[shoot a line] See: DROP A LINE.

[shoot from the hip]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To fire a gun held at the hip without aiming by aligning the barrel with one’s eye. •/In many Western movies the heroic sheriff defeats the villains by shooting from the hip./ 2. To speak sincerely, frankly, and without subterfuge. •/"What kind of an administrator will Mr. Brown be?" the head of the search committee asked. "He shoots straight from the hip," he was assured./

[shoot off one’s mouth] or [shoot off one’s face] {v. phr.}, {slang} To give opinions without knowing all the facts; talk as if you know everything. •/Tom has never been to Florida, but he’s always shooting his mouth off about how superior Florida is to California./ •/I want to study the problem before I shoot off my face./ •/The editor of the newspaper is always shooting his mouth off about the trouble in Africa./

[shoot one’s wad]{v. phr.}{slang}, {colloquial} 1. To spend all of one’s money. •/We’ve shot our wad for the summer and can’t buy any new garden furniture./ 2. To say everything that is on one’s mind. •/Joe feels a lot better now that he’s shot his wad at the meeting./

[shoot out]{v.} 1. To fight with guns until one person or side is wounded or killed; settle a fight by shooting. — Used with "it". •/The cornered bank robbers decided to shoot it out with the police./ •/The moment she opened the door, the cat shot out and ran around the house./ •/During the last half-minute of the race, Dick shot out in front of the other runners./

[shoot questions at]{v. phr.} To interrogate rapidly and vigorously. •/The attorney for the prosecution shot one question after another at the nervous witness./

[shoot straight] or [shoot square] {v.}, {informal} To act fairly; deal honestly. •/You can trust that salesman; he shoots straight with his customers./ •/We get along well because we always shoot square with each other./ — [straight shooter] or [square shooter] {n.}, {informal} /Bill is a square-shooter./ — [straight-shooting] {adj.} •/The boys all liked the straight-shooting coach./

[shoot the breeze] or [bat the breeze] or [fan the breeze] or [shoot the bull] {v. phr.}, {slang} To talk. •/Jim shot the breeze with his neighbor while the children were playing./ •/Come into the kitchen and we’ll bat the breeze over a cup of coffee./ •/The women were shooting the breeze about Jim’s latest trouble with the police./ •/The fishermen were shooting the bull about the school of sail fish they had seen./

[shoot the works]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To spare no expense or effort; get or give everything. •/Billy shot the works when he bought his bicycle; he got a bell, a light, a basket, and chrome trimmings on it, too./ •/The Greens shot the works on their daughter’s wedding reception./ 2. To go the limit; take a risk. •/The motor of Tom’s boat was dangerously hot, but he decided to shoot the works and try to win the race./

[shoot up]{v.} 1. To grow quickly. •/Billy had always been a small boy, but when he was thirteen years old he began to shoot up./ 2. To arise suddenly. •/As we watched, flames shot up from the roof of the barn./ 3. {informal} To shoot or shoot at recklessly; shoot and hurt badly. •/The cowboys got drunk and shot up the bar room./ •/The soldier was shot up very badly./ 4. To take drugs by injection. •/A heroin addict will shoot up as often as he can./

[shop] See: CLOSE UP SHOP, TALK SHOP.

[shop around for]{v. phr.} To make the rounds of various commercial establishments in order to find the most economical answer for one’s needs. •/We’ve been shopping around for a larger condominium that is affordable, and near the university./

[shoplifter]{n.} A thief who steals things from a store. •/The TV camera identified the shoplifter, who was then arrested and sentenced to jail./

[shopping center]{n.} A place usually for neighborhood shopping, where there is a group of stores and shops inside of a large parking lot. •/There is a bowling alley at the nearest shopping center./ •/All the stores in our shopping center stay open until nine o’clock on Friday evenings./

[shopworn]{adj.} A piece of merchandise that is offered below the usual price because it is slightly damaged or soiled. •/Although shopworn, the jacket was perfectly usable, so he eagerly bought it./

[shore leave]{n.} Permission given to a man in the Navy to leave his ship and go where he wants for a certain length of time. •/Jim went to visit New York when he was given three days' shore leave./ •/The ship did not dock long enough for the sailors to get shore leave./

[shore patrol]{n.} The police of a navy. •/The sailors who were fighting in town were arrested by the shore patrol./ •/The shore patrol was ordered to search every sailor who went on board the ship./

[shore up]{v.} To add support to (something) where weakness is shown; make (something) stronger where support is needed; support. •/When the flood waters weakened the bridge, it was shored up with steel beams and sandbags until it could be rebuilt./ •/The coach sent in a substitute guard to shore up the line when Fitchburg began to break through./

[shorn] See: GOD TEMPERS THE WIND TO THE SHORN LAMB.

[short] See: CAUGHT SHORT, FALL SHORT, FOR SHORT, IN BRIEF or IN SHORT, IN SHORT ORDER, IN SHORT SUPPLY, MAKE SHORT WORK OF, RUN SHORT, SELL SHORT, THE LONG AND THE SHORT.

[short and sweet]{adj.} Brief and to the point. •/Henry’s note to his father was short and sweet. He wrote, "Dear Dad, please send me $5. Love, Henry."/

[shortchange]{v. phr.} To return less money to a customer in a store than is coming to him or her; cheat. •/I was shortchanged by the cashier when I got seven dollars back instead of eight./

[shortcut]{n.} A road shorter than the one that people normally take. •/We can save twenty minutes if we take this shortcut over the hill./

[short end]{n.} The worst or most unpleasant part. •/The new boy got the short end of it because all the comfortable beds in the dormitory had been taken before he arrived./ •/The girls who served refreshments at the party got the short end of it. When everybody had been served, there was no cake left for them./

[shorthanded]{adj.} Understaffed; short on workers. •/With several employees gone for the holiday weekend and two dozen people in line, the rent-a-car agency suddenly found itself terribly shorthanded./

[short haul]{n.} A short distance; a short trip. •/The Scoutmaster said that it was just a short haul to the lake./ •/The man from the moving company said they did not make short hauls, so we hired a truck to move our furniture three blocks to our new house./ Contrast: LONG HAUL.

[short list] or [short-listed] {v. phr.} To place on the list of select finalists for a job. •/Only three of the twenty-seven applicants were short-listed for the assistant professorial vacancy in our department./

[short of(1)]{adj. phr.} 1. Less or worse than. •/Don’t do anything short of your best./ 2. Not having enough. •/We did not buy anything because we were short of money./ •/The girls were asked to wait on tables because the kitchen was short of help./