variants
or less commonly shinney
1
: a variation of hockey played by children with a curved stick and a ball or block of wood
also
: the stick used
2
: an informal game of ice hockey played usually outdoors
shinnied; shinnying
: to move oneself up or down something vertical (such as a pole) especially by alternately hugging it with the arms or hands and the legs
Examples of shinny in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex Prewitt, SI.com, 2 Oct. 2019
The event will celebrate the traditions of Pala with demonstrations, including bird songs, shinny games, peon and bow and arrow making.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2019
Not far away, a group of youngsters kicked up plenty of dust on a hot day, playing shinny.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2019
Julian Ganton, now 31, recounted summers spent sleeping in tents high in the trees and winters spent playing shinny — that’s Canadian for pickup hockey — right outside his house.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2018
The Predators were the last team to qualify for this year’s shinny tournament and the first to get to the final.
—Steve Rosenbloom, chicagotribune.com, 26 May 2017
The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Aug. 2022
The slippery custom began a half-century ago merely as a means to dissuade drunken daredevils from attempting to shinny up the poles in order to mingle with paying guests.
—Doug MacCash | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 25 Jan. 2021
No hunter, regardless of how hard-core, wants to strap a 40-pound stand to his back, trek two miles back into the wilderness, then try to shinny up a tree with it.
—The Editors, Field & Stream, 22 Aug. 2019
Two hours south of Kazinga Channel is the Ishasha Sector of the park, home to the famous tree-climbing lions that shinny up ficus trees and nap during the hot afternoon hours.
—Tom Hanscom, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2019
There are now escape chutes (basically, giant collapsible fabric tubes for shinnying down) and small parachutes.
—Alex Williams, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2017
Daedalus ignored her and started shinnying up the pole.
—John Kelly, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2017
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Born 4½ years after his brother, Cal, Ryan was always at a physical disadvantage in neighborhood games of shinny.
—Alex Prewitt, SI.com, 2 Oct. 2019
The event will celebrate the traditions of Pala with demonstrations, including bird songs, shinny games, peon and bow and arrow making.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2019
Not far away, a group of youngsters kicked up plenty of dust on a hot day, playing shinny.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2019
Julian Ganton, now 31, recounted summers spent sleeping in tents high in the trees and winters spent playing shinny — that’s Canadian for pickup hockey — right outside his house.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2018
The Predators were the last team to qualify for this year’s shinny tournament and the first to get to the final.
—Steve Rosenbloom, chicagotribune.com, 26 May 2017
Verb
Fanning out like urban guerrillas through Paris’ darkened streets well after midnight, the anti-waste activists shinny up walls and drain pipes, reaching for switches to turn off the lights. Click.
—The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Aug. 2022
The slippery custom began a half-century ago merely as a means to dissuade drunken daredevils from attempting to shinny up the poles in order to mingle with paying guests.
—Doug MacCash | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 25 Jan. 2021
No hunter, regardless of how hard-core, wants to strap a 40-pound stand to his back, trek two miles back into the wilderness, then try to shinny up a tree with it.
—The Editors, Field & Stream, 22 Aug. 2019
Two hours south of Kazinga Channel is the Ishasha Sector of the park, home to the famous tree-climbing lions that shinny up ficus trees and nap during the hot afternoon hours.
—Tom Hanscom, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2019
There are now escape chutes (basically, giant collapsible fabric tubes for shinnying down) and small parachutes.
—Alex Williams, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2017
Daedalus ignored her and started shinnying up the pole.
—John Kelly, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2017
Dictionary Entries Near shinny
Cite this Entry
“Shinny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shinny. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share