sharp-tongued
1272
sharp-'tongued adj saying things in a disapproving or
unfriendly way which often upsets people: his sharp-
tongued wife
shat /ʃæt/ past tense & participle of SHIT
Shat-ner, William /'ʃætnər/ (1931-) a Canadian film and
television actor known especially for appearing as Captain
James T. Kirk in the US television programme Star Trek and
in a series of films based on the programme
shat-ter /'ʃætər/ v 1 [I,T] to break suddenly into very small
pieces, usually as a result of force or violence: I dropped the
mirror on the floor and it shattered. | A stone shattered the
window. | (fig.) Hopes of reaching an agreement were shattered
today. → compare SPLINTER 2 [T usually pass.] infml to shock;
have a strong effect on the feelings of: We were shattered to
hear of her sudden death. | shattering news 3 [T usually pass.]
infml, especially BrE to cause to be very tired and weak: I feel
completely shattered after that run up the hill!
shat-ter-proof /'ʃætəpru:f|-ər-/ adj made so as not to
shatter: a shatterproof glass windscreen
shave¹ /ʃeɪv/ v 1 [I,T[OFF]] to cut off (a beard or face hair) close
to the skin with a RAZOR or shaver: I cut myself while I was
shaving. | I've decided to shave off my beard. 2 [T] to cut off
hair from the face of: The barber shaved him. 3 [+adv/prep;T]
to cut all the hair from (a part of the body): She shaves her
legs and under her arms. 4 [T[OFF]] to cut off (very thin
pieces) from (a surface): I shaved (a few millimetres from) the
bottom of the door to make it close properly. | (fig.) The production
costs are very high – can't you shave anything off the
price? | She shaved a few milliseconds off her previous lap
record. 5 [T] infml to come close to or touch in passing: The
car just shaved the wall while it was cornering.
shave² n [C usually sing.] an act or result of shaving: I'm just
going to have a shave. | You can't get a good close shave
(=that cuts the hair close to the surface of the skin) with an
electric shaver. | a wet shave (=with shaving cream etc) →
see also CLOSE SHAVE
shav-en /'ʃeɪvən/ adj with all the hair shaved off: his shaven
head → see also CLEAN-SHAVEN, UNSHAVEN
shav-er /'ʃeɪvər/ n a tool for shaving, especially an electric-
powered instrument for shaving hair from the face and body
→ compare RAZOR
Sha-vi-an /'ʃeɪviən/ adj connected with the Irish writer
George Bernard SHAW
shav-ing /'ʃeɪvɪŋ/ n [usually pl.] a very thin piece cut from a
surface with a sharp blade: a pile of wood shavings on the
floor
'shaving cream n [U] a mixture made mostly of soap for
putting on the face, usually with a shaving brush to keep
the face hair soft and wet while shaving (SHAVE)
'shaving foam n [U] SHAVING CREAM, usually from an
AEROSOL
Sha-vu-ot /ʃə'vu:əs||-aʊt/ n [U] → see PENTECOST
Shaw, Ar-tie /ʃɔ:, 'ɑ:ti||'ɑ:r-/ (1910–2004) a US JAZZ musi-
cian, CLARINET player, and BANDLEADER whose bands were
among the most popular in the late 1930s and 1940s
Shaw, George Ber-nard /dʒɔ:dʒ 'bɜ:nəd||dʒɔ:rd
bər'nɑ:rd/ (1856–1950) an Irish writer famous especially for
his clever plays which criticize society and the moral values
of the time. His best known works include the historical
plays Caesar and Cleopatra and St Joan, and the COMEDY
Pygmalion, which was later turned into the popular musical
show MY FAIR LADY. He was a leading SOCIALIST and wrote
books about socialism. → see also ANDROCLES AND THE LION,
SHAVIAN
Shaw, San-die /'sændi/ (1947-) a British POP singer who
won the 1967 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST with the song
Puppet on a String and made several other very successful
records in the 1960s. She was known for singing in bare feet.
shawl /ʃɔ:l/ n a piece of usually soft decorated cloth that can
be square, TRIANGULAR, or long and narrow, for wearing over
a woman's head or shoulders or wrapping round a baby
Shaw-nee /ʃɔ:'ni:/ n 1 the Shawnee [plural] a Native
American tribe who lived in the central Ohio valley until
they were forced to move to Oklahoma by the US govern-
ment in the mid-19th century 2 [C] a member of this tribe
→ see Cultural Note at NATIVE AMERICAN —Shawnee adj
s/he pron (used in writing as the subject of a sentence when
one wishes to include both men and women) he or she: If
any student wishes to speak to the head of department s/he
should first make an appointment.
