shake

[sheyk] /ʃeɪk/
verb (used without object), shook, shaken, shaking.
1.
to move or sway with short, quick, irregular vibratory movements.
2.
to tremble with emotion, cold, etc.
3.
to become dislodged and fall (usually followed by off or down):
Sand shakes off easily.
4.
to move something, or its support or container, briskly to and fro or up and down, as in mixing:
Shake before using.
5.
to totter; become unsteady.
6.
to clasp another's hand in greeting, agreement, congratulations, etc.:
Let's shake and be friends again.
7.
Music. to execute a trill.
verb (used with object), shook, shaken, shaking.
8.
to move (something or its support or container) to and fro or up and down with short, quick, forcible movements:
to shake a bottle of milk.
9.
to brandish or flourish:
to shake a stick at someone.
10.
to grasp (someone or something) firmly in an attempt to move or rouse by, or as by, vigorous movement to and fro:
We shook the tree.
11.
to dislodge or dispense (something) by short, quick, forcible movements of its support or container:
We shook nuts from the tree.
12.
to cause to sway, rock, totter, etc.:
to shake the very foundations of society.
13.
to agitate or disturb profoundly in feeling:
The experience shook him badly.
14.
to cause to doubt or waver; weaken. to shake one's self-esteem.
15.
Music. to trill (a note).
16.
to mix (dice) by rolling in the palm of the hand before they are cast.
17.
to get rid of; elude:
They tried to shake their pursuers.
noun
18.
an act or instance of shaking, rocking, swaying, etc.
19.
tremulous motion.
20.
a tremor.
21.
shakes, (used with a singular verb) Informal. a state or spell of trembling, as caused by fear, fever, cold, etc. (usually preceded by the).
22.
a disturbing blow; shock.
23.
Informal. milk shake.
24.
the act or a manner of clasping another's hand in greeting, agreement, etc.:
He has a strong shake.
25.
Informal. chance or fate; deal:
a fair shake.
26.
a cast of the dice:
He threw an eight on his last shake.
27.
something resulting from shaking.
28.
an earthquake.
29.
a fissure in the earth.
30.
an internal crack or fissure in timber.
31.
Music. trill1 (def 9).
32.
an instant:
I'll be with you in a shake.
33.
Carpentry. a shingle or clapboard formed by splitting a short log into a number of tapered radial sections with a hatchet.
34.
Horology. (in an escapement) the distance between the nearer corner of one pallet and the nearest tooth of the escape wheel when the other pallet arrests an escape tooth.
35.
Chiefly South Midland U.S. shaker (def 2).
36.
a dance deriving from the twist.
37.
Slang. the dried leaves of the marijuana plant.
Verb phrases
38.
shake down,
  1. to cause to descend by shaking; bring down.
  2. to cause to settle.
  3. to condition; test:
    to shake down a ship.
  4. Informal. to extort money from.
  5. Slang. to search (someone), especially to detect concealed weapons.
39.
shake off,
  1. to rid oneself of; reject.
  2. to get away from; leave behind.
  3. Baseball, Softball. (of a pitcher) to indicate rejection of (a sign by the catcher for a certain pitch) by shaking the head or motioning with the glove.
40.
shake up,
  1. to shake in order to mix or loosen.
  2. to upset; jar.
  3. to agitate mentally or physically:
    The threat of attack has shaken up the entire country.
Idioms
41.
no great shakes, Informal. of no particular ability; unimportant; common:
As opera companies go, this one is no great shakes.
42.
shake a leg, Informal.
  1. to hurry up; get a move on:
    You'd better shake a leg or we'll miss the first act.
  2. to dance.
43.
shake hands. hand (def 77).
44.
shake one's head,
  1. to indicate disapproval, disagreement, negation, or uncertainty by turning one's head from one side to the other and back:
    I asked him if he knew the answer, but he just shook his head.
  2. to indicate approval, agreement, affirmation or acceptance by nodding one's head up and down.
45.
shake the dust from one's feet. dust (def 25).
46.
two shakes (of a lamb's tail), a very short time; a moment.
Origin
before 900; (v.) Middle English s(c)haken, Old English sceacan; cognate with Low German schacken, Old Norse skaka; (noun) derivative of the v.
Related forms
shakable, shakeable, adjective
reshake, verb, reshook, reshaken, reshaking.
unshakable, adjective
unshakablely, adverb
unshakeable, adjective
unshakeablely, adverb
unshaken, adjective
well-shaken, adjective
Can be confused
shake, sheik (see synonym study at the current entry)
Synonyms
1. oscillate, waver. Shake, quiver, tremble, vibrate refer to an agitated movement that, in living things, is often involuntary. To shake is to agitate more or less quickly, abruptly, and often unevenly so as to disturb the poise, stability, or equilibrium of a person or thing: a pole shaking under his weight. To quiver is to exhibit a slight vibratory motion such as that resulting from disturbed or irregular (surface) tension: The surface of the pool quivered in the breeze. To tremble (used more often of a person) is to be agitated by intermittent, involuntary movements of the muscles, much like shivering and caused by fear, cold, weakness, great emotion, etc.: Even stout hearts tremble with dismay. To vibrate is to exhibit a rapid, rhythmical motion: A violin string vibrates when a bow is drawn across it. 2. shudder, shiver. 14. daunt.
British Dictionary definitions for two shakes of a lamb's tail

