shell-like

British  

adjective

1. resembling the empty shell of a mollusc

---

noun

1. slang an ear (esp in the phrase a word in your shell-like )

Example Sentences

Insects and other arthropods, which make up the vast majority of animals on Earth, instead possess a shell-like exoskeleton, which is mainly composed of a tough, flexible material called cuticle.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 5, 2023

Instead, the researchers’ analysis found that S. bideni’s inner shell is a gladius, a triangular shell-like remnant found in squids and vampire squids.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 11, 2022

Patrick Mahomes still hasn’t solved the shell-like alignment defenses are throwing at him.

From Washington Post • Nov. 8, 2021

“The Laundromat” cleverly adopts its own shell-like structure, tucking random surprises and subplots into secret compartments and treating its own playfully disjointed narrative as a sleight-of-hand exercise.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2019

And every year Kino refinished his canoe with the hard shell-like plaster by the secret method that had also come to him from his father.

From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck