shifting-boards 
shifting-boards (shif'ting-bordz), . /</. Fore- 
and-aft bulkheads of plank put up in a ship's 
hold to prevent ballast from shifting from side 
to side. 
shiftingly (shif'ting-li), adr. In a shifting 
manner; by shifts and changes; deceitfully. 
shiftless (shift'les), tt. [< shift + -less.] 1. 
Lacking in resource or energy, or in ability to 
shift for one's self or one's own ; slack in de- 
vising or using expedients for the successful 
accomplishment of anything; deficient in or- 
ganizing or executive ability ; incapable ; inef- 
ficient; improvident; lazy: as, a shiftless fel- 
low. 
The court held him worthy of death, in undertaking the 
charge of a shiftless maid, and leaving her (when he might 
have done otherwise) in such a place as he knew she must 
needs perish. Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 290. 
He was a very friendly good-natured man as could be, 
but shiftlesse as to the world, and dyed not rich. 
Aubrey, Lives, Winceslaus Hollar. 
Her finale and ultimatum of contempt consisted in a 
very emphatic pronunciation of the word "shiftless" ; and 
by this she characterized all modes of procedure which 
had not a direct and inevitable relation to accomplish- 
ment of some purpose then definitely had in mind. Peo- 
ple who did nothing, or who did not know exactly what 
they were going to do, or who did not take the most direct 
way to accomplish what they set their hands to, were ob- 
jects of her entire contempt. 
H. B. Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, xv. 
2. Characterized by or characteristic of slack- 
ness or inefficiency, especially in shifting for 
one's self or one's own. 
Forcing him to his manifold shifts, and shiftlesse re- 
mouings. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 33. 
Yet I was frighten'd at the painful view 
Of shiftless want, and saw not what to do. 
Crabbe, Works, VII. 78. 
shiftlessly (shift'les-li), adv. In a shiftless 
manner. 
shiftlessness (shift'les-nes), n. Shiftless char- 
acter or condition ; lack of resource ; inability 
to devise or use suitable expedients or mea- 
sures; slackness; inefficiency; improvidence. 
And there is on the face of the whole earth no do-nothing 
whose softness, idleness, general inaptitude to labor, and 
everlasting, universal shijtlesimess can compare with that 
of this worthy, as found in a brisk Yankee village. 
H. B. Stoiee, Oldtown, p. 20. 
Shifty (shif'ti), a. [< shift + -#!.] 1. Change- 
able; changeful; shifting; fickle; wavering: 
a,e,shifty principles. [Rare.] 2. Full of shifts; 
fertile in expedients; well able to shift for 
one's self. 
She had much to learn in this extended sphere ; and she 
was in many ways ushifty and business-like young person, 
who had early acquired a sense of responsibility. 
W. Block, In Far Lochaber, xxiii. 
3. Given to or characterized by shifts, tricks, or 
artifices; fertile in dodges or evasions; tricky. 
His political methods have been shifty and not straight 
forward. The American, VII. 213. 
Scholars were beginning to be as shifty as statesmen. 
Fortnightly See., N. 8., XIJ.1I. 51. 
shigram (shi-gram'), . [< Marathi shiglir, < 
Skt. ayhra, quick.] A kind of hack gharry: 
so called in Bombay. 
I see a native "swell " pass me in a tatterdemalion shi- 
gram, or a quaint little shed upon wheels, a kind of tray 
placed in a bamboo framework. 
W. B. Russell, Diary in India, 1. 146. 
Shiism (she'izm), it. [< Shi(ali) + -ism.] The 
body of principles or doctrines of the SMahs. 
In the course of time, when the whole of Persia had 
adopted the cause of the family of 'All, Shl'ixm became 
the receptacle of all the religious ideas of the Persians, 
and Dualism, Gnosticism, and Manicheism were to be 
seen reflected in it. JEncyc. Brit., XVI. 592. 
