shellac

or shel·lack

[shuh-lak]

noun

lac that has been purified and formed into thin sheets, used for making varnish.

a varnish (shellac varnish) made by dissolving this material in alcohol or a similar solvent.

a phonograph record made of a breakable material containing shellac, especially one to be played at 78 r.p.m.: an LP that can hold nearly 10 times as much as the old shellac.

verb (used with object), shel·lacked, shel·lack·ing.

to coat or treat with shellac.

Slang.

to defeat; trounce.
to thrash soundly.

Origin of shellac

1705–15; shell + lac¹, translation of French laque en écailles lac in thin plates

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for shellacked

strike, varnish, trounce, defeat

Examples from the Web for shellacked

Contemporary Examples of shellacked

In 1982, when Reagan got shellacked in the midterm elections, the unemployment rate was near 11 percent.
Lousy Economy Won't Sink Obama
Peter Beinart
June 6, 2011
Just ask Bob Inglis, the South Carolina congressman, who was shellacked by primary challenger Trey Gowdy in June.
South Carolina's GOP Civil War
Samuel P. Jacobs
September 21, 2010

Historical Examples of shellacked

A floor which has been shellacked should be wiped with warm water.
Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts
The floors of the Sunshine apartment were hard finished and shellacked.
The Van Dwellers
Albert Bigelow Paine
She was grimed and shellacked with dirt and grease, and smelled abominably.
Moran of the Lady Letty
Frank Norris
These Cameras are made of hardwood, shellacked, not varnished.
Photogravure
Henry R. Blaney
He shellacked the condensers and other exposed parts and found the proceeding rather effective.
The Home of the Blizzard
Douglas Mawson

British Dictionary definitions for shellacked

shellac

noun

a yellowish resin secreted by the lac insect, esp a commercial preparation of this used in varnishes, polishes, and leather dressings

Also called: shellac varnish a varnish made by dissolving shellac in ethanol or a similar solvent

a gramophone record based on shellac

verb -lacs, -lacking or -lacked (tr)

to coat or treat (an article) with a shellac varnish

US slang to defeat completely

Derived Formsshellacker, noun

Word Origin for shellac

C18: shell + lac 1, translation of French laque en écailles, literally: lac in scales, that is, in thin plates

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shellacked

shellac

1713, from shell (n.) + lac (see lacquer). Translates French laque en écailles "lac in thin plates."

shellac

1876, from shellack (n.). The slang sense of "beat soundly" is 1920s, perhaps from the notion of shellac as a "finish." Shellacked "drunk" is from 1922 (cf. plastered). Related: Shellacking.