| 释义 |
▪ I. shot, n.1|ʃɒt|
Forms: 1 sc(e)ot, ᵹesc(e)ot, 2, 4–7 schot, 3 scott, 4–7 schott, shotte, (5 shet), 5–6 schotte, 5–7, (8) shott, (6 shutt, 6–7 shote), 5– shot.
[OE. sc(e)ot, ᵹesc(e)ot neut. (the prefix, as usual in ns., fell away—in this instance not surviving beyond OE.—so that the forms with and without prefix fell together) = OFris. skot neut., OS. -scot in sîlscot ‘balista’, MLG. scot, gescot, OHG. scoȥ neut. (MHG. schoȥ masc., mod.G. schoss masc.), also giscoȥ neut. (MHG. geschoȥ, mod.G. geschoss), ON. skot neut.:—OTeut. *skuto-, *gaskuto-m, f. root *skū̆t-: see shoot v.]
I. The action of shooting.
1. a. A rapid movement or motion; † a rush, dash or onset. rare.
a1000Menologium 272 Leax sceal on wæle mid sceote scriðan. 1375Barbour Bruce xii. 77 A gret schot till thame can thai mak. 1859Meredith R. Feverel xxiii, ‘You needn't to ask, sir—ye know’, said the farmer, with a side shot of his head.
b. A sudden sharp pain; also dial. ‘a sudden attack of illness or disease’. rare.
a1400–50Stockh. Med. MS. 101 For þe schottes & þe prikkynges in sydes. 1527Andrew Brunswyke's Distyll. Waters C v, The hede enoynted with the same water..withdryveth the payne and shotte in the hede comynge of hete. 1899Cumberld. Gloss., Shot,..a sudden attack of illness or disease... A shot of rheumatics.
c. A rush (of colour) over a person's face, etc. ? nonce-use.
1895Meredith Amazing Marr. I. xi. 123 A shot of colour swept over Henrietta.
†d. A rush of water. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 3300 And þou drunkyn hade dewly as mony du sopis, As shottes of shire water has shot fro þin ene. 1673Ray Journ. Low C. 8 In process of time..all the Hills and Mountains..would by Floods and Shots of Rain be quite washed away.
e. A sheet (of ice). Obs. exc. dial.
a1650Calderwood Hist. Kirk (1843) II. 248 The rain falling freezed so vehementlie, that the ground was like a shott of yce.
2. A discharge, flux or issue. (Cf. shoot n.3)
c1500Rowlis Cursing 67 in Laing Anc. Poet. Scot., The kanker and the kattair, And never to be but schot of blude. 1841Dick Man. Vet. Science (1862) 148 Cattle and sheep..after indulging..in luxuriant pastures, take what is called a Shot of Blood. 1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 226 There is a complaint called a shot of grease, arising from a different cause from the common grease.
3. Fisheries.
a. The spread or cast of a net; the throw and haul-in of a fishing-net.
1859Atkinson Walks & Talks (1892) 322 A second shot of the net produced eleven more [mullet]. 1864Rep. Sea Fisheries Comm. (1865) II. 1188/1, I believe I got the second shot of trawled fish that was ever fished in this country. 1873Act 36 & 37 Vict. c. 71 §14 Within 100 yards from the nearest point in the line of shot of any other seine or draft net worked in like manner.
b. Sc. A place where nets are shot. Obs. exc. Hist.
1452in Reg. Monast. Passelet (Maitld. Club) 250 Tertiam partem totius piscarie de le Crukytshot. 1584Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 354/1 Beginnand at the schott of the fisching callit the Hoilschott. 1882J. F. S. Gordon Hist. Moray III. 228 The proprietor of the Friars' Shott salmon fishings.
4. The shooting of a bolt.
1905‘H. Haliburton’ Excursions i. 5 The shot of the lock caught the ear of Beenie.
5. a. A passage of the shuttle across the web; concr. ‘one thread of each colour or kind of yarn’ (Eng. Dial. Dict.).
1834–6P. Barlow Manuf. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VIII. 739/1 If a shot of blue and a shot of white be thrown alternately, a corresponding check will be produced. 1864T. Bruce in Poets of Ayrshire (1910) 232 Sad and slow the shots he threw And slow he trod the treddles.
b. (See quot.)
1875F. J. Bird Dyer's Hand-bk. 90 When satins..or silks of any kind are found to contain shots—that is, warp and weft of different qualities—they must be prepared as follows.
6. The course of a plough.
1843Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IV. i. 34 It is usual to cut the drains directly across the shot, as we term the course of the plough.
7. a. The action of shooting with the bow, catapult, or firearms; the mechanical discharge of arrows or other projectiles as a means of attack; shots or discharges of missiles collectively. Now only arch. † Const. of (bows, guns, etc., also arrows or other projectiles).
c1386Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 529 Whan thy worthy kyng Richard was slayn With shot. c1471Arriv. K. Edw. IV, (Camden) 29 Sore annoyed..as well with gonnes-shott, as with shot of arrows. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 279 The shot of the Scottes endured but a short space: But the shot of the Englishmen was long and fierce. 1639Drummond of Hawthornden Consid. to Parlt. Wks. (1711) 185 By shot of pistols. 1759Hume Hist. Eng., Tudor I. 87 Their admiral lost an eye by the shot of an arrow. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxiv, At which a few archers might be stationed for defending the turret, and flanking with their shot the wall of the castle on that side. 1855Kingsley Westw. Ho! vii, Which bark..was taken without shot or slaughter.
fig.1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 224 And so seide sexty of þe same contreye, And shoten aȝein with shotte many a shef of othes. 1567Turberv. Epit. etc. 12 The surest shielde Against the dreadfull shot of wordes that thousandes had beguilde. 1662Hibbert Body of Div. ii. 29 We cannot be at peace with God, and therefore lie ever open to the shot of general dangers. 1718T. Gordon Cordial Low Spirits 27, I must be obliged to stand the shot of his noise and nastiness for perhaps an hour or two together.
b. An act of shooting, an individual discharge of a bow, gun, etc. Phrases, to fire, also (now arch.) to make, shoot a shot (see shoot v. 21 c).
to fire a shot is used also in senses 13, 14 b, and 17.
c1000in Napier O.E. Glosses (1900) 214 Iactibus..uacuis, mid idelum ᵹescotum. c1435in Kingsford Chron. Lond. (1905) 96 In this same yere..was slayn sir Thomas Movntagu..thruh a shotte off a gonne. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. i. 31 b, Notwithstanding wee had giuen them a shot of assurance, [they] began to prepare themselues to the fight, thinking we had bin Coursaries. 1629Capt. Smith's Trav. & Adv. iii. 5 She stood to her defence, and made shot for shot. 1721De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 130 Several regiments..never..fired a shot. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. lii, They heard a shot. c1850Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 693 Prince Houssain..took his bow and made the first shot.
fig.1576Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 416 He had directed his shot at the crowne of England.
†c. uninflected plural (with numeral). Obs.
1642–4Vicars God in Mount 193 After many shot of Cannon, which did very little hurt among us.
d. Phrases. (a) a shot between wind and water, also slang (cf. shoot v. 30 d). (b) colloq. like a shot: at once, with rapidity. Also, without hesitation, most willingly. (c) colloq. a shot in the eye: an ill turn.
(a)1695Congreve Love for L. iii. xv. Ballad, And then he let fly at her, A shot 'twixt wind and water, That won this Fair Maids Heart. 1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. vii. (1708) 62 Sometimes his Captain, being disabl'd by some unlucky Shot 'twixt Wind and Water, repairs to him for a Refitment.
(b)1809Malkin Gil Blas v. i. ⁋6, I went off like a shot, in the direction of our inn. 1843Dickens Christmas Carol v. 156 The boy was off like a shot. 1894W. E. Norris St. Ann's I. 72 If I could hear of any chance of employment elsewhere, I'd take it like a shot.
(c)1897Pearson's Mag. Sept. 254/1 He thought he saw the means of getting square with the millionaire who had done him such an unscrupulous ‘shot in the eye’.
e. transf. (a) Naut. slang. A meridional altitude taken (cf. shoot v. 32 c). (b) A snapshot (cf. shoot v. 22 f); a picture (or sequence of pictures) continuously shot by a single film or television camera; the action or process of taking such a picture.