she¹ /ʃi; strong ʃi:/ pron (used as the subject of a sentence) 1 that
female person or animal: She's certainly a pretty girl. Who is
she? 2 (used for something thought of as female, especially
a country or a ship or other vehicle): The liner docked
yesterday, and she will spend two months being refitted. → see
HE (USAGE) 3 Who's 'she'—the cat's mother? BrE (a phrase used
to remind someone that it is considered rather impolite in
Britain to talk about someone who is with you as 'she' (or
'he'), and that the person's name should be used instead):
'She didn't hear you.' 'Who's 'she' – the cat's mother?' 'Sorry,
Carole didn't hear you.'
she² /ʃi:/ n [S] infml a female: Is the new baby a he or a she?
she- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
sheaf /ʃi:f/ n pl. sheaves /ʃi:vz/ [(of)] 1 a bunch of grain
plants tied together, especially as left standing in a field to
dry after gathering: sheaves of corn 2 a collection of long or
thin things held or tied together; BUNDLE: The speaker came
into the hall carrying a sheaf of notes.
shear /ʃɪər/ v sheared or shorn /ʃɔ:n||ɔ:rn/ 1 [T]
to cut off wool from (sheep) 2 [T] especially lit to cut off (hair):
the day when her baby curls were shorn 3 [I,T[OFF]] tech to
break or cause (especially a thin rod, pin etc) to break in half
because of a sideways or twisting force: The bolts had
sheared, allowing the door to fly open. 4 be shorn of some-
thing especially lit to have something completely removed
from one: Shorn of all real power by the new laws, the office
of deputy president soon became obsolete.
Shea-rer, Al-an /'ʃɪərər, 'ælən/ (1970-) an English football
player known for playing for the English national team and
for Newcastle United
shears /ʃɪəz||ʃɪrz/ n [P] 1 large scissors 2 a heavy cutting
tool which works like scissors: pruning shears → see PAIR
(USAGE)
Shea Sta-di-um /'ʃeɪ ,steɪdiəm/ the STADIUM in Flushing,
New York, where the Mets baseball team plays. It is also
known as the place where the Beatles performed their first
big concert in the US in 1965.
sheath /ʃi:θ/ n pl. sheaths /ʃi:ðz/ 1 a close-fitting case for a
knife or sword blade or the sharp part of a tool 2 BrE a
CONDOM 3 a long close-fitting part of a plant or of an
animal organ that acts as a covering 4 a sheathing
sheathe /ʃi:ð/ v [T] 1 to put away in a SHEATH: He sheathed
his sword. 2 [(with, in)] to enclose in a protective outer cover:
The nuclear reactor is sheathed with lead.
sheath-ing /'ʃi:ðɪŋ/ n [C;U] a protective outer cover, e.g. for
a building, ship etc
'sheath knife n a knife with a fixed (not folding) blade for
carrying in a sheath
She-ba, Queen of /'ʃi:bə/ → see QUEEN OF SHEBA
she-bang /ʃɪ'bæŋ/ n [S] infml, especially AmE affair; business;
thing (especially in the phrase the whole shebang)
she-been /ʃɪ'bi:n/ n especially IrE a place where alcoholic
drink is illegally sold
she-chi-ta /ʃe'hi:tə:/ n [U] the process of killing an animal
for food according to Jewish law
she'd /ʃid; strong ʃi:d/ abbrev. for 1 she would 2 she had
shed¹ /ʃed/ n (often in comb.) a lightly built single-floored
building, often wooden, used especially for storing things: a
toolshed/cattle shed/garden shed → compare HUT
shed² v shed, present participle shedding [T] 1 especially lit to
cause to flow out; pour out: It's too late to change your mind
now, so there's no point in shedding tears (=crying or worry-
ing) over it. | These clues shed new light on the mystery.
(=make it clearer) | The army brought down the government,
but without shedding any blood. (=without causing any
killing or wounding) → see also BLOODSHED 2 (of a plant or
animal) to have (its skin, leaves, hair etc) come off or fall out
naturally: Most trees shed their leaves in autumn. | Some
snakes shed their skin each year. 3 to get rid of (something
not wanted or needed): I'd like to shed a few pounds
(=become thinner) before the summer. | The factory is plan-
ning to shed about a quarter of its workforce. | to shed one's