shellacking
[ shuh-lak-ing ]
/ ʃəˈlæk ɪŋ /
noun Slang.
an utter defeat: a shellacking their team will remember.
a sound thrashing: His father gave him a shellacking for stealing the book.
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Lincolnesque
Words nearby shellacking
shell steak, shell suit, shell-like, shell-shocked, shellac, shellacking, shellback, shellbark, shellcracker, shelled, sheller
Definition for shellacking (2 of 2)
shellac
or shel·lack
[ shuh-lak ]
/ ʃəˈlæk /
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for shellacking
British Dictionary definitions for shellacking (1 of 2)
shellacking
/ (ʃəˈlækɪŋ, ˈʃɛlækɪŋ) /
noun
slang, mainly US and Canadian a complete defeat; a sound beatinganyone who gives a shellacking to their bigger neighbours
British Dictionary definitions for shellacking (2 of 2)
shellac
/ (ʃəˈlæk, ˈʃɛlæk) /
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 forms of shellac
shellacker, nounWord 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
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Idioms and Phrases with shellacking
shellacking
see take a shellacking.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.