1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v. Shoot the sun, ‘Have you obtained a shot?’ applied to altitudes of the meridian, as for time, lunar distances, &c. 1889Brit. Jrnl. Photogr. XXXVI. 605/2, I developed some instantaneous shots. 1895Outing XXVI. 33/2, I must have a camera shot at this. 1923‘B. M. Bower’ Parowan Bonanza xxvi. 303 Bill and Tommy were both below examining the effect of their ‘shots’ of the evening before. 1937Discovery Nov. 330/2 For each unit of programme transmission, called a shot, on account of similarity with sound-film technique, several electron cameras may be in use. 1957W. Alwyn in Manvell & Huntley Film Music 9 Chapter 4 shows the various dramatic forms film music takes, and analyses in each case shot-by-shot and phase-by-phase a particular sequence [etc.]. 1963Movie Jan. 8/1 The sequence in the Albert Hall auditorium..lasts about twelve minutes, 124 shots without any dialogue. 1972Listener 21 Dec. 852/1 Sequence of calls before a shot. Production Assistant: ‘Quiet. Going for a take. Standing by.’ Director: ‘Right.’ 1979D. Gurr Troika i. 2 The first picture is on the screen... He never told me they had that shot.
f. Mining. An explosion of a blasting charge. Cf. 17.
1881Raymond Gloss. Mining s.v. Shoot, A shot is a single operation of blasting. 1900Daily News 25 July 2/1 Every shot is improving the appearance of the ore chute.
g. (a) A hypodermic injection of a narcotic, hallucinogen, or the like, or of a vaccine; a measure of a substance for injection. Also fig. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1904San Francisco Chron. Suppl. 30 Oct. 4/1, I varied hardly a minute each day in the time of taking my injection. My first shot was when I awoke in the morning. 1921S. Lewis Let. 12 July in C. Mackenzie My Life & Times (1966) V. 199 Your book..was..at once a Social Document, and an opiate—or, as we say in the States, a shot of dope! 1936L. C. Douglas White Banners xviii. 373 That reminds me—I've to take some typhoid shots. 1948G. H. Johnston Death takes Small Bites iv. 81 If you've never had a plague shot and you've been here for five hours you might have contracted the disease. 1953W. Burroughs Junkie viii. 74 About fifteen minutes later the attendant called, ‘Shot line!’ Everyone in the ward lined up. 1957London Mag. Sept. 40 They were persons of a kind needing shots of the notion of art as others need shots of insulin. 1969A. Lurie Real People 154 A doctor had come and given Charlie a shot and put him to bed. 1978G. A. Sheehan Running & Being x. 136 We begin to hear about Butazolidine and cortisone shots.
(b) In fig. phr. a shot in the arm, a much needed stimulant or encouragement. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1922S. Lewis Babbitt viii. 108 All afternoon he snorted and chuckled and gurgled over his ability to ‘give the Boys a real shot in the arm tonight’. 1939I. Baird Waste Heritage xii. 157 He saw the thing because he recognized it and knew how the shot-in-the-arm worked. 1949Hansard Commons 27 Sept. 82 The brake..will lead rapidly to that dollar competition..in which we..and the Belgians will use this ‘shot-in-the-arm’ only for the purpose of making our positions worse. 1951M. McLuhan Mech. Bride (1967) 47/1 Their masters, who then decide what sort of shot in the arm the public needs. 1961Daily Tel. 11 May 20/6 A ‘shot in the arm’ will be given to Minehead if Mr. Billy Butlin is allowed to build a holiday camp there. 1976‘A. Garve’ Home to Roost i. 21 Everyone felt better for seeing her. She was a shot in the arm.
(c) A measure of lubricant injected into the petrol tank of a motor vehicle.
1965L. Sands Something to Hide v. 82 ‘Four gallons, Will, and four shots.’.. The shots were squirted in. 1978Reader's Digest Sept. 130 (Advt.), Regular shots of Redex can save you well over {pstlg}30 a year at current petrol prices... Add one shot of Redex for every gallon of petrol you buy.
h. (See quots.) Cf. moon-shot s.v. moon n. 16; space shot s.v. space n.1 20.
1934Scoops 19 May 456/1 Shot..a rocket flight. 1957Williams & Epstein Rocket Pioneers viii. 188 The last moments before a rocket shot are always tense. 1959F. D. Adams Aeronaut. Dict. 152/2 Shot, an act or instance of firing a rocket, esp. from the earth's surface.
i. to call the shots, to make the decisions; to exercise control over events. colloq. (orig. and chiefly U.S.).
1967E. Liebow Tally's Corner v. 157 Sea Cat made no secret of the fact that Gloria was calling the shots in this relationship. 1972N.Y. Times 3 Nov. 38/3 It is the majority party which calls the ‘shots’ on the rules and legislative policies affecting our city. 1978S. Brill Teamsters v. 164 They stand off in a corner as if to say, ‘I'm calling the shots here.’ 1981Sunday Tel. 5 July 8/5 They felt that an anti-Old Etonian cabal was calling the shots.
8. a. The range of a shot, or distance to which a shot will go. in(to) shot, within shot, out of shot: in, within, out of shooting distance; also Photogr., Cinemat., and Television, in(to) or out of view of the camera. † to have open shot: to have unobstructed range of shooting.
1455[see flight-shot 1.] c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon vii. 180, I bode behynde well the shotte of a bow. 1513[see arrow-shot s.v. arrow n. IV. 2]. 1513Life Hen. V, (1911) 111 They of the Towne had from euery place open shott wth there gonns into the hoast. 1635Long Meg of Westminster xii. (1816) 21 While the Dolphins army lay in view..there was a French-man that sundry times would as on a brauery come within shot and tosse his Pike, and so goe his way. 1670Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 3 The Ships ride in shot of Ordnance of the City. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 237 And that then I should be within half Shot of them. 1882Payne-Gallwey Fowler Irel. 431 To find..that the pole has slipped just as you are getting well in shot, is no joke. 1958Spectator 18 July 87/1 One Coco-Cola-clutching teenager..darting little glances at the camera to see if he was still in shot. 1960N. Kneale Mrs. Wickens in Fall 174 The maid Cecile hurried into Shot with a tray heaped with cut bread. 1960I. MacCormick Small Victory 69 Thompson looks at each of them disgustedly, then he turns away and moves out of shot. 1969J. Elliot Duel iii. iii. 248 You'll have to move the mike up... Unless you want it in shot. 1976M. Maguire Scratchproof iii. 40 The camera pulled back as she dashed into shot. 1980D. Francis Reflex x. 120 [He] told me it was important that he should be included in my photographs..prominently in shot.
b. transf. Range or reach of anything likened to a shot. (Cf. earshot.)
1602Shakes. Ham. i. iii. 35 Keepe within the reare of your Affection; Out of the shot and danger of Desire. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. ⁋1 A man would thinke that Ciuilitie, holesome Lawes..should be as safe as a Sanctuary, and out of shot [marg. ἔξω βέλους], as they say, that no man would lift vp the heele..against the motioners of them. 1822Shelley Chas. I, iv. 15 Beyond the shot of tyranny.
c. to run into shot: Of a sporting dog: to run into the line of fire.
1884T. Speedy Sport Highl. iii. 25 The faults..of being gun shy, springing their game, running into shot [etc.].
9. a. An attempt to hit with a projectile discharged from a gun. Phrase, to exchange shots: said with reference to a skirmish or a duel.
1653Hane Jrnl. (1896) 2 Wee made all the resistance wee could, changing some shotts with him for the space of halfe an houre. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 46 A good Shot may be made out of a bad Piece. 1817J. Mayer Sportsman's Direct. (ed. 2) 25 You will be able to take shots at them, before they reach the high slope. 1820John Bull 17 Dec. 5/2 A duel was fought on Saturday..when some shots were exchanged. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest v, It was a good shot that you made. 1898Field 2 Apr. 509/3 Seeing a large buck..I sat down, prepared to have a long shot at him. 1908R. Bagot A. Cuthbert xxix. 377 Six rabbits in six shots with my pea-rifle.
b. fig. A remark aimed at some one, esp. in order to wound. Sometimes with mixture of sense 14 b. Also cheap shot (N. Amer. colloq.).
1841Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. ix, The shot told. Your aunt bounced up at once, and in ten minutes more was in my carriage, on our way back to London. 1878B. Harte Man on Beach 27 This last shot was from the gentle Maria, who bit her lips as it glanced from the immovable man. 1973W. Just Congressman who loved Flaubert 97 He tells me it's going to be a sympathetic show... No cheap shots. 1979R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) ii. xi. 288 ‘Every time you come back from those faggots you hang around with in New York you act like a bitch.’.. A cheap shot.