Shiite (she'it), n. [= F. schiite ; as Shi(ah) + 
-tte 1 .] Same as Shiah. 
Shiitic (she-it'ik), a. [< Shiite + -ic.1 Of or 
pertaining to the Shiahs or Shiites: as, "Shi- 
itic ideas," Encyc. Brit., XVII. 238. 
shikar (shi-kar v ), n. [Hind, shikar, hunting.] 
In India, hunting; sport. Yule and Burnett. 
shikaree, shikari (shi-kar'e), n. [Also shi- 
karry, shekarry, shikary, chickary, chikary ; < 
Hind, shikari, a hunter, sportsman, < shikar, 
hunting: see shikar.] In India, a hunter or 
sportsman. 
shiko (shik'o), n. [Burmese.] In Burma, the 
posture of prostration with folded hands as- 
sumed by a native in the presence of a supe- 
rior, or before any object of reverence or wor- 
ship. 
shilbe, n. See schilbe, 2. 
shilf (shilf), n. [== OHG. seilwf, MHG. G. schilf, 
sedge; prob. akin to or ult. same as OHG. 
sceliva, MHG. schelfe, shell or hull of fruit, G. 
sohelfe, a husk, shell, paring, = D. schelp, a 
5872 
shell: see srall<>i>, xc(tl/> 1 ,. /(/''.] Straw. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
shill 1 (shil), n. and r. A variant of shtal 1 . 
Shill-t, r. /. and /. [ME. schillfii. xkillen = OHG. 
scellan, scellen, shellen, schellen, MHG. schellen 
= Icel. sheila, skjalla = Goth. * ski HUH (not re- 
corded) (cf. It. sqitittare, < OHG.), sound loud 
and clear, ring. Hence the adj. shill 2 , and the 
noun, OHG. seal, MHG. schal, G. schall, sound, 
tone (whence the secondary verb, MHG. G. 
schallen, sound, resound), and prob. also ult. 
'E. shilling.'] To sound; shrill. Sainte Marhe- 
rete (E. E. T. S.), p. 19. 
shiU 2 t, a. [ME. shill, schille, schylle, < AS. xei/ll 
= MD. schel = MHG. schel, sounding loud and 
clear, shrill: see shill 2 , r.] Shrill. 
Schylle and scharpe (var. schille, lowde), acutus, sono- 
rus. Prompt. Pare., p. 44(i. 
shillalah (shi-la'la), . [Also shillelah, shillaly : 
said to be named from Nhillflagh. a barony in 
County Wicklow, Ireland, famous for its oaks; 
lit. 'seed or descendants of Elach,' < Ir. siol, 
seed (= W. sileu, seedling; silio, spawn), + 
Elaigh, Elach.] An oak or blackthorn sap- 
ling, used in Ireland as a cudgel, 
shilling (shil'ing), n. [< ME. shilling, shillyn//, 
schilling, < AS. stilling, scylling, a shilling, = 
OS. OFries. shilling = D. schelling = MLG. 
schillink, LG. schilling = OHG. scillinc, MHG. 
schillinc, G. schilling (> Icel. shillingr=Sw. Dan. 
shilling) = Goth, skilliggs, a shilling (cf. OF. 
schelin, escalin, cskallin, F. escalin = Sp. dtelin 
= It. scellino = OBulg. shuknzt, shlenzi, a coin, 
= Pol. sselang, a shilling, = Russ. shelegii, a 
counter, < Teut.); prob. orig. a 'ringing' piece, 
with suffix -ing'* (as also in farth ing ^and orig. in 
penny, AS.pening, etc.), < Goth, "shillan = OHG. 
scellan, etc., E. (obs.) shill, ring: see shill 2 , r. 
According to Skeat (cf. Sw. skilje-mynt = Dan. 
skille-mynt, small, i. e. 'divisible,' change or 
money), < Tent. \/ skil (Icel. skilja, etc.), divide, 
-r- -lingl, as in AS. feorthling, also feorthing, 
a farthing.] 1. A coin or money of account, 
of varying value, in use among the Anglo-Sax- 
ons and other Teu- 
tonic peoples. 2. 
