sheeny en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈʃiːni/
Etymology
Seems to have originated in 1820s London. Could be a mockery of Yiddish שיין (sheyn, “beautiful, nice”), much used in praising wares.
Meanings
-
(ethnic, offensive, slang, slur) A Jew.
Shylock chimes with the jewbaiting that followed the hanging and quartering of the queen’s leech Lopez, his jew’s heart being plucked forth while the sheeny was yet alive.
1922 February 2, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC:Max Baer ain't no Jew. Sure he is. Everybody knows that. Sheeny to the core.
2005, “Creed, OK”, in Carnivàle, episode 17:May I never get groggy, if I shall ever forget the joke between you and the old Sheenie, when you threatened to throw him overboard for selling you a dumb time-keeper. ‘Blesh ma heart,’ said the Jew, while his under works shook like a cutter’s foresail going about, ‘how could you expect de vatch to go well, ven de ship vas all in confusion?’ an excuse that saved him from sailing ashore in a skuttle-bucket.
1825/6, Charles Molloy Westmacott, The English spy, an original work, characteristic, satirical, and humorous, comprising scenes and sketches in every rank of society... drawn from the life by Bernard Blackmantle, London, U.K.:"I've told you before now not to push that long, sheeny beak of yours into my affairs."
1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:O, solomon Levi! Levi! tra la la la! Poor sheeny Levi, Tra la la la la la la la la la My name is Solomon Levi At my store on Salem street That’s where you’ll buy your coats and vests And everything else that’s neat (tra la la) Second-handed Ulsterettes And everything else that’s fine For all the boys they trade with me At a hundred and forty nine
1885, Fred Seaver, “Solomon Levi”Boston, MA, U.S.:One time in Humboldt Park Leo "Bow" Gisensohn, our leader, didn't like the way a cop down by the lake called him "sheeny."
1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Don’t Cry, Ma”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 6:
- (slang) A cheat or fraudster.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| sheeney | alternative | lexicographic | |
| sheenie | alternative | lexicographic | |
| sheenies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (4)
fr youde (a Jew (slur)) · eo judaĉo (a Jew (slur)) · ru жи́д (a Jew (slur)) · fr youpin (a Jew (slur))