†c. fig. (A person's) great shot: chief aim. Sc.
1644R. Baillie Lett. & Jrnls. (1841) II. 230 The great shott of Cromwell and Vane is to have a libertie for all religions. a1658Durham Comm. Rev. iv. iii. (1660) 281 The Lords great shot in all this is to get praise to Himself.
d. Phrases: by a long shot, by a considerable amount, by far; freq. negative in emphatic use. colloq. (orig. U.S.). a long shot: a wild guess or venture, a bet at long odds.
1848in Bartlett Dict. Americanisms 215 Mr. Divver offered a resolution summarily removing the superintendent, and was quickly told..that he was going too fast by a long shot. 1861M. B. Chesnut Diary 26 Aug. in C. V. Woodward M. Chesnut's Civil War (1981) 163 ‘They dont pay the soldiers every week.’ ‘Not by a long shot,’ cried a soldier laddie. 1884in I. M. Tarbell Hist. Standard Oil Co. (1904) II. xiii. 114 They are not the Democracy of Ohio by a long shot. 1888Eggleston Graysons i. 12 He didn' wear uz good close in them days 's 'e does now, by a long shot. 1897A. R. Marshall Pomes 27 (Farmer) So Zippy went in for a long shot. 1931Wyndham Lewis Apes of God 17 If those were my last wishes as they are not by a long shot, would they be perfectly clear or not? 1957W. Saroyan Whole Voyald 17 It wasn't only to have pretty women swarm around that I hustled my first book into print. It wasn't that alone by a long shot.
10. a. A random guess attempting to ‘hit’ the right answer. to make a shot: to attempt an answer by guessing. Also, a shot in the dark, a guess, a random attempt. Cf. dark n. 5.
1840J. T. J. Hewlett P. Priggins xvii, After waiting for a little while [in construing], Ninny..made a shot, and went so near the mark, that [etc.]. 1847Alb. Smith Chr. Tadpole Prelude, ‘Do you want a bed here to-night, Sir?’ asked the waiter..making a shot at the sex of the blue serge bundle. 1887Times (weekly ed.) 19 Aug. 4/3, I do not believe that yesterday when she was supposed to be doing 15 knots she was really running more than 13. This, however, is only a shot. 1895G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 9 Feb. 183/1 Never did man make a worse shot in the dark. 1935C. Isherwood Mr. Norris changes Trains xii. 184, I could no longer resist trying a shot in the dark. ‘But you get paid from Paris?’ I had scored a bull. 1950G. Greene Third Man iv. 39 ‘There's something queer about Harry's death.’ It was a shot in the dark, but already he had this firm instinctive sense that there was something wrong. 1963Listener 7 Mar. 420/2 It can have been nothing more than a ‘shot in dark’ [sic], but it was a strange prediction none the less.
b. An attempt or try.
1756W. Dodd Fasting (ed. 2) 30 The random shots of second causes. 1878E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 422, I cannot understand why I have not yet taken to Hawthorne,..I will have another Shot. 1912Throne 7 Aug. 227/1 Pinks is going to have a shot at the Wingfield Sculls.
c. Something which has a chance to succeed (as a racehorse, etc.); usu. preceded by the odds. colloq.
1923Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves iv. 49, It was one of those occasions about which I shall prattle to my grandchildren—if I ever have any, which at the moment of going to press seems more or less of a hundred-to-one shot. 1931Daily Express 23 Sept. 17/6 Mick..will be a neat shot for anybody when the St. Leger is run. 1936Wodehouse Laughing Gas i. 9 As far as my chances of ever copping the title went, I don't suppose I was originally more than about a hundred-to-eight shot, if that. 1941Sun (Baltimore) 14 Aug. 13/6 I've seen 10-to-1 shots that I knew were better horses in certain races than 2-to-1 shots. 1977New Yorker 10 Oct. 174/1 Proud Birdie, a lightly weighted, 4-1 shot in the betting, was next to last going down the back-stretch.
d. U.S. Billiards. to call one's shot, to announce which ball one intends to shoot into which pocket; also fig. (Properly distinguished from sense 7 i above.)
1953Official Rule Bk. Pocket & Carom Billiard Games 27 Player does not have to ‘call his shot’ on opening stroke. 1954Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thesaurus Slang (ed. 2) §179/4 Call one's shot,..to guess or predict rightly. 1959N. Mailer Advts. for Myself 22 It will be fine if I can write so well and so strongly as to call my shot. 1962Wodehouse Service with Smile vi. 83 In making this statement, he called his shots correctly. 1976Billings (Montana) Sunday Gaz. 20 June 1-a/3 There was no question in my mind that Nixon was calling his own shots.
11. a. An aim or stroke, esp. in a game, as tennis, golf, billiards, etc.
1868Field 8 Aug. 106/3 (Croquet) Mr. Whitmore distinguished himself by his long shots, one of which came off at thirty-six yards. 1902W. W. Jacobs Lady of Barge 83 Wilfred Carr..taking a cue from the rack, bent over the board and practiced one or two favourite shots.
b. A throw of a ball, stone, or other thing aimed with the hand.
1852Thackeray Esmond i. iv, Fling another shot [i.e. potato] at that carriage..and by the Lord I'll send my rapier through you! 1868‘S. Daryl’ Quoits & Bowls 54 (Bowls) The game is thirty shots—ten Guarding, ten Riding, ten Drawing.
c. In Football, Hockey, Lacrosse: an attempt to drive the ball into goal.
1868Field 28 Nov. 446/2 Several well intended, though badly misjudged, shots were fired at the School goal. 1912Oxford Mag. 14 Nov. 75/1 Essex reduced the lead by means of a good shot from the inside left.
d. In Boat-racing: an attempt to ‘bump’ the boat in front. (Cf. bump n.1 2 and v.1 3.)
1868Field 28 Nov. 445/2 Owing to his pulling his wrong scull, he managed to miss his shot at him, and Lowe went away easily. 1890Eng. Illustr. Mag. Apr. 501 Ah! they have made a shot in the Gut and missed.
e. In Curling: (see quots. 1835, 1897).
a1772Graeme in Anderson Poets XI. 447 (Jam.) Of many a bonspeel gain'd, Against opposing parishes; and shots, To human likelihood secure, yet stormed. 1835H. Harewood Dict. Sports s.v. Curling, When the stones on both sides have been all played, the one nearest the tee counts one; and if the second, third, fourth, &c. belong to the same side, all these count so many shots. 1897Encycl. Sport I. 264/2 (Curling), Shot, (1) the unit of scoring, each stone nearer to the tee than any opponent counting one. (2) The delivery of a stone.
f. In Cricket, Tennis, Golf, etc.: (oh,) shot!, an applauding exclamation used when a player makes a good stroke, or on an accurate throw; also used when a boxer delivers an effective blow. Freq. good shot!
1906Wodehouse Love among Chickens 311 Oh, shot, sir! Shot, indeed! 1907‘I. Hay’ Pip x. 309 Here are two young men worth watching. Number One is addressing his ball for an approach shot... ‘Good shot!’ remarks Number Two. 1922Wodehouse Clicking of Cuthbert ix. 218 He drove a perfect ball, hard and low with a lot of roll. Even Eunice was impressed. ‘Good shot, partner!’ she said. 1933D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise xviii. 310 He always hits out. I like to see a batsman hitting out, you know. There! Good shot! Good shot! 1940E. F. Benson Final Edition iii. 52 Everybody chorused ‘Good shot, my lord’ on the smallest excuse. 1972J. Burmeister Running Scared vii. 95 The resonant bonk of a tennis racket..a distant cry of ‘Oh, shot!’
†12. A result of shooting.
a. A wound or pain in the body caused by witchcraft. (Cf. shoot v. 32 a, and elf-shot.)
b. A gunshot wound. Obs.
1597in Spalding Club Misc. (1841) I. 131 Thow said..thow suld put ane schot in his syde, within xlviij houris, that suld do him gryter harme nor that schot did the;..immediatly thairefter, he contractis sic ane deidlie seiknes, be ane schot in his syde vnder his oxtar. 1599A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 329/1 Squirte heerof into the shot,..and thrust into the wounde a peece of Larde of a reasonable longitude.
