shanghai
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
shanghai1 /ʃaŋˈhʌɪ/
▶verb (shanghais, shanghaiing, shanghaied)
- 1 historical force to join a ship's crew by underhand means.
- 2 informal coerce or trick into a place or action.
– origin C19: from Shanghai, a major Chinese seaport.
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
shanghai2 /ʃaŋˈhʌɪ/ Austral./NZ
▶noun (pl. shanghais) a catapult. ▶verb (shanghais, shanghaiing, shanghaied) shoot with or as with a catapult.
– origin C19: prob. an alt. of Scots dial. shangan ‘a stick cleft at one end’.
'shanghai' also found in these Oxford entries:
