1277
shocking
shish ke·bab /'ʃɪʃ kə,bæb||-,ba:b/ n a KEBAB cooked on a
SKEWER
shit¹ /ʃɪt/ v shit or shitted or shat /ʃæt/, present participle
shitting taboo 1 [I] to pass solid waste from the bowels;
DEFECATE 2 [T] to make (something) dirty by passing solid
waste from the bowels into it 3 shit oneself a) to pass
solid waste from the bowels accidentally b) infml to be very
afraid
shit² n taboo 1 [U] solid waste from the bowels; EXCREMENT:
dog shit 2 [S] an act of passing this waste from the body: to
have a shit 3 [U] stupid talk; NONSENSE: That's a load of
shit. 4 [C] a worthless or unpleasant person: He's a complete
shit. 5 in the shit in trouble 6 not give/care a shit not to
care even a small amount: I don't give a shit what you
think. 7 the shit (is going to/will) hit the fan infml there (will
be or) was a lot of trouble, especially from someone in
authority: When I didn't come home until three in the morn-
ing, the shit really hit the fan - my parents and the police were
all shouting at me at once. | If the press hear about this, the
shit's going to hit the fan. 8 sb is full of shit spoken a rude
way of saying that you think what someone is saying is
wrong or stupid: The lifeguards say that the beach is safe, but
they're full of shit. There were still sharks around just now
when I looked. | Don't try to tell me you didn't do anything.
You are just so full of shit. → see also BULLSHIT; scare the
shit out of (SCARE)
full of it means the same thing, but is a little less
rude.
9 be in deep shit also be in the shit BrE spoken to be in a very
difficult situation, or to be in trouble because people are
angry with you: We're in deep shit - there's no way we can pay
back the money we owe. | Darren was in the shit for smoking
on school premises and missing lessons. 10 get your shit
together spoken to organize yourself, so that you have a
better chance of doing what you want or being successful:
This week I'm going to get my shit together and actually make
up a portfolio of all my best paintings. | I know - I'll fail the
course if I don't get my shit together; so is there anything else
you want to tell me?
This expression, which is used mostly in American
English, is considered rude by some people. get your act
together means the same thing but is a little less rude.
11 give sb shit spoken to talk to someone in a way that is
offensive, for example by lying to them, criticizing them, or
insulting them: I'm an experienced news cameraman, and if
reporters give me shit I can very easily make them look
stupid. | You weren't given any instructions? Don't give me
that shit - it was all explained at the meeting on Thurs-
day. 12 tough shit spoken a rude way of telling someone that
you do not care what they think, or do not have any
sympathy with their problems: I'm going out clubbing
tonight, and if you don't like it, tough shit. | 'This hasn't
exactly been the best day of my life.' 'Well, tough shit.' 13 not
... jack (shit) AmE also not ... jack diddly slang to not do, have,
know etc anything at all: 'What did the painters do in the
house today?' 'I don't know. It looks like they didn't do jack
shit.' | I hate this job - I'm not earning jack.
The verbs that are most commonly used with this
idiom are 'do', 'have', 'know', 'mean', 'get', and 'earn'.
You may hear people use this expression without 'not' to
mean the same thing.
shit³ interj taboo (expressing anger or annoyance)
shit-house /'ʃɪthaʊs/ n pl. -houses /-,haʊzɪz/ taboo
slang 1 an outdoor TOILET 2 built like a brick shithouse (of
a man or woman) having a very broad strong-looking figure
shits /ʃɪts/ n [the P] taboo for DIARRHOEA
shit-ty /'ʃɪti/ adj taboo unpleasant; nasty
Shi-va /'ʃi:və/ → see SIVA
shiv·er¹ /'ʃɪvə/ v 1 [I(with)] to shake slightly, especially
because of cold or fear; tremble: The little dog was shivering
with cold. | shivering with terror 2 Shiver me timbers! a
phrase said by old sailors, PIRATES etc, in stories, to express
surprise or annoyance
shiver² n a feeling or act of shivering: A sudden scream sent
shivers (up and) down my spine. (=frightened me)
shiver³ n [usually pl.] especially lit any of the very small pieces
into which something is broken when it is hit or dropped
shiv·ers /'ʃɪvəz||-ərz/ n [the P] infml 1 tremblings typical of a
fever 2 feelings of strong unreasonable dislike or fear:
Snakes give me the shivers.
