Dictionary

shadowbox en · NOUN · etymology 1

Etymology

From shadow + box (“cuboid container”).

Meanings

1. A diorama or shallow display case, usually with a glass front.
   • Simply constructed of wood, a shadowbox sign frame 6 inches deep, 11 inches wide and 70 inches long is suspended over the stairway of the Scott Sotre, 124 Fifth Avenue, Jamestown, N.D. 1936 May, “Shadowbox Tops Stairs”, in Chain Store Age, volume 12:
   • To build a shadowbox into the normal sort of hollow-core wall, we first have to make darned sure where we want the thing, for once you start making a shadowbox, there's no going back unless you panel over the whole area with a new surface. 1972, Susanne Stevenson, The Art of Making Houses Liveable, page 174:
   • He put the shadowbox in Daddy's hands . When my father opened his eyes and recognized a display case neatly arranged with new or nearly new specimens of all of his missing World War II medals , badges , ribbons , and insignia, my father literally leapt from his seat with joy. 2000, Katherine Scott Sturdevant, Bringing Your Family History to Life Through Social History, page 80:
   • If you are going to make shadowboxes your hobby, your first consideration must be the room in which you want to place the shadowbox, not the room you want to build inside the shadowbox. 1980, Robert H. Schleicher, Dollhouses & Dioramas, page 102:
2. A rectangular display area that is set off with a frame or drop shadow.
   • Display the movie with a shadowbox effect by clicking the Aspect Ratio button.of mine Luisa Ramirez. 2015, Nancy C. Muir, Computers For Seniors For Dummies, page 294:
   • This will eventually be framed in a shadowbox, I imagine. 2017, Xiomara Roma, The Trudy Silverheels Scrapbook, page 88:
   • This book will show you how to make fabulous origami shadowbox frames to display your art in a beautiful and original way! 2013, Yuri Shumakov, Katrin Shumakov, Origami Shadowbox Frames: Original Approach to Display Your Art:
3. A box with a light inside used for reading X-ray images.
   • To what extent is the x-ray shadowbox used in the medical profession? 2003, Irving Goldstein, Fred Lane, Goldstein Trial Technique - Volume 2, page 12-46:
   • Q. Doctor, insofar as the condition of her back is concerned, would you be good enough to put the shadowbox up again, please? 1971, Personal Injury Annual, page 436:
   • Q. All right. Would they be of any significance in showing the jury through a shadowbox? A. I think they helped confirm the diagnosis. 1962, Records and Briefs New York State Appellate Division, page 475:
4. A shade that surrounds a lit display or screen to make it easier to read in bright environments.
   • A shadowbox extending 270 ° around the diode showed that the beam was reasonably uniform. 1982, IEEE Conference Record--abstracts, page 80:
   • In cases where it is difficult or impossible to reduce room illumination to this value, viewing of the projected image may be improved by providing the screen with a light shield, commonly known as a shadowbox . 1947, The Architects Manual of Engineered Sound Systems, page 87:

Forms

shadowbox en · VERB · etymology 1

Etymology

From shadow + box (“cuboid container”).

Meanings

1. To display in a shadowbox.
   • Awesome is shadowboxed images that float above the site and make your image pop off the screen. 2009, Tris Hussey, Create Your Own Blog:
   • The trailer walls were covered with collectable plates, framed fan art, and shadowboxed phasers and tricorders. 2008, Holly Black, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, page 45:
   • This is also the time to decide which photos will be shadowboxed, which ones will be popped up, and which will lie flat on the paper. 2004, Leisure Arts, Inc, Award-Winning Scrapbook Pages, page 42:

Forms

shadowbox en · VERB · etymology 2

Etymology

From shadow + box (“to fight in a boxing match”).

Meanings

1. To practice moves without an actual opponent, often in front of a mirror.
   • The fighter starts to shadowbox in front of them. 1975, Stephen Dunning, Literature for Adolescents, page 392:
   • He was shadowboxing to keep fit and practice before the big fight.
   • He shadowboxed harder than anyone I had seen before, and I soon developed that habit, too. 2018, Glen Sharp, Punching from the Shadows, page 117:
   • McAfferty giggled, then stepped back and shadowboxed, jabbing the air with his little fists. 2009, Jim Lynch, Border Songs:
2. To engage in evasive maneuvers; to avoid addressing something directly.
   • The situation now clearly demanded the U.S. Army. Yet throughout the day Republican George Romney and the White House shadowboxed. 2005, Mitchell B. Lerner, Looking Back at LBJ: White House Politics in a New Light, page 133:
   • But, he knew, like all the other firms they had to shadowbox around the issue until things got awkward and it was apparent they had discussed everything in the world but money. 1991, John Grisham, The Firm, 1st edition, New York: Doubleday:
   • He wrapped himself forever in the garden of his mind showered with golden cataclysms, sun-explosive and shadowboxed all patentcy of death. 1931, Pagany - Volume 2, Issues 1-3, page 34:
3. (figuratively) To argue with an imaginary enemy.
   • No one here is calling for Joe Peacock to be ostracized. We’re calling him on his bullshit. Brave of you to shadowbox all those non-existent censors though. 2012 July 28, Gulliver [username], “Who Gets To Be a Geek? Anyone Who Wants to Be”, in Whatever, WordPress, Comments:
   • Without being shadowboxed into psychedelic fears about losing Japan as a trader or as a friend — let us remind our Government today that Japan wants what we have and we want them to get what we have but not at the expense of our economy or at an unfair price. 1968, United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Small Business. Subcommittee on Retailing, Distribution, and Marketing Practices, Log-exporting Problems, page 583:
   • The majority of the pages in the dissent are directed at an opinion no longer in existence. Indeed much of the dissent continues to shadowbox with an opinion we never wrote. 2021 July 14, Beverly B. Martin, “Drew Adams v. School Board of St. Johns County, Florida”, in Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, USCA11 Case 18-13592; D.C. Docket No. 3:17-cv-00739-TJC-JBT, page 19:

Forms

Relateds

tilt at windmills (argue with an imaginary enemy)

Translations (2)

eo ombra-boksi (to practice boxing moves) · fi varjonyrkkeillä (to practice boxing moves)