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
-
For instance, Jaime Cardona grows grapes, passionfruit, sugar cane and other crops with his nine-year-old daughter and wife in the town of Saipina, 25 kilometers east of the reserve.—
Brianna Randall,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Breeds commonly seen in Milwaukee – such as pit bull mixes, cane corsos and mastiffs – can’t tolerate more than 15 minutes in freezing weather.—
Quinn Clark,
jsonline.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Federal officers wielded batons and deployed flash-bang devices against the crowd.—
Jack Brook,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Agents pushed back demonstrators with a barrage of stinger ball grenades, pepper balls, tear gas and baton rounds.—
Robert Costa,
CBS News,
18 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shillelagh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shillelagh. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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