| 释义 |
▪ I. shrewd, a.|ʃruːd|
Forms: α. 4–5 schrewid(e, shrewid, schrewd(e, 4–6 schrewed(e, 4–7 shrewed(e, shrewde, shreude, 5–6 schrewyd, (4 schreuyt, 6 shreawd, schrewit), 5–8 shreud, 6–8 shrew'd, 5– shrewd. β. 5 schrod, 5–6 schrode, 5–7 shrode, 6 schroyd, 6–7 shroud, shrowd(e, shrow'd, shroad, 9 dial. srode. γ. 4 scherewed, 5 sherewd.
[ME. schrewed-e, etc., prob. orig. f. shrew n.2 (? or n.1) + -ed2. Cf. crabbed, dogged, wicked (all early ME.); the two former suggest the possibility that the animal (n.1) is alluded to. This formation coincided with the pa. pple. of shrew v., which may be the source of some of the senses; cf. the similar use of cursed.]
1. a. Of persons, their qualities, actions, etc.: Depraved, wicked; evil-disposed, malignant. Passing into a weaker sense: Malicious, mischievous. dial.
α1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4904 Ryche men haue shrewed sonys,—Shrewys yn dede and yn sawe. 13..Lay Folks Catech. (MS. L) 139 Envye to oure neyȝbore with oþer schrewde castys. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 349 Sclaundris and oþir shrewid wordis. c1400Beryn 1079 Fawnus..Was set oppon a purpose to make his sone leue All his shrewde tacchis. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7330 Þe schrewed sonn of þe fende. Ibid. 7742 A schrewyd counsaile toke þai þan. 1470–85Malory Arthur ix. xviii. 366 Whan he dyd ony shrewd dede they wold bete hym with roddes. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 35/1 Thenemye the fende with his angellis cursed and shrewd. c1490― Rule St. Benet 122 Kepe euer your tongue from euyll and shrewde langage, & speke lytyll & well. 1548Cranmer Catech. 165 Our owne euyl workes and shrewed wylles. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. xviii. 62 Schrewit is that seruice ȝe haif schawin to ȝour King. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 33 That shrew'd and knauish spirit Cal'd Robin Good-fellow. 1612Day Festivals ii. (1615) 29 How do they pule & cry? nay, how wil they shew a shrewd stomach or ever they can go or speake? 1634Milton Comus 846 All urchin blasts, and ill luck signes That the shrewd medling Elfe delights to make. 1879G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Shrewd (s'roa·d),..(shr'oa·d),..badly-disposed; wicked; vicious. ‘'E's gwun a despert srōde lad.’
β1547Boorde Brev. Health cccxxix, Beware of anger, for it is a shrode hert that maketh al the body fare the worse. 1606Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes iii. Wks. (Grosart) II. 48 Drunkards, Vnthriftes and shrode Husbonds.
γ13..Beues (A.) 4498 Þar was a Lombard in þe toun, Þat was scherewed & feloun. 14..Chaucer's H. Fame 275 (Caxton), Ther may be vnder goodlyhede Couerd many a sherewd vyce.
†b. Of children: Naughty. Obs.
[1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 91 b, These ben called..capytall vyces, bycause other shrewde children ryseth of them.] a1548Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 9 Experience teacheth, that..of a shreude boye, proveth a good man. 1584Cogan Haven Health cii. 89, I haue knowen..many a shreude boye for the desire of Apples, to haue broken into other folkes orchardes. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 12 He [Cupid] hath beene fiue thousand yeeres a Boy. Kath. I and a shrewd vnhappy gallowes too. 1645Bp. Hall Treat. Content. 77 The best of us are but shrewd children.
†c. Of animals: Of evil disposition, bad-tempered; vicious, fierce; = cursed 4 b. Obs.
