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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shillelagh
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
There are fleas and chamber pots and thumbed noses and a St. Patrick’s Day picnic that — hold on to your shillelagh!
—Dan Barry, New York Times, 15 Mar. 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
Air travelers, take note: Be sure to keep your guns and your knives and shillelaghs – and your cats for that matter – out of your carry-ons.
—Forrest Brown, CNN, 19 Apr. 2023
In contemporary times, some people study bataireacht, a type of Irish martial art, using the shillelagh.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2023
Owusu Koramoah loved it when former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly hoisted the jeweled shillelagh in the locker room when the Irish would beat USC.
—Jimmy Watkins, cleveland, 9 Dec. 2022
The shillelagh, a tall walking stick, was also a protection against large animals.
—Brenda Yenke, cleveland, 24 Mar. 2022
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
There are fleas and chamber pots and thumbed noses and a St. Patrick’s Day picnic that — hold on to your shillelagh!
—Dan Barry, New York Times, 15 Mar. 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
Air travelers, take note: Be sure to keep your guns and your knives and shillelaghs – and your cats for that matter – out of your carry-ons.
—Forrest Brown, CNN, 19 Apr. 2023
In contemporary times, some people study bataireacht, a type of Irish martial art, using the shillelagh.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2023
Owusu Koramoah loved it when former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly hoisted the jeweled shillelagh in the locker room when the Irish would beat USC.
—Jimmy Watkins, cleveland, 9 Dec. 2022
The shillelagh, a tall walking stick, was also a protection against large animals.
—Brenda Yenke, cleveland, 24 Mar. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shillelagh
Noun
-
These toads are a non-native species introduced to control sugar cane pests almost a century ago.—
Lois K. Solomon,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Raised in a small town in Puebla, Mexico, her parents grew sugar cane to support a family that struggled financially.—
Olivia Cyrus,
Sacbee.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Then, sometime after midnight on July 18, guards began banging their batons on the bars of the men’s cells.—
Perla Trevizo,
ProPublica,
30 July 2025
-
The baton has officially been passed on to 30-year-old Andrew Kuski, who became the new Dealer Principal of the storied dealership in April 2025, ushering in a bold new era for the Chapman Chevrolet Buick GMC legacy.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
29 July 2025
Noun
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The new rate only applies to semi-finished copper products, such as copper pipes, wires, rods, sheets, and tubes, as well as copper-intensive derivative products, such as pipe fittings, cables, and connectors, according to the White House fact sheet.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
30 July 2025
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This rod becomes the foundation of a new kind of interface between the body and machine.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
22 July 2025
Noun
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The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s branch in Scranton, Pa., have found new subjects in the offshoot, still set in the world of paper: the eclectic staff of The Truth Teller, a historic Midwestern newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, well past its glory days.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Coaching staff found football training equipment, shoulder pads and 60 helmets missing from the storage container outside of the Park District community center at 13800 South Trumbull Ave.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shillelagh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shillelagh. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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