II. That which is discharged in shooting.
†13.
a. That which is discharged from a bow, an arrow or arrows; also in early use stone or other projectiles thrown by a catapult, or other engine; ammunition for such an engine. Obs.
c893ælfred Oros. iii. ix. §15 Þær forwearþ micel Alexandres heres for ᵹeætredum ᵹescotum. a1300Cursor M. 10036 Þe berbikans seuen þat es a-bute..wel tas kepe to þat castell, For aro, scott, and for quarel. 1387Trevisa tr. Higden (Rolls) III. 239 Þe sonne is derked wiþ þe arwes and schot of Perses. 1601Holland Pliny viii. xiv. I. 199 Arrowes, quarrels, stones, bullets, and such like shot. 1664Butler Hud. ii. ii. 856 The Law of Arms doth bar The use of venom'd shot in War.
†b. fig.
c897ælfred Gregory's Past. C. lvi. 431 Ða diᵹlan ᵹescotu [jacula] ðæs sweocolan feondes. c1374Chaucer Troylus ii. 58 Pandarus,..Felte eek his part of loves shottes kene. c1460Sir R. Ros La Belle Dame 145 And of his eyen the shot I knew anon Which federed was with right humble requestes. c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxix. iv, The shott of piercing spight Bent at thee, on me doth light.
14. a. Projectiles (esp. balls or bullets, as distinguished from explosive ‘shells’) designed to be discharged from a firearm or cannon by the force of an explosive. Often with qualifying word as bar-, chain-, grape-shot, etc. See the first words. hollow shot: ‘empty shells, with metal screw plugs, sometimes used in the navy’ (Brande & Cox Dict. Sci. 1866 s.v.).
1474Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 69 To bring again..artilzery, powder, schot and sic thing. 1513Life Henry V, (1911) 80 Masons to hewe stones for shott to breake walls. Ibid. 111 Then the Frenchmen, perceauinge there shott to be spent in vaine, imagined a newe manner of shott instead of stones; they shott great peeces of steele fire-hott. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xiii. 84 The Shot of great Mortar-Pieces are..one tenth part lower than the Bore. 1704Milit. Dict. (ed. 2), Shot, all sorts of Bullets for whatsoever Fire-arms, from the Cannon to the Pistol. Those for Cannon are of Iron, those for Musket, Carabine, and Pistol, of Lead. 1854Tennyson Charge Light Brigade v, Storm'd at with shot and shell. 1862Catal. Internat. Exhib. II. xi. 23 Hollow shot are treated in a similar manner and then filled in the same manner as the ordinary spherical shells.
b. A cannon-ball. Also (with numerals) as collect. sing. or uninflected plural.
(not) a shot in the locker: see locker n.1 5 b.
1622R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea xvii. 39 Not to suffer..Pitch to be heate in the Ship, except it be with a shott heate in the fire, which cannot breed daunger. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 48 Diameter of the Shot 32/8, weight of the Shot 4 pound 12 ounces. 1770G. Farmer Let. 22 Sept. in Ann. Reg. (1772) 232/2 The Spanish frigate fired two shot, which dropt to leeward of the Favourite.
c. Hence, an iron globe like a cannon ball, used in the sport of ‘putting the shot’ (or ‘weight’): see put v.1 2. Also occas. the sport of putting the shot.
1881Cassell's Bk. Sports (1886) 114 Putting the Weight. Sixteen pounds is the full-size shot for this feat. 1895Manson Sporting Dict., Putting the Shot. 1895Outing XXVI. 460/2 The list of events will include..high jump, broad jump, shot and hammer.
d. small shot: † (a) musket bullets, in distinction from cannon-balls (obs.); (b) small pellets of lead (= sense 15), as distinguished from bullets. † great shot: cannon-balls; also occas. bullets as distinguished from ‘small shot’ (b).
1593G. Harvey Pierce's Super. 12 This Termagant..fighteth not with..the small shott of contention, but with the maine ordinaunce of fury. 1632Lithgow Trav. ii. 61 A long and doubtfull fight, both with great and small shot. 1727Boyer Dict. Royal ii, s.v. Shot, Small shot, used to shoot with a Birding-piece. 1727A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. II. xli. 106 We gave them a Volley of great Shot in return of their Volley of small. 1803Scott Let. in Lockhart (1837) I. xi. 390 A volley of small shot fired through the window.
attrib.1834–6P. Barlow Manuf. §961 in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VIII. 677/2 Small Shot Manufacture.
15. a. Lead in small pellets, of which a quantity is used for a single charge of a sporting gun. Also (less frequently), a single pellet, a shot-corn (plural shot, esp. with numerals; sometimes shots).
Shot is assorted by sizes distinguished by numbers (usually 1 to 10 or 12), or by letters (as BB called double-B), or by specific names (as swan-shot, etc.).
1770Phil. Trans. LX. 185, I would not recommend shooting them..with shot smaller than common partridge shot, or No. 5. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. ii. (1842) 40 Besides sheet lead, shot of different sizes are often used for this purpose. 1833J. Rennie Alph. Angl. 126 A strong silk-worm gut, with a shot or two on it. 1884Lock Workshop Rec. Ser. iii. 361/2 The manufacture of shot is almost universally conducted in tall brick towers with iron frames. 1895R. W. Chambers King in Yellow (1909) 265 He ornamented each line with four split shot, a small hook, and a brilliant quill float.
b. Used by horse-copers as a dose to give a horse a temporary appearance of sound-windedness.
1857Dickens Dorrit xii, Taking into account the shot he [a gelding] had been made to swallow for the improvement of his form.
c. transf. in Indian shot, the plant Canna indica (see Indian a. 4). Also plantain shot, flowering shot applied to the same or other species of the genus.
1760J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 327 Shot, Plaintain, Canna. 1884W. Miller Plant-n. 47/2 Flowering Shot. The genus Canna. Ibid. 67/2 Indian Shot. The genus Canna.
†16. A charge (of powder); also a charge (of small shot) for discharge from a gun. Obs.
1708Lond. Gaz. No. 4479/5 The Garrison is to march out..with loaded Arms,..and are to have 12 Shots of Powder and Ball each. 1752Maccoll in Scots. Mag. (1753) Aug. 401/1 There was a shot of drops in it [the gun].
17. Mining. The charge of powder sufficient for a blast in a mine (esp. a coal-mine); also the bored hole into which the charge is put.
1851Greenwell Coal-trade Terms, Northumb. & Durh. 47 Shot.—The cartridge or portion of gunpowder used in blasting... A pound of gunpowder will make five 6-inch shots. 1874Dufferin in Lyall Life (1906) I. vii. 245 They had bored with a steam drill..some fifty or sixty ‘Shots’, as they are technically termed, i.e. deep holes in the rock, which are then filled with gunpowder and exploded. 1886[see shot-firer in 31].
†18. A bolt or bar for securing a door, etc. (Cf. shoot v. 13.) Obs.
c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 196 The shottes of the gates opened she, And sett open the gates wide. 1595in Scott. Hist. Rev. (1913) X. 302 Closit wit ane key be ane shott.
19. = whale-shot (spermaceti).
In recent Dicts.[Spermaceti was supposed to be the spawn of the whale. Cf. shoot v. 18 d.] III. That which shoots.
†20.
a. Weapons for shooting; firearms. Obs.
1579Proclam. agst. Dagges etc. 26 July, The common carying of Dagges, Pistolles and such other short pieces of shot. 1596Danett tr. Comines Supply iii. (1614) 229 The people had planted shot against the castell. 1727Boyer Dict. Royal ii. s.v. Shot, Great and small Shot (great Guns and Muskets), le Canon & la Mousqueterie.
†b. A shooting weapon, a cannon or musket.
a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 251, iijc schott of small artaillzie. Ibid. II. 185 Quhilk schip..had xx gret brassin schottis in hir. 1599Minsheu Span. Dict., What armes serue you with, a pike or shot? con pica, o arcabúz.
†21.
a. collect. sing. Soldiers armed with muskets or other firearms (rarely with bows). small shot: troops furnished with small arms as distinguished from artillerymen. Obs.
1572Walsingham in D. Digges Complete Ambass. (1655) 314 To send under..the Marquis de Maine 1000 shot,..who shal land at a place called Aier. 1590Sir W. Williams Brief Disc. War 46 To prooue Bow-men the worst shot vsed in these daies. 1617Moryson Itin. ii. 118 His Lordship..had lodged in a trench some foure hundred shot, charging them not to shoot till the rebels approached neere. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey) s.v. Tower, Hollow Tower..where the Small-Shot are plac'd that they may not be too much expos'd to the Enemies View.
†b. A soldier armed with a firearm. Obs. rare.
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 294. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres iii. ii. 71 Hee is but a foolish shot, that shooteth at..light skirmishers. 1611Cotgr., Harquebusier, an Arquebusier, or small shot.