1509Watson Ship of Fools vi. (1517) B vij, Oftentymes a mylde bytche bryngeth forth shrewed whelpes. a1533Frith Another Bk. agst. Rastell (1829) 242 And may be likened to a shrewd cow, which, when she hath given a large mess of milk, turneth it down with her heel. 1546Heywood Prov. i. x. (1867) 22 God sendth the shrewd coow short hornes. 1547–50Bauldwin Mor. Philos. iv. Q iv, As to a shrewde horse belongeth a sharpe brydle: so oughte a shrewde wyfe to be sharpely handeled. 1607Markham Caval. ii. 96 The practice of some Horse-men..to tie a shrewd Cat to a Poale, with her heade and feete at libertie, and so thrusting it vnder the horses bellye,..to make her..clawe him. 1630Drayton Noah's Flood 319 [They] together sat By the shrewd Muncky, Babian, and the Ape.
†2. Of material things (esp. animals): Mischievous, hurtful; dangerous, injurious. Obs.
c1380Sir Ferumb. 4431 An Axe had he þan an honde, A shrewedere wepene for to fonde Was neuere non yfounde. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 335 Wel schrewed mys [mures nocentissimos]. 1398― Barth. De P.R. v. xxviii. (Bodl. MS.), Blaynes..comeþ of schrewed and corrupt humours. 1399Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 20 Þoru busschis and bromes þis beste.. Secheth and sercheth þo schrewed wormes. c1400Mandeville (1839) v. 46 Egipt is a strong Contree: for it hathe manye schrewede Havenes, because of the grete Roches. c1450Robyn & Gandeleyn vi. (Child Ball.), There cam a schrewde arwe out of þe west. 1493Festyvall 31 b, They wyll slee theym with a shrewed knyfe. That is with the euyll and cursed tonge. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, iii. ii. 59 To lift shrewd Steele against our Golden Crowne. 1607–12Bacon Ess., Of Wisdome for a Mans selfe (Arb.) 182 An Ant..is a shrewd thing, in an Orchard, or a garden. 1621Donne Serm. xv. (1640) 148 The Buls of Babylon, the shrewdest Buls of all, in temporall, in spirituall persecutions.
†3.
a. Of things (chiefly immaterial): Of evil nature, character, or influence; ill-conditioned, bad, vile. Obs.
1382Wyclif Luke iii. 5 Schrewide thingis [prava] schulen be in to dressid thingis. 1387–8T. Usk Test. Love ii. vi. (Skeat) l. 72 Right so he is a shrewe, on whom shreude thinges and badde han most werchinge. c1400Beryn 2613 They have a custom, a shrewid for the nonys, Yf [etc.]. c1470Henry Wallace ii. 94 At thi shrewed ws thow wenys me to leid. 1513Douglas æneis ii. viii. 57 The eddir, with schrewit herbis fed. 1519Interl. Four Elem. (ed. Pollard) 438 Though he loke never so well, I promyse you he hath a shrewde smell. c1535Frere & Boy 283 The good wyffe sayd, wer hast thou be? In schrewyd plas as thynkys me. 1644Milton Areop. 16 There are shrewd books, with dangerous Frontispices set to sale. 1678in Lauderdale Papers (1885) III. 140 His Majti⊇ did highly signify his displeasure against Sir William Lowther... The shreud effects whereof he has since tasted.
b. Of reputation, opinion, meaning: Evil, bad, unfavourable. Obs.
c1384Chaucer H. Fame 1619, Y graunte yow That ye shal haue a shrewde fame And wikkyd loos. 1527in Froude Hist. Eng. (1881) I. 523 note, Some of them, as Master Dean hath known a long time, hath had a shrewd name. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Commode, To be ill reported of: to haue a shrewde name. 1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 232 Shee enlargeth her mirth so farre, that there is shrewd construction made of her. 1621T. Williamson tr. Goulart's Wise Vieillard 82 Many men..giue good things a shrewd vnhappie, and wrong name. 1664H. More Apology 491 That spirit is not of God, but in some shreud sense or other is the spirit of Antichrist.
c. Poor, unsatisfactory. Obs.