shiv·er·y /'ʃɪvəri/ adj (of a person) trembling from cold, fear,
or fever
shoal¹ /ʃəʊl/ n an under-
water bank of sand not far
below the surface of the
water, making it dangerous
to boats
shoal
shoal² n [C+sing./pl. v.] 1 a
large group of fish swim-
ming together 2 [(off)] also
shoals pl. - infml, often derog
lots, especially in large
groups: Shoals of tourists
visit the palace in summer.
shock¹ /ʃɒk||ʃɑ:k/ n 1 [C;U]
(the state or feeling caused
by) a sudden, unexpected,
and usually very unpleasant
event or situation that
severely upsets the mind
and feelings: His death came as/was a great shock to us all. |
speechless from shock | (infml) I got a bit of a shock (=was
unpleasantly surprised) when I saw the size of the
bill. 2 [C;U] (a) violent force from a hard blow, crash,
explosion etc: The shock of the explosion was felt far away;
the shock waves spread for miles. | (fig.) His resignation has
sent shock waves through Parliament. 3 [C] an ELECTRIC
SHOCK 4 [U] med the weakened state of the body with
reduced activity of the heart, lungs etc, especially following
damage to the body: Several of those who survived the
accident have been taken to hospital in a state of shock/
suffering from shock.
shock² v [T] 1 to cause usually unpleasant or angry surprise
to: The violence and bad language in the programme shocked
many of the viewers. | It shocked me to see/I was shocked to see
how my neighbours treated their children. | We were shocked
at/by his sudden death. | The explicit advertising campaign
sets out to shock people into driving more carefully. 2 [usually
pass.] to give an ELECTRIC SHOCK to: Anyone touching that
wire could get badly shocked.
shock³ adj [A] (especially in newspapers) that shocks one;
very surprising: England's football team suffered a shock
defeat at the hands of Luxembourg. | shock tactics
shock⁴ n [(off)] a thick bushy mass, especially of hair
'shock ab,sorber n an apparatus made usually of a rod
moving in and out of a tube of liquid, fixed near each wheel
of a vehicle to lessen the effect of rough roads, or on an
aircraft to make a smoother landing
,shock and 'awe n [U] the name 'shock and awe' describes
the military idea of making the enemy no longer want to
fight against you, because you have used a very large amount
of force in a very short time. This idea was used by the US
military in the attack on Iraq in 2003, when they sent very
large numbers of MISSILES to particular places in Baghdad on
the first day of the war and again on the next few days.
shocked /ʃɒkt||ʃɑ:kt/ adj [A] caused by a sudden unpleasant
surprise: A shocked silence greeted the announcement.
shock·er /'ʃɒkə||'ʃɑ:-/ n usually humor a person or thing that
shocks one as being improper, wild, or immoral
,shock 'horror adj [A] infml, especially BrE very worrying or
shocking; a phrase used by or thought to be typical of
HEADLINES in low-quality newspapers: Shock horror crime
surge probe! (=a worrying study about an increase in crime)
shock·ing /'ʃɒkɪŋ||'ɑ:-/ adj 1 causing shock; very offensive,
wrong, or upsetting: a shocking accident | The play was
considered too shocking (=immoral) to be staged at the time it
was written. 2 BrE infml very bad (though not evil): What a
shocking waste of time. | I've got a shocking cold. —ly adv:
shockingly rude behaviour | shockingly bad grammar