▪ 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.
| α 1303 R. 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. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 349 Sclaundris and oþir shrewid wordis. c 1400 Beryn 1079 Fawnus..Was set oppon a purpose to make his sone leue All his shrewde tacchis. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7330 Þe schrewed sonn of þe fende. Ibid. 7742 A schrewyd counsaile toke þai þan. 1470–85 Malory Arthur ix. xviii. 366 Whan he dyd ony shrewd dede they wold bete hym with roddes. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 35/1 Thenemye the fende with his angellis cursed and shrewd. c 1490 ― Rule St. Benet 122 Kepe euer your tongue from euyll and shrewde langage, & speke lytyll & well. 1548 Cranmer Catech. 165 Our owne euyl workes and shrewed wylles. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xviii. 62 Schrewit is that seruice ȝe haif schawin to ȝour King. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 33 That shrew'd and knauish spirit Cal'd Robin Good-fellow. 1612 Day Festivals ii. (1615) 29 How do they pule & cry? nay, how wil they shew a shrewd stomach or ever they can go or speake? 1634 Milton Comus 846 All urchin blasts, and ill luck signes That the shrewd medling Elfe delights to make. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Shrewd (s'roa·d),..(shr'oa·d),..badly-disposed; wicked; vicious. ‘'E's gwun a despert srōde lad.’ |
| β 1547 Boorde Brev. Health cccxxix, Beware of anger, for it is a shrode hert that maketh al the body fare the worse. 1606 Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes iii. Wks. (Grosart) II. 48 Drunkards, Vnthriftes and shrode Husbonds. |
| γ 13.. 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.| [1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 91 b, These ben called..capytall vyces, bycause other shrewde children ryseth of them.] a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 9 Experience teacheth, that..of a shreude boye, proveth a good man. 1584 Cogan Haven Health cii. 89, I haue knowen..many a shreude boye for the desire of Apples, to haue broken into other folkes orchardes. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 12 He [Cupid] hath beene fiue thousand yeeres a Boy. Kath. I and a shrewd vnhappy gallowes too. 1645 Bp. 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.| 1509 Watson Ship of Fools vi. (1517) B vij, Oftentymes a mylde bytche bryngeth forth shrewed whelpes. ? a 1533 Frith 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. 1546 Heywood Prov. i. x. (1867) 22 God sendth the shrewd coow short hornes. 1547–50 Bauldwin Mor. Philos. iv. Q iv, As to a shrewde horse belongeth a sharpe brydle: so oughte a shrewde wyfe to be sharpely handeled. 1607 Markham 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. 1630 Drayton 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.| c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 4431 An Axe had he þan an honde, A shrewedere wepene for to fonde Was neuere non yfounde. 1387 Trevisa 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. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 20 Þoru busschis and bromes þis beste.. Secheth and sercheth þo schrewed wormes. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) v. 46 Egipt is a strong Contree: for it hathe manye schrewede Havenes, because of the grete Roches. c 1450 Robyn & Gandeleyn vi. (Child Ball.), There cam a schrewde arwe out of þe west. 1493 Festyvall 31 b, They wyll slee theym with a shrewed knyfe. That is with the euyll and cursed tonge. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. ii. 59 To lift shrewd Steele against our Golden Crowne. 1607–12 Bacon Ess., Of Wisdome for a Mans selfe (Arb.) 182 An Ant..is a shrewd thing, in an Orchard, or a garden. 1621 Donne 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.| 1382 Wyclif Luke iii. 5 Schrewide thingis [prava] schulen be in to dressid thingis. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love ii. vi. (Skeat) l. 72 Right so he is a shrewe, on whom shreude thinges and badde han most werchinge. c 1400 Beryn 2613 They have a custom, a shrewid for the nonys, Yf [etc.]. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 94 At thi shrewed ws thow wenys me to leid. 1513 Douglas æneis ii. viii. 57 The eddir, with schrewit herbis fed. 1519 Interl. Four Elem. (ed. Pollard) 438 Though he loke never so well, I promyse you he hath a shrewde smell. c 1535 Frere & Boy 283 The good wyffe sayd, wer hast thou be? In schrewyd plas as thynkys me. 1644 Milton Areop. 16 There are shrewd books, with dangerous Frontispices set to sale. 1678 in Lauderdale Papers (1885) III. 140 His Maj{supt}{supi}⊇ 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.| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame 1619, Y graunte yow That ye shal haue a shrewde fame And wikkyd loos. 1527 in Froude Hist. Eng. (1881) I. 523 note, Some of them, as Master Dean hath known a long time, hath had a shrewd name. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Commode, To be ill reported of: to haue a shrewde name. