variants
also shillalah
as in cane
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment
the bartender in the Irish pub keeps a shillelagh behind the bar just in case there's trouble
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shillelagh
McDonagh had some help from Finn Balor, who hit Sheamus with a shillelagh when the referee was distracted.
—
Fernando Quiles Jr, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
Kelly professionalized a program that kept tripping over its own shillelagh.
—Pete Sampson, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
Sheamus brought Rusev to the first row and then hit the 10 Beats for yet a third time, this time with a shillelagh.
—Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Maier, who was heading out of town that weekend for a meeting of the National League of Cities, saw the foot-long shillelagh and, according to a Milwaukee Sentinel story by Marta Bender, mistook it for a pipe.
—Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 3 July 2025
The original shillelagh was retired with a new one introduced in 1997.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Or this:Youu can't pack a shillelagh in your carry-on: TSA finds cudgel at Idaho airport Meg Foster, a justice fellow at Georgetown University's Center on Privacy and Technology, said there are concerns about bias within the algorithms of various facial recognition technologies.
—Rebecca Santana and Rick Gentilo, USA TODAY, 15 May 2023
Fernando Quiles Jr, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
Kelly professionalized a program that kept tripping over its own shillelagh.
—Pete Sampson, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
Sheamus brought Rusev to the first row and then hit the 10 Beats for yet a third time, this time with a shillelagh.
—Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Maier, who was heading out of town that weekend for a meeting of the National League of Cities, saw the foot-long shillelagh and, according to a Milwaukee Sentinel story by Marta Bender, mistook it for a pipe.
—Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 3 July 2025
The original shillelagh was retired with a new one introduced in 1997.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Or this:Youu can't pack a shillelagh in your carry-on: TSA finds cudgel at Idaho airport Meg Foster, a justice fellow at Georgetown University's Center on Privacy and Technology, said there are concerns about bias within the algorithms of various facial recognition technologies.
—Rebecca Santana and Rick Gentilo, USA TODAY, 15 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shillelagh
Noun
-
The state regulates 132 dams across Hawaii, most of them built as part of irrigation systems for the sugar cane industry, according to a 2019 infrastructure report by the American Society of Civil Engineers.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Alberto Rodríguez, 73, limped with a cane down a deserted industrial street.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
San Diego Symphony musicians will perform the opera’s score under the baton of conductor Louis Lohraseb, who is making his company debut.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
-
The video shows officers used Tasers again and struck him with batons, but Runyen in the video said both were ineffective.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shillelagh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shillelagh. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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