shipshape en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈʃɪpʃeɪp/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Received-Pronunciation) audio
- /ˈʃɪpˌʃeɪp/ (General-American)
Etymology
From ship + shapen (“shaped; wrought with a definite shape”), later shortened to shape. The word is of nautical origin, based on the obligation of a sailor to keep his or her quarters arranged neatly and securely due to the limited space typically allotted to service members aboard ship, and against turbulence at sea.
Meanings
-
Meticulously neat and tidy.
When we set out on the jolly voyage of life, what a brave fleet there is around us, as stretching our fresh canvas to the breeze, all "shipshape and Bristol fashion," pennons flying, music playing, cheering each other as we pass, we are rather amused than alarmed when some awkward comrade goes right ashore for want of pilotage!
1827, [Walter Scott], chapter VII, in Chronicles of the Canongate; […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London: Simpkin and Marshall, →OCLC, page 111:[I]t would have been more ship-shape to lower the bight of a rope, or a running bow-line, below me, than to seize an old sea-man by his head-lanyard; [...]
1823, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter V, in The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: Charles Wiley; […], →OCLC, page 83:SHIP-shape, in a seaman-like manner; as "That mast is not rigged ship-shape;" "Put her about ship-shape," &c.
[1801, J. J. Moore, “SHIP-shape”, in The British Mariner’s Vocabulary, […], London: […] T. Hurst [et al.], →OCLC:Well, Captain Smollett, what have you to say? All well, I hope; all shipshape and seaworthy?
1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Powder and Arms”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part II (The Sea Cook), page 70:Annie, my girl, cheer up, be comforted, / Look to the babes, and till I come again, / Keep everything shipshape, for I must go.
1864, Alfred Tennyson, “Enoch Arden”, in Enoch Arden, &c., London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 13:Dr. Marks said I'm shipshape. Those were his exact words. Or maybe he said tip-top. It was something alliterative.
2005 July 1, Kelly Link, “Stone Animals”, in Magic for Beginners: Stories, trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House, published 2014, →ISBN, page 114:[Y]ou got the downhaul to keep him in place real snug like. Otherwise it just ain't shipshape. Hell, everybody knows that.
1989 August 17, Tom Clancy, Clear and Present Danger, premium tie-in edition, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, published November 2018, →ISBN, page 141:Having made sure everything is shipshape, the colonel goes back to the controls and starts to bring the plane down.
1950 July, “Night Flight”, in Jim Douglas, editor, Boeing Magazine, volume XX, number 7, Seattle, Wash.: Public Relations Division, Boeing Airplane Company, →OCLC, page 14, column 3:[G]lad to see you, gentlemen—steerage not quite shipshape at present—overhauling ship, you see; but when we once get under way, get things shipshape, you know.
1835 July, Jack Block, “The Cruise of the Mohawk”, in The American Monthly Magazine, volume V, number V, New York, N.Y.: D. K. Minor, and T. & C. Wood, →OCLC, page 421:― When are you going out fishing again? / ― Oh, in about six weeks, when we're shipshape aloft.
1937 May 11, John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every, 1:44:00 from the start, in Captains Courageous, [Hollywood, Calif.]: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more shipshape | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| ship-shape | alternative | lexicographic | |
| most shipshape | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
disorderly · cluttered · sluttish · tempestuous · riotous · tumultuous · ree-raw · untidy · turbulent · tumultuary · messy · chaotic
Deriveds
shipshape and Bristol fashion · Bristol fashion and shipshape · unshipshape · shipshapely
Synonyms
orderly · regular · squared away · neat as a pin · ruly · shipshape and Bristol fashion · shipshape and Bristol fashion · in order · all Sir Garnet · tight · trim · tidy · prest · neat and tidy · nice as ninepence · neat as a new pin · well-kept · Bristol fashion and shipshape · tight · tosh · shipshape · trig · neat · tiptop
Translations (20)
cs tip ťop (meticulously neat and tidy) · bg в отлично състояние (meticulously neat and tidy) · tl maayos (meticulously neat and tidy) · cs v pořádku (meticulously neat and tidy) · ga slachtmhar (meticulously neat and tidy) · pl staranny (meticulously neat and tidy) · pl uporządkowany (meticulously neat and tidy) · es ordenado (meticulously neat and tidy) · de tipptopp (meticulously neat and tidy) · cs úpravný (meticulously neat and tidy) · cs bezvadný (meticulously neat and tidy) · ka აკურატული (meticulously neat and tidy) · ka აკრძალვითად (meticulously neat and tidy) · pt ordenado (meticulously neat and tidy) · de picobello (meticulously neat and tidy) · cs úhledný (meticulously neat and tidy) · hi ठीक-ठाक (meticulously neat and tidy) · pl schludny (meticulously neat and tidy) · es bien orientado (meticulously neat and tidy) · cs dokonalý (meticulously neat and tidy)