[shoot a line] See: DROP A LINE.

[shoot from the hip]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To fire a gun held atthe hip without aiming by aligning the barrel with one’s eye. •/In manyWestern movies the heroic sheriff defeats the villains by shooting from thehip./ 2. To speak sincerely, frankly, and without subterfuge. •/"What kindof an administrator will Mr. Brown be?" the head of the search committee asked."He shoots straight from the hip," he was assured./

[shoot off one’s mouth] or [shoot off one’s face] {v. phr.},{slang} To give opinions without knowing all the facts; talk as if you knoweverything. •/Tom has never been to Florida, but he’s always shooting hismouth off about how superior Florida is to California./ •/I want to studythe problem before I shoot off my face./ •/The editor of the newspaper isalways shooting his mouth off about the trouble in Africa./

[shoot one’s wad]{v. phr.}{slang}, {colloquial} 1. To spendall of one’s money. •/We’ve shot our wad for the summer and can’t buy any newgarden furniture./ 2. To say everything that is on one’s mind. •/Joe feelsa lot better now that he’s shot his wad at the meeting./

[shoot out]{v.} 1. To fight with guns until one person or side iswounded or killed; settle a fight by shooting. — Used with "it". •/Thecornered bank robbers decided to shoot it out with the police./ •/Themoment she opened the door, the cat shot out and ran around the house./•/During the last half-minute of the race, Dick shot out in front of theother runners./

[shoot questions at]{v. phr.} To interrogate rapidly and vigorously.•/The attorney for the prosecution shot one question after another at thenervous witness./

[shoot straight] or [shoot square] {v.}, {informal} To actfairly; deal honestly. •/You can trust that salesman; he shoots straight withhis customers./ •/We get along well because we always shoot square witheach other./ — [straight shooter] or [square shooter] {n.},{informal} /Bill is a square-shooter./ — [straight-shooting]{adj.} •/The boys all liked the straight-shooting coach./

[shoot the breeze] or [bat the breeze] or [fan the breeze] or[shoot the bull] {v. phr.}, {slang} To talk. •/Jim shot thebreeze with his neighbor while the children were playing./ •/Come into thekitchen and we’ll bat the breeze over a cup of coffee./ •/The women wereshooting the breeze about Jim’s latest trouble with the police./ •/Thefishermen were shooting the bull about the school of sail fish they hadseen./

[shoot the works]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To spare no expense oreffort; get or give everything. •/Billy shot the works when he bought hisbicycle; he got a bell, a light, a basket, and chrome trimmings on it, too./•/The Greens shot the works on their daughter’s wedding reception./ 2. Togo the limit; take a risk. •/The motor of Tom’s boat was dangerously hot, buthe decided to shoot the works and try to win the race./

[shoot up]{v.} 1. To grow quickly. •/Billy had always been a smallboy, but when he was thirteen years old he began to shoot up./ 2. To arisesuddenly. •/As we watched, flames shot up from the roof of the barn./ 3.{informal} To shoot or shoot at recklessly; shoot and hurt badly. •/Thecowboys got drunk and shot up the bar room./ •/The soldier was shot up verybadly./ 4. To take drugs by injection. •/A heroin addict will shoot up asoften as he can./

[shop] See: CLOSE UP SHOP, TALK SHOP.

[shop around for]{v. phr.} To make the rounds of various commercialestablishments in order to find the most economical answer for one’s needs.•/We’ve been shopping around for a larger condominium that is affordable, andnear the university./

[shoplifter]{n.} A thief who steals things from a store. •/The TVcamera identified the shoplifter, who was then arrested and sentenced tojail./

[shopping center]{n.} A place usually for neighborhood shopping, wherethere is a group of stores and shops inside of a large parking lot. •/Thereis a bowling alley at the nearest shopping center./ •/All the stores in ourshopping center stay open until nine o’clock on Friday evenings./

[shopworn]{adj.} A piece of merchandise that is offered below theusual price because it is slightly damaged or soiled. •/Although shopworn,the jacket was perfectly usable, so he eagerly bought it./

[shore leave]{n.} Permission given to a man in the Navy to leave hisship and go where he wants for a certain length of time. •/Jim went to visitNew York when he was given three days' shore leave./ •/The ship did notdock long enough for the sailors to get shore leave./

[shore patrol]{n.} The police of a navy. •/The sailors who werefighting in town were arrested by the shore patrol./ •/The shore patrol wasordered to search every sailor who went on board the ship./

[shore up]{v.} To add support to (something) where weakness is shown;make (something) stronger where support is needed; support. •/When the floodwaters weakened the bridge, it was shored up with steel beams and sandbagsuntil it could be rebuilt./ •/The coach sent in a substitute guard to shoreup the line when Fitchburg began to break through./

[shorn] See: GOD TEMPERS THE WIND TO THE SHORN LAMB.

[short] See: CAUGHT SHORT, FALL SHORT, FOR SHORT, IN BRIEF or IN SHORT, INSHORT ORDER, IN SHORT SUPPLY, MAKE SHORT WORK OF, RUN SHORT, SELL SHORT, THELONG AND THE SHORT.

[short and sweet]{adj.} Brief and to the point. •/Henry’s note tohis father was short and sweet. He wrote, "Dear Dad, please send me $5. Love,Henry."/

[shortchange]{v. phr.} To return less money to a customer in a storethan is coming to him or her; cheat. •/I was shortchanged by the cashier whenI got seven dollars back instead of eight./

[shortcut]{n.} A road shorter than the one that people normally take.•/We can save twenty minutes if we take this shortcut over the hill./

[short end]{n.} The worst or most unpleasant part. •/The new boy gotthe short end of it because all the comfortable beds in the dormitory had beentaken before he arrived./ •/The girls who served refreshments at the partygot the short end of it. When everybody had been served, there was no cake leftfor them./

[shorthanded]{adj.} Understaffed; short on workers. •/With severalemployees gone for the holiday weekend and two dozen people in line, therent-a-car agency suddenly found itself terribly shorthanded./

[short haul]{n.} A short distance; a short trip. •/The Scoutmastersaid that it was just a short haul to the lake./ •/The man from the movingcompany said they did not make short hauls, so we hired a truck to move ourfurniture three blocks to our new house./ Contrast: LONG HAUL.

[short list] or [short-listed] {v. phr.} To place on the list ofselect finalists for a job. •/Only three of the twenty-seven applicants wereshort-listed for the assistant professorial vacancy in our department./

[short of(1)]{adj. phr.} 1. Less or worse than. •/Don’t do anythingshort of your best./ 2. Not having enough. •/We did not buy anythingbecause we were short of money./ •/The girls were asked to wait on tablesbecause the kitchen was short of help./