Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
shape-up

shape-up

1 9.3
A morning way of choosing dock workers who gather and are picked for daily jobs
  • noun
  • /ˈʃeɪpˌʌp/
  • Archaic
translation icon : sistema de contratación
  • Many longshoremen gather at the docks each morning for the daily shape-up to find work.
  • shape-up this week

Examples

  • The traditional shape-up method allows longshoremen to compete for jobs on the spot every day.

  • Before I do the shape up on this particular cut, I'm going to use my cordless masters to taper around the edges so I can get a smooth, clean shape up.

  • Even in a booming economy, there were always more hands than available work, and although the two groups representing the longshoremen tried to divide the workload equally, most of those not chosen at the daily "shape-up" (the term given to the tradition of picking workers) were African American.

    Academic text (2008)

  • During the shape-up, the union boss selects workers based on availability and needs.

Surface Forms

shape-up singular
shape-ups plural

Etymology

The word shape-up names an old dock practice where workers gathered on the spot to be chosen for the day's jobs. A helpful way to remember it is to think of shape as 'form' and up as 'together' — people would 'form up' or line up to be picked, which is why shape-up means this rough, on-the-spot hiring at the docks.