shake

/ʃeɪk/
verb shakes, shaking, shook, shaken (ˈʃeɪkən)
1.
to move or cause to move up and down or back and forth with short quick movements; vibrate
2.
to sway or totter or cause to sway or totter
3.
to clasp or grasp (the hand) of (a person) in greeting, agreement, etc: he shook John by the hand, he shook John's hand, they shook and were friends
4.
shake hands, to clasp hands in greeting, agreement, etc
5.
(informal) shake on it, to shake hands in agreement, reconciliation, etc
6.
to bring or come to a specified condition by or as if by shaking: he shook free and ran
7.
(transitive) to wave or brandish: he shook his sword
8.
(transitive) often foll by up. to rouse, stir, or agitate
9.
(transitive) to shock, disturb, or upset: he was shaken by the news of her death
10.
(transitive) to undermine or weaken: the crisis shook his faith
11.
to mix (dice) by rattling in a cup or the hand before throwing
12.
(transitive) (Austral, archaic, slang) to steal
13.
(transitive) (US & Canadian, informal) to escape from: can you shake that detective?
14.
(music) to perform a trill on (a note)
15.
(transitive) (US, informal) to fare or progress; happen as specified: how's it shaking?
16.
(informal) shake a leg, to hurry: usually used in the imperative
17.
shake in one's shoes, to tremble with fear or apprehension
18.
shake one's head, to indicate disagreement or disapproval by moving the head from side to side
19.
shake the dust from one's feet, to depart gladly or with the intention not to return
noun
20.
the act or an instance of shaking
21.
a tremor or vibration
22.
(informal) the shakes, a state of uncontrollable trembling or a condition that causes it, such as a fever
23.
(informal) a very short period of time; jiffy: in half a shake
24.
a shingle or clapboard made from a short log by splitting it radially
25.
a fissure or crack in timber or rock
26.
an instance of shaking dice before casting
27.
(music) another word for trill1 (sense 1)
28.
a dance, popular in the 1960s, in which the body is shaken convulsively in time to the beat
29.
an informal name for earthquake
30.
short for milk shake
31.
(informal) no great shakes, of no great merit or value; ordinary
See also shake down, shake off, shake up
Derived Forms
shakable, shakeable, adjective
Word Origin
Old English sceacan; related to Old Norse skaka to shake, Old High German untscachōn to be driven
Word Origin and History for two shakes of a lamb's tail

shake

v.

Old English sceacan "move (something) quickly to and fro, brandish; move the body or a part of it rapidly back and forth;" also "go, glide, hasten, flee, depart" (cf. sceacdom "flight"); of persons or parts of the body, "to tremble" especially from fever, cold, fear" (class VI strong verb; past tense scoc, past participle scacen), from Proto-Germanic *skakanan (cf. Old Norse, Swedish skaka, Danish skage "to shift, turn, veer"). No certain cognates outside Germanic, but some suggest a possible connection to Sanskrit khaj "to agitate, churn, stir about," Old Church Slavonic skoku "a leap, bound," Welsh ysgogi "move."

Of the earth in earthquakes, c.1300. Meaning "seize and shake (someone or something else)" is from early 14c. In reference to mixing ingredients, etc., by shaking a container from late 14c. Meaning "to rid oneself of by abrupt twists" is from c.1200, also in Middle English in reference to evading responsibility, etc. Meaning "weaken, impair" is from late 14c., on notion of "make unstable."

To shake hands dates from 1530s. Shake a (loose) leg "hurry up" first recorded 1904; shake a heel (sometimes foot) was an old way to say "to dance" (1660s); to shake (one's) elbow (1620s) meant "to gamble at dice." Phrase more _____ than you can shake a stick at is attested from 1818, American English. To shake (one's) head as a sign of disapproval is recorded from c.1300.

n.

late 14c., "charge, onrush," from shake (v.). Meaning "a hard shock" is from 1560s. From 1580s as "act of shaking;" 1660s as "irregular vibration." The hand-grip salutation so called by 1712. As a figure of instantaneous action, it is recorded from 1816. Phrase fair shake "honest deal" is attested from 1830, American English. The shakes "nervous agitation" is from 1620s. Short for milk shake from 1911. Dismissive phrase no great shakes (1816, Byron) perhaps is from dicing.

two shakes of a lamb's tail in Culture

two shakes of a lamb's tail definition


Something that can be done in “two shakes of a lamb's tail” can be done very quickly: “The repairman said he could fix our tire in two shakes of a lamb's tail, and he was right: we were back on the road in ten minutes.”

Slang definitions & phrases for two shakes of a lamb's tail

two shakes

noun phrase

A moment; a wink; a JIFFY: Hold it, I'll just be two shakes

[1883+; by 1840 in the form a couple of shakes]


shake

noun
  1. rent party: charge a few coins and have a shake (1940s+)
  2. A moment; sec: Be ready in two shakes (1839+)
  3. Blackmail or extortion; shakedown: This isn't any kind of a shake (1930+)
  4. : We'd better give the entire house a shake; I know it's here somewhere
verb
  1. To come to an agreement; shake hands: Let's shake and call it done (1873+)
  2. : tried to shake one of the big boys (1930+)
  3. To search a person or place thoroughly; shake down (1960s+)
  4. GIVE someone THE SHAKE (1883+)
Related Terms

a fair shake, half a shake, on the shake, skin-search, two shakes


Idioms and Phrases with two shakes of a lamb's tail

two shakes of a lamb's tail

see: in two shakes of a lamb's tail

shake

also see: