Chapter Shandygaff to Shells of S by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

through that village, to Squire Fetherstone's house as the village inn. The mistake was not discovered for some time, and then no one enjoyed it more heartily than Oliver himself.

Shear Steel Steel which has been sheared. When the bars have been converted into steel, they are sheared into short pieces, and forged again from a pile built up with layers crossed, so as to produce a web-like texture in the metal by the crossing of the fibres. Great toughness results from this mode of manipulation, and the steel thus produced is used for shears and other instruments where a hard sharp edge is required.

Sheb-seze The great fire festival of the Persians, when they used to set fire to large bunches of dry combustibles, fastened round wild beasts and birds, which, being then let loose, the air and earth appeared one great illumination. The terrified creatures naturally fled to the woods for shelter, and it is easy to conceive the conflagration they produced. (Richardson: Dissertation.)

Sheba (Queen of). The Assyrians say her name was Macqueda, but Arabs call her Belkis.

Shebeen A small Irish store for the sale of whisky and something else, as bacon, eggs, general provisions, and groceries.

“Drinking your health wid Shamus
O'Shea at Katty's shebeen.”
Tennyson: To-morrow, stauza 2.

Sheep Ram or tup, the sire; ewe, the dam; lamb, the new-born sheep till it is weaned, when it is called a hogget; the tup-lamb being a “tup-hogget,” and the ewe-lamb a “ewe-hogget;” if the tup is castrated it is called a wether-hogget.
   After the removal of the first fleece, the tup-hogget becomes a shearling, the ewe- hogget a grimmer, and the wether-hogget a dinmont (hence the name “Dandy Dinmont”).
   After the removal of the second fleece, the shearling becomes a two-shear tup, the grimmer a ewe, and the dinmont a wether.
   After the removal of the third fleece, the ewe is called a twinter-ewe; and when it ceases to breed, a draft-ewe.
   The Black Sheep (Kârâ-koin-loo). A tribe which established a principality in Armenia, that lasted 108 years (1360-1468); so called from the device of their standard.
   The White Sheep (Ak- koin-loo). A tribe which established a principality in Armenia, etc., on the ruin of the Black Sheep (1468- 1508); so called from the device of their standard.
   To cast a sheep's eye at one is to look askance, like a sheep, at a person to whom you feel lovingly inclined.

“But he, the beast, was casting sheep's eyes at her.” - Colman: Broad Grins.

Sheet Anchor That is my sheet anchor - my chief stay, my chief dependence. The sheet anchor is the largest and heaviest of all. The word is a corruption of Shote-anchor, the anchor shot or thrown out in stress of weather. Many ships carry more than one sheet-anchor outside the ship's waist.

“The surgeon no longer bleeds. If you ask him `why this neglect of what was once considered the sheet anchor of practice in certain diseases?' he will ...” - The Times.

Sheik (Arabic, elder). A title of respect equal to the Italian signore, the French sieur, Spanish senor, etc. There are seven sheiks in the East, all said to be direct descendants of Mahomet, and they all reside at Mecca.

Shekinah (shachan, to reside). The glory of the Divine Presence in the shape of a cloud of fire, which rested on the mercy-seat between the Cherubim.
   Shekinah or Shechinah is not a biblical word. It was first mentioned in the Jerusalem Targum. The Sheckinah was not supposed to dwell in the Second Temple. Its responses were given either by the Urim and Thummim of the high priest, by prophets, or orally. (See Deut. iii. 24; and Luke xvi. 2.)

Sheldonian Theatre The “Senate House” of Oxford; so called from Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, who built it. (1598-1669.)

Shelf Laid on the shelf, or shelved. A government officer no longer actively employed; an actor no longer assigned a part; a young lady past the ordinary age of marriage; a pawn at the broker's; a question started and set aside. All mean laid up and put away.