α1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 21126 Thow hast..Mad a shrewde marchaundyse. 1470–85Malory Arthur ix. xxiv. 375 There is shrewde herberowe,..lodge where ye will, for I wille not lodge there. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. viii. 17 They will make a shrewde marchaundyce for vs. 1537Thersytes 146 (Pollard) He that should medle with me shall have shrewde rest! 1565Cooper Thesaurus, Coenare malum.., to suppe with sorow and shrewde rest. a1586Sidney Arcadia i. (Sommer) 26 b, The Helots..would haue giuen a shrewd welcome to the [invading] Arcadians.
β1593Tell-Troth's N.Y. Gift (1876) 8 You might haue tooke better heede, and It was your owne fault, are two shrode plasters for a greene wound. 1616Marlowe's Faustus (ed. Brooke) 990 By Lady sir, you haue had a shroud iourney of it.
d. In bad physical condition (the precise meaning varying with the application); in bad order; ugly; tough. Obs.
c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. cxxvi. (1869) 123, j can with good vynture enoynte a shrewede wheel that cryeth. 1526Skelton Magnyf. (E.E.T.S.) 1155 With a shrewde face uilis imago. 1571Golding Calvin on Ps. xviii. 26 A shrewd knot must haue a shrewd wedge [malo nodo quærendum esse malum cuneum]. 1593Tell-Troth's N.Y. Gift (1876) 34 The young tree will stoup, when the old shrewd cannot bend.
†4. Of events, affairs, conditions: Fraught or attended with evil or misfortune; having injurious or dangerous consequences; vexatious, irksome, hard; (of a task) difficult, dangerous. Obs.
α1508Stanbridge Vulgaria (W. de W.) B vj, It is shrewed to Iape with naked swerdes. 1513Douglas æneis v. ix. 64 The feirfull spa men therof pronosticate Schrewit chancis to betyde. 1531Frith Judgm. upon Tracy Wks. (1572) 79 Those holy fathers were in shreud cause, which continuing in long penurie, scant lefte at theyr departing, a halfe pennie. 1563–83Foxe A. & M. 1936/2, I aduise thee beware of the fire, it is a shrewd matter to burne. 1595Shakes. John v. v. 14 Ah fowle, shrew'd newes. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 711 Strangers haue more shrewd entertainment, and scarsely in twentie daies..can shake off this Shaker [ague]. 1623Middleton More Dissemblers iii. ii, By'r Lady a shrewd business, and a dangerous. 1627Donne Serm. xxii. (1640) 222 The King, that comes after a good Predecessour, hath a shrewd burthen upon him. 1632Rowley New Wonder iii. i. E 3, Sir, 'tis a shrewd taske. 1821J. Baillie Metr. Leg., Lady G. B. liv, The times are shrewd, my treasures spent.
β1482Cely Papers (Camden) 108 Wee fere here that ther weil be schrode passage to thys Balling martt. 1536St. Papers Hen. VIII, II. 355, I promes you I am in a schroyd case, oneles the Kinges highe Majestie..do see redresse in suche causes. 1538Starkey England i. iii. 79 Yf the yeomanry of Englond were not, in tyme of warre we schold be in schrode case. 1573G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 11 This singulariti in philosophi is like to grow to a shrode matter.
5. shrewd turn:
a. a mischievous or malicious act (arch.);
†b. a piece of misfortune, an accident (obs.).
1464Paston Lett. 29 Feb., He wold do Debenham a shrewd turne and he coud. 1530Palsgr. 712/2, I provoke..him to do a shreude tourne. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Fero, Infortunium ferre,..to haue a shrewde turne. 1593Passionate Morrice (1876) 76 As a dogge doth that is crept into a hole, hauing done a shroude turne. 1612Brinsley Lud. Lit. 9 They are..sent to the schoole to keepe them..from danger, and shrewd turnes. 1642D. Rogers Naaman 282 The nurses eie attends the feeble infant, for feare of shrewd turnes. 1660Jer. Taylor Duct. Dubit. ii. i. rule 5 §3 They can doe a good turne or a shrewd. 1702Engl. Theophrastus 204 No enemy is so despicable but some time or other he may do a body a shrewd turn. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 211 That town owed us a shrewd turn for having handled them coarsely.
