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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

shafty en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • /ˈʃɑːf.ti/ trap–bath split
  • (US) audio
  • /ˈʃæf.ti/

Etymology

From shaft + -y.

Meanings

  1. (Australia, of wool) Having long and dense fibres.
    • It can, however, comb equally well the shaftiest of merinos and fine crossbreds, giving actually more intensive combing than the Noble comb 1938, Textile Manufacturer:
    • In several of the flocks there is a most perfect shafty wool, and, although strong, is full of quality. 1900, Alfred Hawkesworth, "Australasian Sheep & Wool.": A Practical and Theoretical Treatise, page 170:
  2. (US, dated, of a car) Powerful, cool
    • And he drives a real shafty convertible! 1952, Frank Murray, A Young Man's Fancy, Jam Handy:
    • A Cadillac convertible is real cool or even shafty, and its driver, particularly if he be cat, or well-dressed, is cool Jonah. [1951, Newsweek:
    • That's a French Bug he cruises in. A real shafty job. 1954, The Saturday Evening Post:
  3. (of a man, vulgar) Well-endowed; having a large penis.
    • we invented rites and barbaric ceremonies, garlanded in flowers the shaftiest studs, proclaimed them Vicars of Christ on Earth, squeezed out the last drop of sacred liqueur from their cocks on unforgettable nights we evoked in mystic rapture[…] 2005 11, Juan Goytisolo, A Cock-Eyed Comedy, City Lights Books, →ISBN, page 165:
  4. (of plumage, qualifier:poultry fancy) Having visible feather shafts.
    • A common fault is irregularity of hackle striping, many exhibits having the black stripe very much broken, and others have what is termed a "shafty" hackle. 1932, The Feathered World Year Book:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
shaftie alternative lexicographic
shaftier Degree=Cmp lexicographic
shaftiest Degree=Sup lexicographic

shafty en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈʃɑːf.ti/ trap–bath split
  • (US) audio
  • /ˈʃæf.ti/

Etymology

From shaft + -y.

Meanings

  1. (informal) A bicycle that uses a driveshaft instead of a chain to transmit power from the pedals to the wheel.
    • At the rear, you'll find a single, centrally mounted shock, the now-familiar single-sided swingarm and BMW's Paralever shaft-drive system, which does away with most of a shafty's chassis-jacking bugaboos. 1994, Cycle World Magazine, volume 33, number 1, page 49:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
shafties Number=Plur lexicographic
shaftie alternative lexicographic