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 232 Shee enlargeth her mirth so farre, that there is shrewd construction made of her. 1621 T. Williamson tr. Goulart's Wise Vieillard 82 Many men..giue good things a shrewd vnhappie, and wrong name. 1664 H. 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.| α 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 21126 Thow hast..Mad a shrewde marchaundyse. 1470–85 Malory Arthur ix. xxiv. 375 There is shrewde herberowe,..lodge where ye will, for I wille not lodge there. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. viii. 17 They will make a shrewde marchaundyce for vs. ? 1537 Thersytes 146 (Pollard) He that should medle with me shall have shrewde rest! 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Coenare malum.., to suppe with sorow and shrewde rest. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia i. (Sommer) 26 b, The Helots..would haue giuen a shrewd welcome to the [invading] Arcadians. |
| β 1593 Tell-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. 1616 Marlowe'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.| c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. cxxvi. (1869) 123, j can with good vynture enoynte a shrewede wheel that cryeth. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. (E.E.T.S.) 1155 With a shrewde face uilis imago. 1571 Golding Calvin on Ps. xviii. 26 A shrewd knot must haue a shrewd wedge [malo nodo quærendum esse malum cuneum]. 1593 Tell-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.| α 1508 Stanbridge Vulgaria (W. de W.) B vj, It is shrewed to Iape with naked swerdes. 1513 Douglas æneis v. ix. 64 The feirfull spa men therof pronosticate Schrewit chancis to betyde. 1531 Frith 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. 1563–83 Foxe A. & M. 1936/2, I aduise thee beware of the fire, it is a shrewd matter to burne. 1595 Shakes. John v. v. 14 Ah fowle, shrew'd newes. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 711 Strangers haue more shrewd entertainment, and scarsely in twentie daies..can shake off this Shaker [ague]. 1623 Middleton More Dissemblers iii. ii, By'r Lady a shrewd business, and a dangerous. 1627 Donne Serm. xxii. (1640) 222 The King, that comes after a good Predecessour, hath a shrewd burthen upon him. 1632 Rowley New Wonder iii. i. E 3, Sir, 'tis a shrewd taske. 1821 J. Baillie Metr. Leg., Lady G. B. liv, The times are shrewd, my treasures spent. |
| β 1482 Cely Papers (Camden) 108 Wee fere here that ther weil be schrode passage to thys Balling martt. 1536 St. 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. 1538 Starkey England i. iii. 79 Yf the yeomanry of Englond were not, in tyme of warre we schold be in schrode case. 1573 G. 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.).
| 1464 Paston Lett. 29 Feb., He wold do Debenham a shrewd turne and he coud. 1530 Palsgr. 712/2, I provoke..him to do a shreude tourne. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Fero, Infortunium ferre,..to haue a shrewde turne. 1593 Passionate Morrice (1876) 76 As a dogge doth that is crept into a hole, hauing done a shroude turne. 1612 Brinsley Lud. Lit. 9 They are..sent to the schoole to keepe them..from danger, and shrewd turnes. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 282 The nurses eie attends the feeble infant, for feare of shrewd turnes. 1660 Jer. Taylor Duct. Dubit. ii. i. rule 5 §3 They can doe a good turne or a shrewd. 1702 Engl. Theophrastus 204 No enemy is so despicable but some time or other he may do a body a shrewd turn. 1724 De 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.| α 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 357 Þe evel þat hatte ficus, þat is a schrewed evel. 1461 Paston Lett. II. 4 Ther was shrewd rewle toward in this cuntre. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. i. 132 b, He gaue a shrewd checke to y⊇ vnmeasurable praiser. 1592 Soliman & P. 426 A shrewd losse, by my faith, sir. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, ii. iii. 41 Humfrey, Duke of Gloster, scarce himselfe, That beares so shrewd a mayme. 1606 Chapman Gent. Usher ii. i. 25, I have been hanted..with a shrewd fever. 1609 G. Archer in Purchas Pilgrims (1625) IV. 1734 Some three or foure dayes after her, came in the Swallow,..and had a shrewd leake. 1626 B. Jonson Staple of News i. Interm. 73 O, but the poore man had got a shrewd mischance, one day. 1658 A. Fox Wurtz' Surg. iii. x. 248 A Wound closed up, where a piece of the vein is yet unhealed,..will cause shrewd Imposthumes. 1713 C'tess of Winchilsea Misc. Poems 180 Meeting with a shrew'd mischance. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xxxi, That is a shrewd loss. |
| β 1482 Cely Papers (Camden) 112 Hytt woll be a shrode losse. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 441 With shrowde fines eftsoones redoubled, if not answered. 1612 N. Field Woman is a Weathercock ii. i, Mrs. Wag...Haulke, hauke. [Coughs and spits.] Page. Shee has a shrowde reach, I see that. 1623 Bradford Plymouth Plant. (1856) 150 His father suffered a shrowd check. |
† b. of temptation.