22. a. One who shoots; an expert in shooting. Often with qualifying adj., good shot, bad shot. dead shot: see dead a. 31 b.
1780Mirror No. 69 As I am a good shot, I spend great part of my time in shooting. 1823Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) I. 367 A professed shot is, almost always, a very disagreeable brother sportsman. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. ix, No, I am no shot. 1882Sir R. Temple in Proc. R. Geog. Soc. N.S. IV. 460 He was taught to be a splendid shot with the gun and with the bow.
transf.1897Encycl. Sport I. 420/2 (Assoc. Football) Half-backs should be good shots at goal, for they frequently have chances of scoring.
b. queer shot (dial.): an ‘odd customer’.
1900‘Sarah Grand’ Babs xl, ‘You're a queer shot, Tinney,’ she remarked.
c. big shot (formerly also great shot or high shot), an important person; a prominent member of a profession, organization, etc. Also attrib. Chiefly U.S.
1861G. Meredith Let. 9 July (1970) I. 91 The great ‘shots’ of Stanz parade the town with their prizes in their hats. 1929Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer 5 Oct. 10/3 One of them is just as likely to win the series as one of the ‘big shots’. 1933D. Runyon in Collier's 28 Jan. 41/1 Many of these guys are very high shots during the gold rush. 1935C. Odets Waiting for Lefty in 3 Plays (1936) iii. 135 Sure, the big shot money men want us like that. 1941Auden New Year Letter ii. 33 Unlike the big-shots of the day. 1957H. Roosenburg Walls came tumbling Down iii. 74 Who are these new prisoners? Are they all the big-shot Nazis? 1960New Statesman 9 Jan. 31/1 On arrival I was asked to dine with Thomas Lamont, along with a number of big-shots in the American newspaper world, including..Henry Luce of Time-Life. 1974K. Millet Flying (1975) iii. 300 He would still go for his man in an interview. Used the program to get the big shots.
IV. Payment, share. [Cf. OE. scéotan (= shoot v.) to pay, contribute.]
23. a. The charge, reckoning, amount due or to be paid, esp. at a tavern or for entertainment; a or one's share in such payment. Now only colloq. to stand shot [perh. with allusion to sense 7], to meet the expenses, pay the bill (for all).
c1475Songs & Carols (Percy Soc.) 94 On cast down her schott and went her wey. Gossip, quod Elenore, what dyd she paye? Not but a peny. 1617Moryson Itin. iii. 84 The shot demanded must be paid without expostulation. 1732Tricks of Town 3, I could stand it no longer, but paid my Shot..and came away. 1821Scott Kenilw. xix, Are you to stand shot to all this good liquor? 1891Mrs. J. H. Riddell Mad Tour 107, I was to make enough to..‘pay my own shot’.
b. transf. and fig. Also in fig. context.
a1533Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) A a viij b, She..wil not be paied, but with the shotte of our lyfe. 1612Day Festivals ii. (1615) 50 Our Saviour hath paid al the shot. 1677W. Hubbard Narrative ii. 26 The Indians invited themselves to breakfast with him, making the poor Fellow pay the shot..with the loss of his life.
†c. to have free shot: to have gratuitous entertainment. Obs. rare.
1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. xviii. 104 [They] go roging alone..following the bathes, tauernes and assemblies, for to haue free shot and cheare.
†d. A levy or contribution of so much a head from the members of a company for some common purpose. Also, a banquet to which each guest contributes his share (tr. Gr. ἔρανος). Obs.
1519W. Horman Vulgaria 283 Let vs gether or make a schotte or a stake for the mynstrels rewarde or wagis. 1615Chapman Odyss. xi. 545 As when you see At any rich mans nuptials, shot, or feast, About his kitchin, white-tooth'd swine lie drest.
†e. the whole shot: the ‘sum and substance’.
1628T. Spencer Logick 151 These words..doe containe the whole shot, or generall summe that ariseth from all the precepts, belonging to this part of Logicke. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. xx. 208 Ancient Fathers made the Creed symbolum, the shot and totall summe of Faith.
† f. A supply or amount of drink. Obs.
1676O. Heywood Diaries (1882) I. 339 A company of fellows would needs drink 2d a peece..their vain way of drinking shots. 1691Meeke Diary 23 Jan. (1874) 34 About noon we returned, had a shot of ale at Slathwaite.
g. A dram of spirits.
1928Wodehouse Good Morning, Bill ii. 72, I think I'll take a shot in a glass. 1935J. T. Farrell Judgment Day ii. xviii. 449 Near White City he stopped in front of a speakeasy, deciding that one good, stiff shot would jack him up. 1955‘A. Gilbert’ Is She dead Too? vi. 112 Edwin..produced a very little whisky in a bottle. Lamb..gave himself a generous shot in the cup of tea. 1979R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) ii. v. 235 He poured two shots of vodka, one for her and one for himself.
†24. shot and lot = scot and lot: see scot n.2 4.
1100Charter Hen. I in Liber Albus (Rolls) 128 Item, quod cives Londoniarum sint quieti de Schot et Loth, et de Danegelde. 1459Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 301 They schall ber lot and schot with the citte to all maner workys. 1668in Jeake Chart. Cinque Ports (1728) 168 Rationabil. & ratabil. taxationes, scott. shott. & lott. tallag. & rationabil. taxationes communiter vocat. common fines.
V. Senses of doubtful position.
25. A division of land.
a1490Botoner Itin. (1778) 152 Englysh stonys et le rok vocat. Trogy, anglice le shotes. 1523Fitzherb. Surv. 40 b, This medowe lyeth in dyuers shotes of length somtyme in two shotes of length somtyme in one & somtyme in thre. 1743R. Maxwell Sel. Trans. Agric. Scot. 32 The Infield is divided into three Shots or Parts, much about eighteen Acres in all. a1805A. Carlyle Autobiog. iii. (1860) 138 That part of it [the plain] which belonged to Preston estate was divided into three shots, as they were called, or rigg lengths, the under shot, the middle, and the upper. 1822Scott Pirate xxx, He claps down an enclosure in the middle of my bit shot of corn. 1854J. M. Kemble Surrey Provinc. in Trans. Philol. Soc. 84 Shot, a portion of land... ‘Will you let the upper shot be laid up for hay?’ 1887S. H. A. Hervey Wedmore Chron. I. 181 (E.D.D.) [Somerset] Each of these fields was divided into shots or furlongs. 1907Times 15 June 24/2 Nineteen Plots or ‘Shots’ of Freehold and copyhold land..in Bearfield and Hamfield.
26. Shetland. (Also shott.) A compartment in the stern of a boat (see quots.).
1834G. & P. Anderson Guide Highl. 709 Another extricates the fish from the hooks, and throws them in a place near the stern, named the shot. 1899J. Spence Shetl. Folk-Lore 127 The old haf boat..was divided into six compartments, viz., fore-head,..shott [etc.]... The shott..formed a sort of hold in which the fish were carried.
27. = shot-window. Sc. ? Obs.
1513Douglas æneis vii. Prol. 138 The schot [cf. shot wyndo above, line 129] I clossit and drew inwort in hy. 1638R. Baillie Lett. & Jrnls. (1841) I. 91 Some out of shotts cryed rebels on the readers. 1722Wodrow Hist. Suff. Ch. Scot. iii. vii. II. 286 With Windows called Shots, or Shutters of Timber, and a few Inches of Glass above them.
28. A corpse disinterred by body-snatchers.
App. from the expression ‘a good shot for the doctors’.
1828Ann. Reg. 377/2 Burke..asked witness to go down to his house, to see the shot he had got to take to the doctor's... Understood by the word shot that he was going to murder the woman. Ibid. 380/1 M'Dougal came and said to witness, there was a shot in the house. She did not say what she meant by a shot. 1867All Year Round 16 Mar. 285/1 Burke..told him he had got an old woman off the street, who would be a good shot for the doctors (that was the phrase of these men for a person they had fixed on to murder). 1882Sala Amer. Revis. (1885) 206 Servants..who, for the consideration of so many dollars per ‘shot’, or human body, undertake to supply subjects for dissection to the anatomical schools throughout the States.
29. that's the shot! and varr.: in expressions of approval, that's a good idea, or the ‘very thing’. Austral. colloq.