An English silver 
coin, first issued by 
Henry VII., in whose 
reign it weighed 144 
grains. The coin has 
been issued by succeed- 
ing English rulers. The 
shilling of Victoria 
weighs 87.3727 grains 
troy. Twenty shillings 
are equal to one pound 
(1 = 4.84), and twelve 
pence to one shilling 
(about 24 cents). (Ab- 
breviated s.,sh.) At the 
time when the decimal 
system was adopted by 
the United States, the 
shilling ortwentieth part 
of the pound in the cur- 
rency of New England 
and Virginia was equal to 
one sixth of a dollar ; in 
that of New York and 
North Carolina, to one 
eighth of a dollar ; in 
that of New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, and 
Maryland, to two fif- 
teenths of a dollar ; and 
in that of South Carolina 
and Georgia, to three 
fourteenths of a dollar. Beckoning by the shilling is still 
not uncommon in some parts of the United States, espe- 
cially in rural New England. See also cuts under pine-tree, 
portcullis, 4, and accolated. Boston or Bay shillings. 
See pine-tree money, under pine-tree. Mexican shil- 
ling. See W2, 7. Seven-Shilling piece, an English gold 
coin of the value 
of seven shillings, 
being the third 
part of the guinea, 
coined by George 
III. from 1797 to 
1813 inclusive. 
Shrub-shilling, a 
variety of the pine- 
tree shilling. See 
pine-tree money, un- 
der pine-tree. To 
cut off with a 
shilling. See<(. To take the shilling, or the King's 
or Queen's shilling, in Great Britain, to enlist as a sol- 
dier by accepting a shilling from a recruiting-officer. 
Since the passing of the Army Discipline and Regulation 
Act of 1879 this practice has been discontinued. 
The Queen's shilling once being taken, or even sworn to 
have been taken, and attestation made, there was no help 
for the recruit, unless he was bought out. 
J. Ashton, Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, II. 203. 
Shillyt, adr. [ME. schylly; < shill 2 + -Iy 2 .~\ 
Shrilly. 
shilling of Henry VIII.- British Mu- 
seum. (Size of original.) 
Obverse. Reverse. 
Seven-shilling Piece. British Museum. 
(Size of original.) 
shimmer 
and scharply (or loudly), acute, aspere, sonore. 
Prompt. Parv., p. 446. 
shilly-shallier (shil'i-shaF'i-er), ?i. One who 
shilly-shallies ; an irresolute person. 
mercy ! what shoals of silly shallow ghillff-xhaUyerx 
in all the inferior grades of the subordinate departments 
of the lowest walks of literature overflow all the land ! 
Nodes Ambrosianfe, April, 1832. 
shilly-shally (shil'i-shal"i), r. i. [Formerly 
also .ilii/li, slmUi ; a variation of shatty-shatty, 
reduplication of shall If a. question indicating 
hesitation. Ct.nJially-sbally, willy-nilly.] To act 
in an irresolute or undecided manner; hesitate. 
Make up your mind what you will ask him, for ghosts 
will stand no shilly-shallying. 
Thackeray, Bluebeard's Ghost. 
shilly-shally (shil'i-shal'i), tfSv. [Formerly 
also shill I, shall I: see the verb.] In an irreso- 
lute or hesitating manner. 
1 am somewhat dainty in making a resolution, because, 
when I make it, I keep it ; I don't stand shill J, shall I 
then ; if I say 't, I'll do 't. 
Congreve, Way of the World, iii. 15. 
shilly-shally (shil'i-shal'i), n. [< shilly-shally, 
r.] Indecision; irresolution; foolish trifling. 
[Colloq.] 
She lost not one of her forty-five minutes in picking and 
choosing. No shilly-shally in Kate. 
