shillelagh
Americannoun
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Etymology
Origin of shillelagh
First recorded in 1670–80; from Irish Síol Éalaigh, the name of a town in County Wicklow; the adjoining forest provided wood for the clubs
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There are fleas and chamber pots and thumbed noses and a St. Patrick’s Day picnic that — hold on to your shillelagh! — devolves into a drunken brawl.
From New York Times
He celebrated the nearly perfect performance by putting his hands on a shillelagh.
From Seattle Times
He celebrated the nearly perfect performance by putting his hands on a shillelagh.
From Washington Times
The past month I’ve been staring down the shillelagh of an actual, real holiday.
From Washington Post
Dan Donovan began trying to chase the three men from their house, and that’s when he grabbed his grandfather’s shillelagh - an antique Irish walking stick propped in the corner of the couple’s dining room.
From Washington Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