1953T. A. G. Hungerford Riverslake 142 That's the shot. Buy a bit of land and grow things. 1958R. Stow To Islands ii. 46 Cattle's the shot... They worked it before. 1963J. Cleary Flight of Chariots 370, I think a good strong cuppa brew would be the shot. 1976D. Ireland Glass Canoe 227 ‘That's the shot,’ said Mick. ‘Stick around and guard the place.’
VI. attrib. and Comb.
30. simple attributive, as shot-belt (also attrib.), so shot-belted adj., shot-box, shot-cartridge, shot-gauge, shot-like adj., shot-mould, shot-proof adj., shot-range, shot-wound, etc.; objective, as shot-casting, shot-sorter; instrumental, as shot-shivered, shot-swept adjs.
1805Times in Spirit Publ. Jrnls. (1806) IX. 310 *Shot-belts, pouches, powder-flasks [etc.].
1823Syd. Smith Game Laws Wks. 1859 II. 30/1 A feeling not only among Reviewers, who never see nor eat game, but among the double-barrelled, *shot-belted members of the House of Commons.
1829Marryat F. Mildmay viii, Sitting on a *shot-box.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Shot-cartridge, a round of ammunition for a shot-gun. 1907J. H. Patterson Man-Eaters of Tsavo App. i. 319, 500 12-bore shot cartridges of, say, the 6 and 8 sizes.
1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 59 Granulating and *shot casting.
1841Totten (Webster 1847) *Shot-gauge.
1805Shipwright's Vade-M. 131 *Shot-lockers, or Garlands, apartments built up in the hold to contain the shot.
1842–63Burn Nav. & Mil. Techn. Dict. i, Coquille à boulets, *shot-mould consisting of two cubes of iron with a hemisphere hollowed in each. 1859F. S. Cooper Ironmongers' Catal. 38 Bullet and Shot Moulds.
1599B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. v. x, Aretes fauour makes any one *shot-proofe against thee, Cvpid. 1863Trevelyan Compet. Wallah (1866) 84 A shot-proof screen of boards.
1862Catal. Internat. Exhib. II. xii. 17 *Shot proofing for ships and batteries.
1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. vii. vii, Were it not well to draw back out of *shot-range?
1636Prynne Rem. agst. Shipmoney 10 To provide fourty, five and fourty, and fifty *shot round of powder and bullets, for every peece in the Ships set out.
1806J. Grahame Birds Scot. 76 Then..flies To some *shot-shivered branch.
1842–63Burn Nav. & Mil. Techn. Dict. i. s.v. Coup, [Coup de feu] shot, *shot-wound. 1854Dk. Newcastle in J. Martineau Life (1908) 161 Sir George Brown's horse received no less than six shot-wounds.
31. Special comb.: shot-borer, a beetle, Xyleborus dispar, which bores small round holes in the bark of trees; shot bort (see quot.); shot-corn, a small shot, a grain of shot; shot-drill, an obsolete form of military punishment in which the soldier punished had to carry a cannon-ball; shot effect [tr. G. schroteffekt (W. Schottky 1918, in Ann. der Physik LVII. 547), f. schrot small shot], the fluctuation in the magnitude of the anode current in a thermionic valve due to the random character of electron emission; also transf., any fluctuation having a similar stochastic character; shot-firer, (a) a man employed to fire the shot (sense 7 f) in blasting; (b) an electrical device for detonating the shot; hence shot-firing; † shot-flagon dial. (see quot.); shot-glass, (a) [see 5] Weaving, a cloth-prover (Ogilvie, 1882); (b) U.S. a glass for holding a short drink; shot gold orig. U.S., gold occurring in the form of small spheres like lead shot; shot-lighter, the man who fires the ‘shot’ in a mine; shot line = shot rope below; shot list Cinematogr. and Television, a list of shots made by a camera; shotmaking U.S., in golf, tennis, etc.: the playing of (esp. successful or attacking) strokes; also shotmaker; shot-mark, † a mark to aim or shoot at; (b) a mark made by a (a) shot; shot-metal (see quot. 1875); shot noise = shot effect above; shot-peening [see peen, pene v.], the use of a stream of hard metal particles directed against a metal part to harden and strengthen its surface; so shot-peen v. trans.; shot-peened ppl. a.; shot-pepper (see quots.); shot-plug, a tapered cone of wood to stop a shot-hole in a vessel's side, to prevent leakage (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1867); † shot-pot, ? = shot-flagon; shot-prop [? after Du. geschutprop = G. schusspropfen: cf. prop n.2] = shot-plug (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875); shot-putter, one who puts the shot in athletic sports, so shot-putting; shot-rack (see quot. 1867); shot rope, a weighted rope hung over the side of a boat and used to guide the descent and ascent of divers; † shot-shark, a tavern waiter; shot soup (see quot. 1847); shot-tower, a tall round tower in which small shot are made by dropping molten lead from the top into water; † shot-whaip Sc., a variety of curlew. See also shot-board, -bush, -clog, etc.
1890E. A. Ormerod Injur. Insects (ed. 2) 331, I found that the cause of the injury was the ‘*Shot-borer’ Beetle. Ibid. 334 The Shot-borer frequents stumps or fallen trees.
1910Encycl. Brit. IV. 276/2 The typical bort occurs in small spherical masses... These masses..are often called ‘*shot bort’ or ‘round bort’.
c1792Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) X. 39/1 A middling sized *shot-corn. 1794–6E. Darwin Zoon. (1801) II. 62 As large as shot-corns.
1869E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 385 The *shot-drill which military prisoners perform.
1936‘R. Hyde’ Passport to Hell xv. 232 Either he didn't know I was supposed to be in Le Havre doing shot drill, or he'd forgotten.
[1921Sci. Abstr. A. XXIV. 759 The object is the measurement of the spontaneous current variations in high-vacuum discharge tubes, a subject which has been previously dealt with theoretically by Schottky and called by him the ‘Schrot effect’ (literally, the small shot effect).] 1923Chem. Abstr. XVII. 924 (heading) The present state of the *shot effect problem. 1930Proc. IRE XVIII. 243 In the absence of space charge the noise has been termed by Schottky the ‘schroteffekt’, or ‘small shot effect’, from the analogy which the flight of electrons from the filament to the plate of a vacuum tube bears to the spattering of small shot fired from a shot gun. The simple term ‘shot effect’ will be used in this paper to denote this noise either with or without space charge. 1947Electronic Engin. XIX. 82/1 Shot effect is more pronounced when the negative grid bias is greater than the usual value. 1964N. Wiener God & Golem 41 There are..cases..where these irregularities are just what we wish to produce, and there are commercial devices for producing them. These are known as shot-effect generators. 1968P. A. P. Moran Introd. Probability Theory ix. 423 Campbell's theorem originally arose in the study of the ‘shot effect’ in thermionic vacuum tubes.
1883W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 219 *Shot firer, a man specially appointed by the manager of a mine to fire off every shot in a certain number of stalls or heads during the shift. 1886J. Barrowman Sc. Mining Terms 60 Shot firer, the person appointed to fire shots in fiery workings. 1891C. Pamely Colliery Manager's Handbk. xiv. 472 Shots are fired by the aid of litter straws, paper squibs.., safety fuze or by an electric shot-firer. 1939G. Heyer No Wind of Blame xvi. 315 ‘What's that thing called that they use in mines when they want to blast? Electrical thing they touch off the dynamite with?’ ‘A shot-firer, do you mean?’ 1973‘J. Patrick’ Glasgow Gang Observed xvii. 140 He began work as a shot firer in a factory close to the approved school.
1884Engineering 31 Oct. 420/2 (heading) *Shot-firing in mines. 1959Times Rev. Industry Feb. 14/1 For many years the infusion of coal in situ by water under pressure has been employed to reduce the dust hazard. Recently this procedure has been combined with that of shot-firing.
1691Ray N.C. Words (ed. 2) 62 The *Shot-flagon or Come again; which the Host gives to his guests of [read if] they drink above a Shilling, Darbish.
1955A. Miller Mem. Two Mondays in View from Bridge 43 Enter Bert, carefully carrying a *shotglass of whisky. 1970A. Maling Lambert's Son (1972) xxxviii. 157, I put the lemon twists in a shot glass.
1858Pike's Peak Guide Book 222 Those who have prospected over in the parks..say that they find the *shot gold there. 1929E. J. Dunn Geol. Gold xvii. 185 Spherical grains and small pieces of gold are found in the alluvial wash at Creswick... They are often quite spherical, generally of small size, but occasionally up to several dwts. in weight, and are known as ‘shot gold’. 1971A. P. McInnes Dunlevy 113 Shot gold..is always considered a coarse gold prospect, indicating coarser gold lower down.