Obs.| 1601 Death 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. 1650 Fuller Pisgah iii. ii. xii. 437 A shroud bait to tempt his hungry souldiers to sacriledge. 1696 Whiston Theory Earth 61 They were under a shrewd Temptation of thinking very meanly of the Bible it self. |
† c. Qualifying an agent-noun.
Obs.| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 171 marg., Timorousnesse a shrewd hinderer of enterprises. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 123 These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues. |
¶ d. ‘Hard to beat’, formidable.
rare—1.
| 1851 Borrow Lavengro xii, I was now a shrewd walker, thanks to constant practice. |
† e. As a vague intensive.
Obs.| a 1643 W. 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.| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 379 Oure men beeþ schrewed and angry inow to hem self, but in Goddes seruauntes þey leye neuere no hond. c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 1424 The captane than a schrewed ansuer him gaiff. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. xvi, She being sharp-set vpon the fulfilling of a shrewde office in over-looking Philoclea. 1600 Holland Livy xxvii. xxxiv. 654 The hard and shrewd dealings of a mans countrie. 1654 Bramhall 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.| 1481 Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 27 They..gauen hym many a shrewde stroke. a 1500 Brut 593 This shal be þe shrewdest bofet þat euer thow yovyst. 1596 Lodge Wit's Misery (1879) 92 Hee [the devil] will giue a shroud wound with his tongue. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 228 Me thought hee made a shrewd thrust at your Belly. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. 39 Many..were drowned, or forced on shore with shrewd hurts, and bruises. a 1713 T. Ellwood Hist. Life (1714) 237 He struck her with the Stick, a shrewd Blow over the Breast. 1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 9/1 The shrewd thrusts, the flashing fire, with which the hated Voltaire pushed on his work of ‘crushing the Infamous’. 1885 V. L. Cameron Across Africa xvi. (ed. 2) 224 One or two got some shrewd knocks. |
† b. Of conflict or effort.
Obs.| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 43 To abide other bitter bruntes and shrewde skirmishes of aduersitie. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 111 Foure thousand men would have made a shrewd adventure to have taken his Indies from him. 1682 Bunyan Holy War (1905) 412 Many a shrewd brush did some of the Townsmen meet with from them. 1698 Fryer 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.)
| 1842 Tennyson St. Sim. Styl. 195 A sting of shrewdest pain Ran shrivelling thro' me. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxxxiii. 5 A shrewder stimulus arms her, Anger. 1878 Browning Poets Croisic 107 Sharpest shrewdest steel that ever stabbed To death Imposture. |
b. Of the air, wind, weather.
| 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 96 There comes a shrewd right winde, and gets into the hollow of the tree. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 581 All plants..that can endure The winter's frown, if screen'd from his shrewd bite. 1824 W. Irving T. Trav. I. 23 The night was shrewd and windy. 1849 Rossetti Ruggiero & Angelica 9 The sky is harsh, and the sea shrewd and salt. 1864 Lowell Fireside Trav. 337 That shrewd Yorkshire atmosphere. 1894 Crockett Raiders xviii, The air was shrewd as it breathed from the north. |
| advb. 1603 Shakes. Ham. (Qo.) 400 The ayre bites shrewd [Qo. 1604 shroudly]; it is an eager and An nipping winde. |
c. Of sound: Harsh.
rare.
| 1876 Swinburne 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).
| 1577 B. 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. 1619 T. Taylor Titus ii. 8 Bitternesse [is] a shrewd signe of a bad cause. 1630 Donne Serm. xiii. (1640) 135 If our own heart..condemne us, this is shrewd evidence, saies S. Iohn. 1691 Norris Pract. Disc. 186 'Tis a shrewd Symptom of an ill habit of Body. 1692 Bp. 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. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. vi. §17 When a man is against reason, it is a shrewd sign reason is against him. |
b. Of probability, etc.
Obs.| 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. i. 149 A good plain maner of knowelage geuyng it was & a shrewd likelyhood. 1619 Sclater 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. 1709 Shaftesbury 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.| 1606 Holland 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. 1633 Laud 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. 1692 Vindiciæ Carol. ii. 31 The pinching Article against him [Strafford] was the Twenty third... A shrewd Article no doubt, and sufficiently evidences their Crime. 1849 H. 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.| α 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 285 Tweie schrewed [ligitiosissimas] wifes þat wolde alway chide and stryve. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour D vij b, The tale and matere of the euylle and shrewde wyues. 1550 Coverdale Spir. Perle xv, His [Socrates'] curst and shrewd wife. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 20 Thou wilt neuer get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue. 1605 Camden Rem. (1623) 250 Somewhat shrewd to her Seruants. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Shropsh. (1662) 2 The Poets faining Juno, chaste and thrifty, qualities which commonly attend a shrewd nature. |
| β a 1500 Brome Bk. 11 The properte of a schrod qwen ys to have hyr wyll. ? c 1530 in Pol. Rel. & Love Poems, etc. (1903) 58 Thowe shalte bettyr chastise a shrode wyfe with myrthe, then with strokes or smytyng. 1596 Shakes. 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.| 1538 Cromwell 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. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Confero, Maledicta in aliquem, to rayle at one; to geue shrewde woordes. 1606 Holland Sueton. 191 She had reviled him & given him shrewd words. 1632 Lithgow Trav. x. 488 With shrew'd Acerbious speech, you Anathematize. a 1661 Fuller 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.)
