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View synonyms for shellacking

shellacking

[ shuh-lak-ing ]

noun

, Slang.
  1. an utter defeat:

    a shellacking their team will remember.

  2. a sound thrashing:

    His father gave him a shellacking for stealing the book.



shellacking

/ ˈʃɛlækɪŋ; ʃəˈlækɪŋ /

noun

  1. slang.
    a complete defeat; a sound beating

    anyone who gives a shellacking to their bigger neighbours

“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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of shellacking1

First recorded in 1880–85; shellac + -ing 1
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Idioms and Phrases

see take a shellacking .
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Example Sentences

“We needed that,” he said, “to help us get over that shellacking we took in Game 2.”

For Scotland, this tournament is a learning curve and after commendable displays in defeats to Bangladesh and West Indies this was a bit of a shellacking.

From BBC

That was the year Democrats took, as Obama put, a “shellacking” in congressional elections.

There'll be another shellacking down the line if he doesn't change course.

From BBC

The Dodgers’ second straight loss — on the heels of Wednesday night’s 10-1 shellacking at the hands of the Angels in Anaheim, reduced their National League West lead over the San Diego Padres to four games.

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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.

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