1881Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 84 Miners... *Shot-lighter. 1897L'pool Courier 10 Mar. 3/8 A colliery shotlighter,..was summoned by his employers.
1968A. P. Balder Compl. Man. Skin Diving xiii. 248 A *shot line..should be used from a boat when diving in bad visibility. 1976Zanelli & Skuse Sub-Aqua Illustr. Dict. 84/2 Shot line, a line to which a very heavy weight (or ‘shot’) is fixed. It is used to guide the descent and ascent of divers. It must not be used as an anchor, because shot lines should be hung vertically.
1969J. Elliot Duel iii. ii. 233 She..learned how to make production breakdowns, set out commentary scripts, type *shot lists. 1971P. Purser Holy Father's Navy xxi. 101 The film was back from the labs, the shot list neatly typed up, the editing facilities booked. 1974Union (S. Carolina) Daily Times 23 Apr. 9/5 The best five *shot⁓makers in each team.
1969New Yorker 14 June 45/1 My style is playmaking—consistent, percentage tennis—and his style is *shotmaking. 1977Ibid. 8 Aug. 48/3 These statistics..give no indication of the absolutely superb shotmaking that Bolt produced on an exceedingly narrow, fast, and exacting course.
1610Healey St. Aug. Citie of God viii. viii. 309 They beleeued that his [sc. man's] cheefe good must..therein subsist; as the finall end standing as the *shot-marke of all their actions. 1828Trial W. Dyon at York Assizes 9 There were two shot marks on the left side.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Shot-metal, an alloy of lead, 56 parts; arsenic, 1. Used for making bird-shot.
1930Proc. IRE XVIII. 255 The solid line curve D is the sum of the calculated *shot and thermal noises. 1978Nature 8 June 432/1 Individual QSO continuum magnitudes, which are also affected by the added uncertainty introduced by shot noise were generally accurate to {pm}7%.
1944Proc. Soc. Exper. Stress Analysis II. 172/2 These pieces..were *shot-peened on both flat faces.
1944H. F. Moore Shot Peening & Fatigue of Metals (Amer. Foundry Equipment Co.) 5/1 The metal just below the *shot-peened layer is somewhat affected by the *shot peening.
1956F. H. Keating Chromium-Nickel Austenitic Steels v. 70 Well substantiated claims have been made for improvement in fatigue-resistance by shot-peening, which introduces compressive stresses in the surface layers. 1962Engineering 23 Mar. 403/2, 85 per cent of the metal is machined away on electronically controlled milling machines before being curved by press or shot-peening. 1972L. M. Harris Introd. Deepwater Floating Drilling Operations xii. 138 Each weld should be ground inside and out, and the transition area and weld shotpeened. 1972H. T. Jensen in Mann & Milligan Aircraft Fatigue 156 We established an allowable strength of two-thirds of the strength of the machined and shot-peened strength for components that retain their as-forged surfaces.
1890Century Dict. s.v. Pepper, *shot-pepper, the heavier kinds of Sumatra pepper. 1898Senn Culin. Encycl. 86 Shot Pepper. This is mignonette pepper, which is made from white peppercorns. It is broken into grains or granulated about the size of mignonette seed. 1829*Shot-plug [see shot-hole 1].
1664Cotton Scarron. iv. 111 Straight to the Wharff repairs the hot-shot, Without once calling for his *shot-pot.
1882Tales Mod. Oxford 99 Lord, the *shot-putter.
1894Outing XXIV. 444/2 *Shot-putting had been his favourite game.
1834Marryat P. Simple xi, I did contrive to crawl up the ladder to the main deck, where I sat down on the *shot-racks. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Shot-racks, wooden frames fixed at convenient distances to contain shot. There are also, of recent introduction, iron rods so fitted as to confine the shot.
1909Man. Seamanship (Admiralty) II. vi. 116 As soon as the diver sees anything he can signal for *shot rope to be lowered. 1940‘N. Shute’ Landfall 257 Then in slow motion he [sc. a diver] reached out and grasped the shot-rope, stepped off the ladder and was gone. 1960Brookes & Broadhurst Diving Manual (ed. 2) 105 A shot rope should be very heavily weighted so that it will hang vertically in the water, uninfluenced by tides and currents.
1599B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. v. iv, Holla: where be these *shot-sharkes?
1847H. Melville Omoo iii, What English seamen call ‘*shot soup’—great round peas, polishing themselves like pebbles by rolling about in tepid water.
1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 59 A shower of drops, which congeal in the course of their descent from the top of the *shot-towers into the water-cistern.
1639Sir R. Gordon Gen. Hist. Earld. Sutherld. (1813) 3 Routs, whaips, *shot-whaips, woodcok, larkes, [etc.].
Add:[I.] [9.] e. colloq. (orig. U.S.). A single occasion of doing or obtaining something; a turn, a ‘go’; usu. in phr. (so many) dollars (cents) a shot.
1939Time 27 Nov. 56/2 The ‘juke-box’, which retails recorded music at 5¢ a shot. 1979W. Kennedy Ironweed ii. 40 When Francis turned up in Albany only weeks back to register for the Democrats at five dollars a shot, he met Pee Wee again. 1986N.Y. Times 13 Nov. d25/2, 50,000 [copies] to newsstands for sale at $3.95 a shot.
▪ II. † shot, n.2 Naut. Obs.
Forms: 4 shote, 5 shott, 7– shot.
[Of uncertain origin; perh. a use of prec.; see shoot v. 38. But cf. scote n.1]
Two cables spliced together.
1316Exch. Acc. Army Bundle 15 No. 3 Vna cabula vocata shote. 1497Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 184 A shott of Newe Cables. a1625Nomencl. Navalis (Harl. MS. 2301) 72 Shot of Cabell. Two Cabells spliced together make a Shot. a1642Sir W. Monson Naval Tracts iii. (1704) 375/2 Never Ships..were better fitted with Ground Tackle, or whole Shots of Cables. 1750,1847[see sheet-shot].
▪ III. shot, n.3
Also shott.
[subst. use of shot ppl. a. (Cf. shoot v. 11 g.)]
An ill-grown ewe; a refuse animal left after the best of the flock or herd have been selected.
1796Statist. Acc. Scot. XVIII. 569 A few of the worst ewes called shotts, are likewise sold every year about Martinmas. 1865A. Smith Summer in Skye II. 140 The inferior qualities [of ewes]—shots, as they are technically called—occupied a place by themselves.
attrib.1878Cumberld. Gloss., Shot sheep or cattle, Shots, the refuse; the leavings; the worst. 1886C. Scott Sheep-farming 109, 62 Shot ewe and wedder lambs at 5/-.
▪ IV. shot, n.4|ʃɒt|
[shot ppl. a., used ellipt.]
A ‘shot’ silken or other fabric.
1883Daily News 10 Oct. 7/5 The new Tissu for Costumes, ‘Poil de Bison’, in broché, in stripe, and in shot, all made to match. 1893Pall Mall Gaz. 9 Jan. 2/1 Shots and stripes will be in fashion.
▪ V. shot, v.|ʃɒt|
[f. shot n.1]
†1. intr. ? To participate or consort with. Obs.
a1250Prov. Alfred 411 in O.E. Misc. 126 Ne gabbe þu ne schotte ne chid þu wyth none sotte.
2. trans. To load (a fire-arm) with shot.
1681R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 119 His order to me was, to see the top Chains put upon the Cables, and the Guns shotted. 1781in Nicolas Disp. Nelson (1846) VII. Add. p. iii, Firing twenty-six nine-pounders, and one eighteen-pounder, shotted at her. 1863W. Phillips Sp. vi. 106 The guns are shotted to their lips.
b. transf. and fig.
1822Scott Pirate xxxiv, It was the gracious custom of this commander to mix his words and oaths in nearly equal proportions, which he was wont to call shotting his discourse. 1861L. L. Noble Icebergs 163 A pudding of rice well shotted with raisins. 1884Sharman Hist. Swearing i. 20 Their every word was shotted with an oath.
3. To weight by attaching a shot or shots, so as to cause to sink in water.
1857W. Smith Thorndale iii. iv. 230 With this in my pocket, I was shotted for a sailor's grave. 1910Spectator 23 Apr. 664 The line is shotted carefully so as to sink the bait to the right depth.
4. To supply with shot.
1886Pall Mall Gaz. 21 Aug. 2/2 This other fleet—how differently armed, how differently shotted.