| α 1520 Calisto & Melib. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 60 Seeming to be sheep, and serpently shrewd. 1589 Puttenham Engl. Poesie iii. xxi. (Arb.) 257 Least with their shrewd wits, when they were maried they might become a little too phantasticall wiues. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 47 By acting sharpe old men, shrewd servants,..and all such parts as did require some noise and stirre. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 15 June 1675, His lady had ben very handsome, and seem'd a shrewd understanding woman. 1706 Stanhope 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. 1807–8 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 228 A shrewd old gentleman, who stood listening by with a mischievously equivocal look. 1867 Smiles Huguenots Eng. ii. (1880) 25 Palissy was..by nature a shrewd observer and an independent thinker. 1880 L. Stephen Pope iv. 102 A woman of shrewd intellect and masculine character. 1884 Tennyson Falcon i. i. 468 Lady, I find you a shrewd bargainer. |
| absol. 1867 Lowell Fitz Adam's Story 360 Hard-headed and soft-hearted, you'd scarce meet A kinder mixture of the shrewd and sweet. |
| β 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. B 4 b, They told the King he was a foole, and that some shrowd head had knauishly wrought on him. 1605 Chapman All Fools iv. i. H 2, Rinal. Y'aue gotten a learned Notarie Signior Cornelio. Corn. Hees a shroad fellow indeed. 1606 Shakes. 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. 1649 Milton Eikon. xxvi. 502 The shrewdest and the cunningest obloquie that can be thrown upon thir actions. 1761 Hume Hist. Eng. II. xxvii. 120 Empson made a shrewd apology for himself. 1781 Cowper Table-T. 205 The cause..may yet elude Conjecture and remark, however shrewd. 1824 W. Irving T. Trav. II. 259 An eminent man, who had waxed wealthy by driving shrewd bargains with the Indians. 1882 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. II. 113 Taking shrewd advantage of the Lord Chancellor's unlucky mistake. 1884 R. W. Church Bacon iii. 59 He liked to observe, to generalise in shrewd and sometimes cynical epigrams. |
c. Of the face or look.
| 1816 Scott Antiq. i, A shrewd and penetrating eye. 1877 Mrs. Forrester Mignon i, Fred Conyngham..has a plain, shrewd face. 1877 Black 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.)
| 1588 J. Harvey Disc. Probl. 127, I denie not but the wisest..politiques may..giue a shrewd gesse, and go neare the marke. 1599 Warn. Faire Women ii. 1025 Should you be guilty of this fact, As this your flight hath given shrewde suspition. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 429 'Tis a shrew'd doubt, though it be but a Dreame. 1653 H. More Antid. Ath. iii. xii. §3 It is a shrewd presumption that he doth lie with them indeed. 1848 Thackeray 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.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 449/1 Schrewyd hertyd, pravicors. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 47 The priest Calchas was broght by the shrewdwyt Vlisses. 1607 Hieron Wks. I. 197 A shrewd-tongued woman. 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. iv. ii, A shrewd-braine Whorson; there's pith In his vntoward plainenesse. 1629 Maxwell tr. Herodian (1635) 199 A notable shrewd-pated Fellow. 1827 Lytton Pelham xvi, She was a pretty, fair, shrewd-looking person. 1856 J. G. Whittier Panorama 9 The shrewd-eyed salesman, garrulous and loud. 1865 Kingsley Herew. ix, The..shrewdest-headed..Berserker in the North Seas. 1916 C. J. Dennis Songs Sentimental Bloke 43 Now this 'ere gorspil bloke's a fair shrewd 'ead. 1946 J. Morrison in Coast to Coast 163 Some shrewd-head overseas will get the blame for that pillaged case. 1959 Daily Tel. 20 May 17/1 A smiling, shrewd-eyed woman. 1960 N. 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).
| c 1858 E. Dickinson Poems (1955) I. 14 Could a shrewd advise me We might e'en divide—Should a shrewd betray me—Atropos decide! 1954 Picture 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.
| 1977 F. 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.