6. As an intensive, qualifying a word denoting something in itself bad, irksome, or undesirable: Grievous, serious, ‘sore’.
†a. of injury, loss, disease, etc. Obs.
α1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 357 Þe evel þat hatte ficus, þat is a schrewed evel. 1461Paston Lett. II. 4 Ther was shrewd rewle toward in this cuntre. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. i. 132 b, He gaue a shrewd checke to y⊇ vnmeasurable praiser. 1592Soliman & P. 426 A shrewd losse, by my faith, sir. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, ii. iii. 41 Humfrey, Duke of Gloster, scarce himselfe, That beares so shrewd a mayme. 1606Chapman Gent. Usher ii. i. 25, I have been hanted..with a shrewd fever. 1609G. Archer in Purchas Pilgrims (1625) IV. 1734 Some three or foure dayes after her, came in the Swallow,..and had a shrewd leake. 1626B. Jonson Staple of News i. Interm. 73 O, but the poore man had got a shrewd mischance, one day. 1658A. Fox Wurtz' Surg. iii. x. 248 A Wound closed up, where a piece of the vein is yet unhealed,..will cause shrewd Imposthumes. 1713C'tess of Winchilsea Misc. Poems 180 Meeting with a shrew'd mischance. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxxi, That is a shrewd loss.
β1482Cely Papers (Camden) 112 Hytt woll be a shrode losse. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. 441 With shrowde fines eftsoones redoubled, if not answered. 1612N. Field Woman is a Weathercock ii. i, Mrs. Wag...Haulke, hauke. [Coughs and spits.] Page. Shee has a shrowde reach, I see that. 1623Bradford Plymouth Plant. (1856) 150 His father suffered a shrowd check.
†b. of temptation. Obs.
1601Death Rob. Earl Hunt. iv. ii. in Hazl. Dodsley VIII. 297, I know thou shalt be offer'd wealth, Which is a shrewd enticement in sad want. 1650Fuller Pisgah iii. ii. xii. 437 A shroud bait to tempt his hungry souldiers to sacriledge. 1696Whiston Theory Earth 61 They were under a shrewd Temptation of thinking very meanly of the Bible it self.
†c. Qualifying an agent-noun. Obs.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 171 marg., Timorousnesse a shrewd hinderer of enterprises. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 123 These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues.
¶d. ‘Hard to beat’, formidable. rare—1.
1851Borrow Lavengro xii, I was now a shrewd walker, thanks to constant practice.
†e. As a vague intensive. Obs.
a1643W. Cartwright Ordinary iv. i, Caster. He threw twice twelve. Credulous. By'r lady, a shrewd many!
†7. Of persons and their actions: Severe, harsh, stern. Obs.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 379 Oure men beeþ schrewed and angry inow to hem self, but in Goddes seruauntes þey leye neuere no hond. c1470Henry Wallace ix. 1424 The captane than a schrewed ansuer him gaiff. a1586Sidney Arcadia ii. xvi, She being sharp-set vpon the fulfilling of a shrewde office in over-looking Philoclea. 1600Holland Livy xxvii. xxxiv. 654 The hard and shrewd dealings of a mans countrie. 1654Bramhall Just Vind. vi. 133 The Bishop..gave him..such a shrew'd remembrance, partly with words, and partly with his crosier staffe.
8. Severe, sharp, hard.
a. Of a blow, wound. arch.
