cockshy

[ kok-shahy ]

noun

, British.

, plural cock·shies.

1. the act or sport of throwing missiles at a target.
2. the target itself.

cockshy

/ ˈkɒkˌʃaɪ /

noun

1. a target aimed at in throwing games
2. the throw itself.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cockshy¹

First recorded in 1785–95; cock ¹ + shy ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of cockshy¹

C18: from shying (throwing objects at) a cock, which was given as a prize to the person who hit it

Example Sentences

He had seen Tom Ricketts, of the fourth form, who used to wear a jacket and trowsers so ludicrously tight, that the elder boys could not forbear using him in the quality of a butt or "cockshy"—he had seen this very Ricketts arrayed in crimson and gold, with an immense bear-skin cap on his head, staggering under the colors of the regiment.

From Project Gutenberg

Four men came tumbling down, one after the other, like dolls at a cockshy.

From Project Gutenberg

They’ll be seizing us and burying us up to the chin perhaps, and then making a cockshy of our heads!

From Project Gutenberg

I had seen dawn, day: I had basked in the sunshine of men’s respect; I was back in Stygian night—back in the shadow of that infernal Castle—still hunted by the law—with possibly a smaller chance than ever of escape—the cockshy of the elements—with no shelter for my head but a Paisley shawl of violent pattern.

From Project Gutenberg

Such a transformation cannot come unless we are genuinely ashamed that Britain should be a sponge; unless we truly wish to make her again sound metal, ringing true, instead of a splay-footed creature, dependent for vital nourishment on oversea supplies—a cockshy for every foe.

From Project Gutenberg