variants
also shillalahs
as in canes
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment
the bartender in the Irish pub keeps a shillelagh behind the bar just in case there's trouble
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shillelaghs
Noun
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The Cracker Barrel in Belleville still has lots of space between the tables, which is good, because a statistically improbable number of customers the other morning were using canes or walkers.—
Neal Rubin,
Freep.com,
28 Aug. 2025 -
Fennell explained that grapevine canes, the woody stems that support grape clusters, are an abundant, cellulose-rich material, and are available in the large quantities each year after harvest.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The plaintiffs later accused the department of violating the order by hitting journalists with batons and arresting them during an August protest.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
15 Sep. 2025
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Reuters reported that police used water cannons, batons, rubber bullets and tear gas against protesters.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This occurs as the retinal rods increase their sensitivity by regenerating rhodopsin, a light-sensitive pigment, over a period of time.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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The mattresses in the Oxford Center's hyperbaric chambers were grounded, Sharon said, as were the gurneys and a pair of metal rods within them.—
Kristen Jordan Shamus,
Freep.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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With brands running on skeleton staffs and no one working in-person, drop shipping wasn’t viable.—
Angela Lei,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Payton’s worked with several up-and-comers on offensive staffs, from Webb and Strief this year to now Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady and QB coach Ronald Curry.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The government set a goal to increase it to 40 percent and undertook a bevy of projects with the national Olympic committee, sports world federations, and sports clubs under the auspices of the Ministry of Sport.—
Blythe Lawrence,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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Yet, in the aftermath of the RAVE act, scores of clubs shut down, promoters were arrested, and parties would not dare talk about safer substance use or call an ambulance for a partygoer – it was criminalized.—
Andrew Pasquier,
Them.,
18 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Shillelaghs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shillelaghs. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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