# shank

Pronunciation: say "SHANGK" /ʃæŋk/

## Noun

1. The lower leg, the section running from the knee down to the ankle; the shin.
   - Simple: The part of your leg between your knee and your ankle.
   - _His trousers were too short and showed a pale stretch of shank above each sock._
   - _The heron stood motionless on its thin shanks at the edge of the pond._
2. Meat cut from the lower leg of an animal.
   - Simple: Meat from the lower leg of an animal.
   - _Braised shank is cheap, but it needs hours in the oven to turn tender._
   - _The restaurant serves veal shanks over creamy polenta._
4. An improvised stabbing weapon, originally one made by prisoners. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A homemade knife, first made by people in prison.
   - _During the search, officers confiscated three shanks fashioned from bed springs._
   - _The inmate kept a shank taped inside his shoe._
5. A straight, narrow part of an object, such as the shaft of a key or an anchor.
   - Simple: The long, thin, straight part of something, like a key or an anchor.
   - _The locksmith filed a new notch into the shank of the key._
   - _Barnacles had crusted the shanks of both anchors by the end of the season._
6. A badly mishit golf shot struck off the hosel, where the clubhead is joined to the shaft.
   - Simple: A bad golf shot where the ball is hit by the part of the club where the head meets the stick.
   - _A nervous shank on the eighteenth hole cost him the tournament._
   - _Few things rattle a golfer like a shank that shoots off almost sideways._
8. A projecting part of an object by which it is, or can be, attached to something else.
   - Simple: The part that sticks out of a tool or object so it can be fixed onto something.
   - _This router bit has a half-inch shank, so it needs the larger collet._
   - _The blade's shank fits into the wooden handle and is held by two rivets._
11. The end or remainder of something, especially of a period of time.
   - Simple: The last part of something, especially of a stretch of time.
   - _By the shank of the winter, the woodpile had dwindled to a few damp logs._
   - _She spent the shank of her vacation, its last three days, visiting her parents._
12. The principal part, or the opening stretch, of a period of time such as an evening.
   - Simple: The main part or the start of a period of time.
   - _Stay for another round; it's barely the shank of the evening._
   - _Farmers do their heaviest work in the shank of the morning, before the heat sets in._
13. The central part of a fishhook, between the eye and the curved part that bends toward the point.
   - Simple: The middle part of a fishhook, between the hole for the line and the curved end.
   - _Slide the bait up the shank until it covers the eye._
   - _Long-shank hooks make it easier to unhook a fish that has swallowed the bait._
14. A loop on the back of a button, forming the eye by which it is sewn on.
   - Simple: A small loop on the back of a button that you sew through.
   - _Buttons with a shank sit slightly away from the fabric, leaving room for a thick coat._
   - _The shank snapped off, and the button rolled under the sofa._
15. The narrow part of a shoe's sole beneath the instep, joining the broader front section to the heel.
   - Simple: The narrow part of the bottom of a shoe, under the arch, between the front and the heel.
   - _The outsole is thick at the toe and heel but much thinner at the shank._
   - _The cobbler replaced the worn front of the sole and left the shank and heel untouched._
16. A metal strip set into the waist of a shoe to strengthen it.
   - Simple: A strip of metal inside a shoe that makes its narrow middle part stronger.
   - _Without a steel shank, the boot's sole twisted every time he climbed a ladder._
   - _Workers glued the metal shanks into place before the outsoles went on._
17. The handle of a pair of shears, the part that joins the ride to the neck.
   - Simple: The handle part of a pair of shears.
   - _The shearer gripped the shanks of his hand shears and clipped the fleece close to the skin._
   - _The blacksmith straightened the bent shank so the blades would meet cleanly again._
18. On a curb bit, the metal arm below the mouthpiece to which the reins attach; its length sets how severe the bit's leverage is.
   - Simple: The metal bar below the mouthpiece of a horse's curb bit. The reins attach to it, and longer bars press harder.
   - _Trainers often start a young horse on a bit with a short shank before trying anything stronger._
   - _Because the shanks are so long, even a gentle pull on the reins puts strong pressure on the horse's mouth._
22. A large ladle for molten metal, fitted with long bars by which it is handled.
   - Simple: A big ladle with long bars for carrying and pouring hot melted metal.
   - _At the foundry, two men carried the brimming shank between them by its long bars._
   - _The casters tipped their shanks slowly so the molten brass filled every corner of the molds._
23. A pair of flat-nosed pliers that opticians use to chip away the edges of glass pieces until they are round.
   - Simple: Flat pliers that eyeglass makers use to snip the edges off pieces of glass to make them round.
   - _The optician worked around the glass with a shank, nipping off tiny chips until the piece was nearly round._
   - _Every bench in the old lens shop had its own shank and a pile of square glass blanks._
24. In Doric architecture, the space between two of the channels cut into a triglyph.
   - Simple: In Doric buildings, the flat band between two grooves on a triglyph.
   - _The architect's drawing marked the width of each shank between the triglyph's channels._
   - _On the restored frieze, the shanks catch the light while the channels between them stay in shadow._
26. A redshank or greenshank: any of several Old World wading birds of the genus Tringa with distinctly colored legs. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A redshank or greenshank, a wading bird with brightly colored legs.
   - _Birders on the estuary counted a dozen shanks probing the mud at low tide._
   - _A shank burst up from the creek, its bright legs trailing as it flew off._

