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Sep 4, 2009
This week's themeAnimal terms This week's words bird-dog wildcatter frogmarch mawkish shrew Pygmy Shrew
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with Anu Gargshrew
PRONUNCIATION:
(shroo)
MEANING:
noun:
A bad-tempered, nagging woman.
ETYMOLOGY:
Shrew is a mammal of the family Soricidae, having a long, sharp snout.
Several species of shrew have a venomous bite. In the beginning the term
was used metaphorically for anyone of a spiteful nature, male or female.
Eventually the word came to be applied exclusively to women.
USAGE:
"Bibisab's acid tongue and larger than life valour are part of her defence
mechanism. She has to be bold and loud to compete with men in her
male-dominated society. She may appear to be a shrew but she is not
dishonest."Jamil Mahmud; Bibisab: A Woman Going Beyond Gender Roles; The Daily Star (Dhaka, Bangladesh); Jul 15, 2009. See more usage examples of shrew in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt. -Clarence Darrow, lawyer and author (1857-1938)
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