shanghai
To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest, particularly
Verb 4 meanings
To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest, particularly
“1974 September 30, ‘Final Report on the Activities of the Children of God', Oftentimes the approach is to shanghai an unsuspecting victim.”
To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest
To commandeer, hijack, or otherwise (usually wrongfully) appropriate a place or thing.
“Let's see if we can shanghai a room for a couple of hours.”
To hit with a slingshot.
Noun 3 meanings
A breed of chicken with large bodies, long legs, and feathered shanks.
A kind of dart game in which players are gradually eliminated ("shanghaied"), usually either by failing to reach a certain score in 3 quick throws or during a competition to hit a certain prechosen number and then be the first to hit the prechosen numbers of the other players.
Synonym of slingshot.
Etymology
1871, from the important Chinese port Shanghai, as a verb with reference to the former practice by some shippers on the West Coast of the United States of press-ganging crews for fishing or shipping in the Pacific Ocean.
Similar and opposite words
SHANGHAI at a glance
SHANGHAI has 8 letters and scores 15 points in Scrabble (S 1 + H 4 + A 1 + N 1 + G 2 + H 4 + A 1 + I 1) and 15 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #6,628 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with shanghai
All rhymes- CHAI9
- NILGHAI11
- BOOHAI11
- KOWHAI16
- KOWHAIWHAI26
- NYLGHAI14
- TAWHAI12
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