, and clear it of weeds.

2. (Machinery) A thin piece of metal placed between two parts to make a fit.

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