shellacking
5
8.4
- noun
- /ʃəˈlækɪŋ/
- Informal
:
paliza
- There remains a terrible hatred of the GOP here, and their signature legislation statewide was rebuffed in a shellacking, in which 82 of 88 counties did indeed give the GOP a collective middle finger just a year earlier.
- midterm shellacking
- took a shellacking
- Democrats' midterm shellacking
Examples
-
After the debate, the candidate admitted he had received a serious shellacking from his opponent.
-
Yeah, I remember you from that awful shellacking - you took last time you were here.
-
Democrats will take a shellacking because young people and people of color tend not to vote in midterm elections.
Blog text (16) -
Once again, this 8-1 shellacking is a Yankees' loss that you just can't say all that much about.
Blog text (10) -
Republicans won 63 seats in a landslide in 2010 that Barack Obama called a "shellacking."
Academic text (2011) -
The basketball team suffered a disappointing shellacking with a final score of 102-56.
-
The local high school football team experienced a tough shellacking in their championship game.
Synonyms
275
2.5
A loss in a game, match, or election that means you do not win
57
2.8
A heavy loss in a game or match
12
7.2
A complete defeat in which one side loses badly
8
4.6
A very large defeat in a contest or game
8
9.1
A strong beating in a fight or a big loss in a game
6
7.7
A big defeat in a game or competition
5
5.6
A heavy defeat in a game or contest that embarrasses the losers
5
6.6
A heavy defeat in a game or contest
4
7.9
A very complete loss in a game or contest
3
5.4
A heavy defeat in a game or contest
2
7.4
A very strong defeat, usually in a game or election, leaving the loser embarrassed
1
7.5
A complete beating in a game or contest
1
8.3
A very heavy defeat in a game or battle
A very large defeat of one side by another, for example in a game
A sudden public rejection or defeat that embarrasses someone
Antonyms
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
shellacking = shellac (semi-transparent) = shellac + ing
The figurative sense 'a severe defeat' is a metaphorical extension from the literal varnish sense, so learners who only know the varnish sense may not predict this meaning.
Etymology
Shellacking also means a heavy defeat. This sense comes from the verb shellac, which people used in slang to mean 'to beat' someone badly, so a 'shellacking' is when one side loses by a large amount.