1481Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 27 They..gauen hym many a shrewde stroke. a1500Brut 593 This shal be þe shrewdest bofet þat euer thow yovyst. 1596Lodge Wit's Misery (1879) 92 Hee [the devil] will giue a shroud wound with his tongue. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 228 Me thought hee made a shrewd thrust at your Belly. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. 39 Many..were drowned, or forced on shore with shrewd hurts, and bruises. a1713T. Ellwood Hist. Life (1714) 237 He struck her with the Stick, a shrewd Blow over the Breast. 1872Morley Voltaire (1886) 9/1 The shrewd thrusts, the flashing fire, with which the hated Voltaire pushed on his work of ‘crushing the Infamous’. 1885V. L. Cameron Across Africa xvi. (ed. 2) 224 One or two got some shrewd knocks.
†b. Of conflict or effort. Obs.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 43 To abide other bitter bruntes and shrewde skirmishes of aduersitie. 1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 111 Foure thousand men would have made a shrewd adventure to have taken his Indies from him. 1682Bunyan Holy War (1905) 412 Many a shrewd brush did some of the Townsmen meet with from them. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 21 They adventure with better force, and in shrewder Battels.
9. Sharp, piercing, keen.
a. Of a weapon or the like; also of pain. arch. (After Shakes.: see quot. 1593 in 2.)
1842Tennyson St. Sim. Styl. 195 A sting of shrewdest pain Ran shrivelling thro' me. 1871R. Ellis Catullus lxxxiii. 5 A shrewder stimulus arms her, Anger. 1878Browning Poets Croisic 107 Sharpest shrewdest steel that ever stabbed To death Imposture.
b. Of the air, wind, weather.
1642D. Rogers Naaman 96 There comes a shrewd right winde, and gets into the hollow of the tree. 1784Cowper Task iii. 581 All plants..that can endure The winter's frown, if screen'd from his shrewd bite. 1824W. Irving T. Trav. I. 23 The night was shrewd and windy. 1849Rossetti Ruggiero & Angelica 9 The sky is harsh, and the sea shrewd and salt. 1864Lowell Fireside Trav. 337 That shrewd Yorkshire atmosphere. 1894Crockett Raiders xviii, The air was shrewd as it breathed from the north.
advb.1603Shakes. Ham. (Qo.) 400 The ayre bites shrewd [Qo. 1604 shroudly]; it is an eager and An nipping winde.
c. Of sound: Harsh. rare.
1876Swinburne Erechtheus 10 The song-notes of our fear, Shrewd notes and shrill, not clear or joyful-sounding.
†10.
a. Of a sign, token, etc.: Of ill omen, ominous; hence, strongly indicative (of something unfavourable).
1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 177 Be sure to marke them well..whether they go all out or no: for if they doe, it is a shrewde signe they will away. 1619T. Taylor Titus ii. 8 Bitternesse [is] a shrewd signe of a bad cause. 1630Donne Serm. xiii. (1640) 135 If our own heart..condemne us, this is shrewd evidence, saies S. Iohn. 1691Norris Pract. Disc. 186 'Tis a shrewd Symptom of an ill habit of Body. 1692Bp. Patrick Answ. Touchstone 262 We hear not a word of Fathers to countenance this Doctrine, which is a shrow'd sign it is so far from being Ancient, that they speak directly against it. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. vi. §17 When a man is against reason, it is a shrewd sign reason is against him.
b. Of probability, etc. Obs.
1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. i. 149 A good plain maner of knowelage geuyng it was & a shrewd likelyhood. 1619Sclater Expos. 1 Thess. v. 554 To array our selues..aboue our Calling [is] no lesse then Pride; at least a shrewd species and appearance of it. 1709Shaftesbury Moralists ii. 52 If Pain be Ill..we have..a shrewd Chance on the ill side, but none at all on the better.