5. To wound or hit with shot.
1855Bailey Mystic 75 Who..fell Shotted with three times Cæsar's trickling wounds.
6. a. slang. To give (a horse) a dose of small shot so as to make it appear sound-winded. (Cf. shot n.1 15 b.)
1890Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang s.v. 1902Farmer & Henley Slang.
b. To clean (bottles) by partially filling with shot and shaking.
1895in Funk's Stand. Dict.
7. To variegate in weaving.
1847Talfourd Vacation Rambles I. 218 It was shotted, like wavy silk, with the pale violet crocus.
▪ VI. shot, ppl. a.|ʃɒt|
[pa. pple. of shoot v.1]
1. Of a fish: having discharged its spawn. (Cf. shotten ppl. a. 3.)
1414in Riley Mem. Lond. (1868) 599 [All manner of fish called] shotfisshe [taken in the Thames]. 1618Braithwaite Rem. Death E 7 b, Darted, He runnes as swift as euer ran, Shot-herring made. 1865J. Sleigh Derbysh. Gloss. (E.D.D.), As lean as a shot-herring.
2. Of a stalk, blade, etc.: that has grown or sprouted. shot-blade, that part of the corn-stalk which encloses the ear.
1629Z. Boyd Last Battell 726 (Jam.), The sunne..maketh..the cornes to come vp at the first with small green points, and after that to shoote vp to the shot bled, and after that to come to the seede. 1799J. Robertson Agric. Perth 196 Weeds are taken from the oats and barley when they are in the shot blade. 1830Kyle Farm Rep. 83 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III. The only grass sown in this district is perennial rye grass, the very worst for pasture, as cattle reject its shot stalks.
3. Of a bullet, arrow, etc.: that is discharged. Also of a bolt: that has been pushed into or out of the lock.
1863Leisure Hour Jan. 2 The rusty sockets of a shot-bolt. 1908Edin. Rev. Oct. 364 The spiral ascent, the shot-arrow precipitation earthwards.
4. a. Hit, wounded or killed by a projectile discharged from a gun or bow. Also with down: of an aircraft or its crew.
1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. vii. x, Other women lift the corpse of shot Jerôme. 1881Tyndall Floating Matter in Air 103 A shot hare will remain soft and limp for a day. 1943‘M. Coles’ Without Lawful Authority ix. 115 ‘The 'plane..crashed in flames just this side of the Polish frontier... One of our fellows..says there were bullet-holes in the wings.’ ‘Shot down, eh?’ 1957H. Roosenburg Walls came tumbling Down 7 A local resistance group..concentrated on picking up shot-down Allied pilots. 1968Listener 26 Dec. 858/2 He was also the source of her story..of the shot-down pilot who told his captors that his sister in the States was a rich ‘industrielle’. 1980E. Behr Getting Even x. 120 Organising escape routes for shot-down R.A.F. and U.S. air crews on the run.
b. Drunk. slang (chiefly U.S., Austral., and N.Z.). Cf. shoot v. 32 d.
1864Harper's Mag. May 856/2 He again sat down by the fire..by which time he was pretty well ‘shot’. 1896W. C. Gore in Inlander Jan. 146 Shot, a. Intoxicated. 1930Sat. Even. Post 26 July 145/2 ‘I'm half shot,’ he said... ‘An' so are you. You're just as drunk as I am.’ 1943N. Marsh Colour Scheme x. 187 The chap was half⁓shot... He smelt of booze. 1957Nelson (N.Z.) Even. Mail 18 May 7 He asked the man: ‘Are you shot?’ The man said: ‘Yes.’.. It was ascertained that he had fallen down while intoxicated. 1972T. Lilley K Section ix. 43 He was well shot last night. Staggering.
c. In fig. phr. shot through (also shot to hell or pieces), in a state of ruin or collapse. colloq. (chiefly U.S.).
1926E. Hemingway Fiesta (1927) iii. xix. 277 That meant San Sebastian all shot to hell. 1932L. Golding Magnolia St. i. iv. 67 The old man was all shot to pieces... He had fallen into a sort of torpor. 1937H. G. Wells Brynhild xi. 243 To-day I feel shot through. I feel shot to pieces. 1977M. Babson Murder, Murder, Little Star vii. 50 Look at the price I pay. My private life is shot to hell.
d. Of things: worn out, ruined, used up, spent. slang (chiefly U.S.).
1933C. K. Stewart Speech Amer. Airman (Univ. Akron thesis) 89 Shot, an adjective meaning ‘useless’ ‘gone’, or ‘worn out’. 1960Analog Science Fact/Fiction Oct. 136/1 With him gone, the interstellar drive project would've been shot. 1970I. Petite Meander to Alaska i. vii. 66 At that point they discovered that the transmission bearings were ‘shot’. 1981G. V. Higgins Rat on Fire vii. 54 Your boiler is one of those old things... I think it's about shot.
e. With up, severely wounded or damaged by shooting. Also fig. (colloq.) and transf., drugged (U.S. slang).
1934V. M. Yeates Winged Victory i. xviii. 146 If he tried to do anything on his own he would probably get himself shot down, or at least shot up. 1938[see polluted ppl. a. b]. 1945Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch 22 May 2/8 The Forty-fifth Division's ‘most shot up soldier to return alive’ is back in the States. 1964L. Nkosi Rhythm of Violence 63 Stop Shouting!.. Are you all shot up or something! 1978Detroit Free Press 2 Apr. (Detroit Suppl.) 8/1 Starting up the stairs, she steps around a recently shot-up addict who is just nodding off.
f. Of people: exhausted. slang (chiefly U.S.).
1939[see cosy v. 2]. 1945G. Casey Downhill is Easier iv. 183 Late at night you could easily walk the twelve miles..without seeing a vehicle. I realized I was shot. 1951E. B. White Let. 11 Dec. (1976) 346 Ross died last week and we have been in something of a scramble here, as well as feeling quite shot. 1967‘V. Siller’ Biltmore Call 120, I thought she was shot and her nerves had given out. 1972J. Gores Dead Skip (1973) xii. 83 He..[was] literally too tired to move... Shot. Utterly shot.
5. a. Of a textile fabric: Woven with warp-threads of one colour and weft-threads of another, so that the fabric (usually silk) changes in tint when viewed from different points. Also, applied to mixed fabrics (esp. of cotton and silk), dyed by a process which produces a variegated effect similar to that of ‘shot silk’.
1763Churchill Ghost iv. 847 A slight shot silk. 1843Penny Cycl. XXVII. 177/2 This produces the peculiar effect called shot patterns. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre I. vii. 117 A spread of shot orange and purple pelisses. 1870Rock Text. Fabr. Introd. i. 91 Shot, or, as they were then called, changeable silks, were fashionable in England during the sixteenth century. 1882Artist 1 Feb. 55/1 Shot velvets are being worn for visiting dresses.
b. shot-silk: used attrib. or adj. = made of or resembling shot silk.
1850Thackeray Pendennis lxv, Feathers, and flowers, and trinkets, and a shot-silk dress, and a wonderful mantle. 1882Garden 7 Jan. 7/2 The whole forming one of the finest ‘shot silk’ bed arrangements that can be conceived.
c. Of a colour, etc.: Changeable, variable, resembling that of ‘shot silk’.
1824Heber Jrnl. 31 July, An ape..covered with long silky hair generally of a rusty lead colour, but on his breast a fine shot blue. 1877Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. viii. 519 The peculiar play of ‘shot’ colours, which pass like blushes over their [sc. Cephalopoda] surface, in the living state.
6. Of copper: Short for bean- or feather-shot.
1877Gee Silversmith's Handbk. 68 We have recommended the employment of shot copper [cf. p. 44 bean-shot] in the manufacture of silver alloys.
7. Of metal: Welded. (Cf. shoot v. 38, shut v. 6.)
1810Table Blade Forger's Statem. (Sheffield Gloss. 1888) Shot chicken carvers. 1833J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 38 Shot scissors;—consisting of steel blades, and iron shank and bows.
8. Comb.: shot-brae, -heuch († pl. -houis), Sc. a landslip. See also shot-fare, shot-net, shot star.
1574Cal. Laing Charters (1899) 225 Fra the said stane downe throuch the schothouis direct north to the burne of Awchlansky. 1822Blackw. Mag. Feb. 181/1 With every here and there the recent scar of some extensive ‘shot brae’, or ‘avalanche’, which had rushed into the flood below. 1825Jamieson Suppl., Shot-heuch.
▪ VII. shot
variant of shoat1, shoat2. |