## Verb

3. To knife someone, typically with a crude blade fashioned from whatever is at hand. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To stab someone, often with a homemade knife.
   - _Rumors spread that a gang leader had ordered someone to shank the informant._
   - _Someone shanked him with a sharpened toothbrush, and he spent a week in the prison infirmary._
7. To mishit a golf ball with the part of the club head joined to the shaft.
   - Simple: In golf, to hit the ball by mistake with the part where the club head meets the stick.
   - _Under pressure, even professionals can shank a simple wedge shot._
   - _She shanked her approach into the crowd, scattering spectators._
9. To hit or kick a ball off in a direction one did not intend.
   - Simple: To hit or kick a ball the wrong way by mistake.
   - _The striker shanked his volley wide of the post with the goal at his mercy._
   - _Punters who shank a kick in the fourth quarter rarely hear the end of it._
10. To pull down or remove someone else's pants, especially as a joke. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To pull down or take off someone's pants, usually as a joke.
   - _At summer camp, the older kids would sneak up and shank anyone wearing sweatpants._
   - _Someone shanked him during the team photo, and the picture shows him grabbing for his shorts._
19. To provide a button with a shank, a loop that forms its eye.
   - Simple: To give a button a shank, a small loop that works as its eye.
   - _Tailors shank the buttons on heavy wool coats so they sit above the thick fabric._
   - _The factory bought a new system for shanking the buttons on jackets and blouses._
20. To fit the shank into a shoe during its manufacture.
   - Simple: To put the shank into a shoe while the shoe is being made.
   - _Workers who shank shoes by hand glue each metal strip along the bottom before the sole is attached._
   - _The plant hired extra hands to shank the spring line of boots._
21. Of a leaf, flower, or capsule: to fall off because disease has attacked the stalk supporting it; usually followed by off.
   - Simple: Of a leaf, flower, or seed pod: to drop off because the small stem holding it is sick.
   - _Half the young grapes shanked off when stem rot spread through the vineyard._
   - _In a damp greenhouse, the seed pods began to shank off as the stalks blackened._

## Noun

25. The body of a piece of printing type, the part between the shoulder and the foot. *(dated)*
   - Simple: In printing with metal type, the main body of a piece of type, between its shoulder and its foot.
   - _The compositor set each piece so that every shank stood square in the stick._
   - _Shanks worn thin by years of use made the letters sit unevenly on the press._

## Verb

27. To travel on foot. *(archaic, Ulster)*
   - Simple: To go somewhere on foot.
   - _With no money for the fare, the lads shanked the whole way to the fair._
   - _If the pony is still lame in the morning, we'll shank over the hill to the village._

## Origin

From Middle English schanke, from Old English sċanca ("leg"), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō and Proto-Germanic *skankô, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng-. It is related to Dutch schenkel and German Schenkel ("shank, leg"); compare Ancient Greek σκάζω (skázō, "to limp").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/shank (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).