11. Of a piece of evidence: Hard to get over, ‘awkward’, damaging. arch.
1606Holland Sueton. Annot. 4 If his Questour or Treasurer had beene condemned, it would haue beene a shrewde precedent for his conviction also in the same cause. 1633Laud in Strafford Lett. (1739) I. 213, I am afraid that many of them will be found Guilty: You give me one shrewd Instance in the Bishop of Waterford. 1692Vindiciæ Carol. ii. 31 The pinching Article against him [Strafford] was the Twenty third... A shrewd Article no doubt, and sufficiently evidences their Crime. 1849H. Miller Footpr. Creator xv. 310 A shrewd fact, which they who expect most from the future of this world would do well to consider.
†12.
a. Given to railing or scolding; shrewish. Obs.
α1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 285 Tweie schrewed [ligitiosissimas] wifes þat wolde alway chide and stryve. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour D vij b, The tale and matere of the euylle and shrewde wyues. 1550Coverdale Spir. Perle xv, His [Socrates'] curst and shrewd wife. 1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 20 Thou wilt neuer get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue. 1605Camden Rem. (1623) 250 Somewhat shrewd to her Seruants. a1661Fuller Worthies, Shropsh. (1662) 2 The Poets faining Juno, chaste and thrifty, qualities which commonly attend a shrewd nature.
βa1500Brome Bk. 11 The properte of a schrod qwen ys to have hyr wyll. c1530in Pol. Rel. & Love Poems, etc. (1903) 58 Thowe shalte bettyr chastise a shrode wyfe with myrthe, then with strokes or smytyng. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. ii. 70 As old as Sibell, and as curst and shrow'd As Socrates Zentippe.
b. Of words, language: Scolding, railing, abusive. Obs.
1538Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 128 If ye had..sowght fully to instructe me in the matier, then thus to desire to conquer me by shrowde wordes. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Confero, Maledicta in aliquem, to rayle at one; to geue shrewde woordes. 1606Holland Sueton. 191 She had reviled him & given him shrewd words. 1632Lithgow Trav. x. 488 With shrew'd Acerbious speech, you Anathematize. a1661Fuller Worthies, London (1662) 197 Shrewd words are sometimes improved into smart blows betwixt them.
13. a. In early use: † Cunning, artful (obs.). Now only in favourable sense: Clever or keen-witted in practical affairs; astute or sagacious in action or speech. (The chief current sense.)
α1520Calisto & Melib. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 60 Seeming to be sheep, and serpently shrewd. 1589Puttenham Engl. Poesie iii. xxi. (Arb.) 257 Least with their shrewd wits, when they were maried they might become a little too phantasticall wiues. 1638Junius Paint. Ancients 47 By acting sharpe old men, shrewd servants,..and all such parts as did require some noise and stirre. a1700Evelyn Diary 15 June 1675, His lady had ben very handsome, and seem'd a shrewd understanding woman. 1706Stanhope Paraphr. III. 331 The Men of the World are abundantly more shrewd in the Business of it, than even Good Men are in the Management of their great and eternal Concern. 1807–8W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 228 A shrewd old gentleman, who stood listening by with a mischievously equivocal look. 1867Smiles Huguenots Eng. ii. (1880) 25 Palissy was..by nature a shrewd observer and an independent thinker. 1880L. Stephen Pope iv. 102 A woman of shrewd intellect and masculine character. 1884Tennyson Falcon i. i. 468 Lady, I find you a shrewd bargainer.
absol.1867Lowell Fitz Adam's Story 360 Hard-headed and soft-hearted, you'd scarce meet A kinder mixture of the shrewd and sweet.
β1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. B 4 b, They told the King he was a foole, and that some shrowd head had knauishly wrought on him. 1605Chapman All Fools iv. i. H 2, Rinal. Y'aue gotten a learned Notarie Signior Cornelio. Corn. Hees a shroad fellow indeed. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. ii. 206 He has a shrow'd wit.
b. Of action, speech: † Cunning, artful (obs.); characterized by penetration or practical sagacity.