De Quincey, Spanish Nun. 
The times of thorough-going theory, when disease in 
general was called by some bad name, and treated ac- 
cordingly without shilly-shally. 
George Eliot, Middlemarch, xv. 
shilpit (shil'pit), a. [Origin unknown ; perhaps 
connected with Sw. skall, watery, thin, taste- 
less.] 1. Weak; washy; insipid. [Scotch.] 
Sherry 's but Mlpit drink. Scott, Redgauntle^ xx. 
2. Of a sickly paleness; feeble-looking. 
[Scotch.] 
The laird . . . pronounced her to be but a shilpit thing. 
Miss Ferrier, Marriage, xxiv. 
shily. adv. See shyly. 
shim> (shim), n. [Formerly also shimm; (a) < 
ME. 'shimme, *shiie (in adj. shimmed), < AS. 
scima, shade, glimmer, = OS. scimo, a shade, 
apparition, = MD. sciiimmc, scheme, shade, 
glimmer, dusk, D. schim, a shade, ghost, = 
MHG. schime, scheme, schim, G. schemen, a 
shade, apparition; (6) cf. AS. scima, bright- 
ness, = OS. scimo = OHG. scimo, skimo, MHG. 
schime. brightness, = Icel. skimi, skima, a gleam, 
= Goth, skcima, a torch, lantern ; with forma- 
tive -ma, < Teut. t/ ski (ski, skf), shine, seen also 
in AS. scinan, etc., shine: see shine. Hence ult. 
shim 2 , shime, r., shimmer.] 1. A white spot, as 
a white streak on a horse's face. [Prov. Eng.] 
The shimm, or rase downe the face of a horse, or strake 
down the face. 
Hare's M.S. Additions to Bay's North Country Words. 
[(llalliwell.) 
2. An ignis fatuus. [Prov. Eng.] 
shim 1 !, '' Same as shime. 
shim 2 (shim), n. [Perhaps due to confusion of 
shiml, in the appar. sense ' streak,' with shin, 
in the orig. sense 'splint.'] 1. Broadly, in 
mach., a thin slip (usually of metal, but often 
of other material) used to fill up space caused 
by wear, or placed between parts liable to wear, 
as under the cap of a pillow-block or journal- 
box. In the latter case, as the journal and box wear and 
the journal gets loose, the removal of one or more shims 
allows the cap to be forced down by its tightening bolts 
and nuts against the journal to tighten the bearing. 
When off Santa Cruz the engines were slowed down on 
account of a slight tendency to heating shown by the 
cross-head of one of the high-pressure cylinders, and were 
finally stopped to put shim under the cross-head to re- 
lieve this tendency. New York Evening Post, May 9, 1889. 
2. In stone-u'orking and quarrying, a plate used 
to fill out the space at the side of a jumper-hole, 
between it and a wedge used for separating a 
block of stone, or for contracting the space in 
fitting a lewis into the hole. 3. A shim-plow 
(which see, under plow). 
In the isle of Thanet they are particularly attentive to 
clean their bean and pea stubbles before they plough. . . . 
For this purpose they have invented an instrument called 
a shim. A. Hunter, Georgical Essays, III. x. 
shim 2 (shim), v. t. ; pret. and pp. shimmed, ppr. 
shimming. [< skim 2 , .] To wedge up or fill 
out to a fair surface by inserting a thin wedge 
or piece of material. 
shimet, ?'. [ME. schiiien,< AS. scimian, sci- 
man (= OHG. sciman), shine, gleam, < scima, 
brightness, gleam: see S/MMJ!.] To gleam. 
shimmer 1 (shim'er), v. i. [< ME. shimeren, 
scMmeren, shemeren, schcmercn, < AS. scimriati, 
scymrian (= MD. schcmeren, schemelen, D. schc- 
meren, MLG. schemeren, LG. schemmeren, > G. 
schimmern = Sw. skimra), shimmer, gleam, freq. 