1589? Nashe Pasquill & Marforius B 1, Whereuppon they presume to make a shrewde scruple of their obedience. 1649Milton Eikon. xxvi. 502 The shrewdest and the cunningest obloquie that can be thrown upon thir actions. 1761Hume Hist. Eng. II. xxvii. 120 Empson made a shrewd apology for himself. 1781Cowper Table-T. 205 The cause..may yet elude Conjecture and remark, however shrewd. 1824W. Irving T. Trav. II. 259 An eminent man, who had waxed wealthy by driving shrewd bargains with the Indians. 1882J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. II. 113 Taking shrewd advantage of the Lord Chancellor's unlucky mistake. 1884R. W. Church Bacon iii. 59 He liked to observe, to generalise in shrewd and sometimes cynical epigrams.
c. Of the face or look.
1816Scott Antiq. i, A shrewd and penetrating eye. 1877Mrs. Forrester Mignon i, Fred Conyngham..has a plain, shrewd face. 1877Black Green Past. iii, The shaggy, dark brown eyebrows gave shadow and intensity to the shrewd and piercing grey eyes.
14. Of a suspicion or guess: Coming ‘dangerously’ near to the truth of the matter. (? Partly arising from sense 10.)
1588J. Harvey Disc. Probl. 127, I denie not but the wisest..politiques may..giue a shrewd gesse, and go neare the marke. 1599Warn. Faire Women ii. 1025 Should you be guilty of this fact, As this your flight hath given shrewde suspition. 1604Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 429 'Tis a shrew'd doubt, though it be but a Dreame. 1653H. More Antid. Ath. iii. xii. §3 It is a shrewd presumption that he doth lie with them indeed. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair li, I have a shrewd idea that it is a humbug.
15. Comb., as shrewd-eyed, shrewd-headed, † shrewd-hearted, shrewd-looking, shrewd-pated, shrewd-tongued, † shrewd-wit, shrewd-working adjs.; shrewd-head Austral. and N.Z. slang, a cunning person.
c1440Promp. Parv. 449/1 Schrewyd hertyd, pravicors. 1582Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 47 The priest Calchas was broght by the shrewdwyt Vlisses. 1607Hieron Wks. I. 197 A shrewd-tongued woman. 1628Ford Lover's Mel. iv. ii, A shrewd-braine Whorson; there's pith In his vntoward plainenesse. 1629Maxwell tr. Herodian (1635) 199 A notable shrewd-pated Fellow. 1827Lytton Pelham xvi, She was a pretty, fair, shrewd-looking person. 1856J. G. Whittier Panorama 9 The shrewd-eyed salesman, garrulous and loud. 1865Kingsley Herew. ix, The..shrewdest-headed..Berserker in the North Seas. 1916C. J. Dennis Songs Sentimental Bloke 43 Now this 'ere gorspil bloke's a fair shrewd 'ead. 1946J. Morrison in Coast to Coast 163 Some shrewd-head overseas will get the blame for that pillaged case. 1959Daily Tel. 20 May 17/1 A smiling, shrewd-eyed woman. 1960N. Hilliard Maori Girl iii. i. 177 Only the shrewd-heads go for that hard stuff: the shysters the takes.
▪ II. shrewd, n. rare.|ʃruːd|
[f. the adj.]
1. A shrewd or cunning person (see also quot. 1954).
c1858E. Dickinson Poems (1955) I. 14 Could a shrewd advise me We might e'en divide—Should a shrewd betray me—Atropos decide! 1954Picture Post 2 Jan. 34 The word ‘Spiv’, it seems, is out of date. The new word, we are reliably informed, is ‘Shrewd’ —and it is used as a noun, adjective and verb... The ‘shrewd’ is not an American by-product. He is home-bred and thoroughly English, in style and slang.
2. Shrewdness, sagacity, cunning.
1977F. Branston Up & Coming Man xii. 126 All you needed was some capital and a lot of shrewd and you couldn't go wrong.
▪ III. shrewd
obs. form of shroud v. |