shimmy
shimmy Lexical Profile
shimmy Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A lively jazz dance popular in the 1920s, characterized by rapid, alternating shaking of the shoulders and hips while holding the body relatively stiff.
"The performers on stage ended their routine with an energetic shimmy that delighted the audience."
An abnormal, rapid wobbling or vibration, especially in the front wheels or steering mechanism of a motor vehicle.
"The mechanic balanced the front tires to eliminate the dangerous shimmy in the steering wheel at highway speeds."
A woman's loose-fitting slip or chemise worn as an undergarment.
"In the nineteen-twenties, she wore a silk shimmy beneath her beaded evening dress."
• verb
To dance the shimmy, or to shake the shoulders and hips rapidly from side to side.
"The dancers began to shimmy across the floor as the brass band picked up the tempo."
To move effortlessly or edge sideways through a narrow space with a twisting or wriggling motion.
"He had to shimmy along the narrow rock ledge to reach the other side of the canyon."
To vibrate, shake, or wobble abnormally (especially of a vehicle's wheels or steering mechanism).
"The old truck started to shimmy violently as soon as it hit sixty miles per hour."
• Rhymes for shimmy
Word Origin & Etymology
Originally a 19th-century American English alteration of 'chemise' (mistaking the final '-s' sound for a plural and back-forming a singular). The dance and vibration senses developed in the early 20th century, likely from the way a chemise shakes on the body during rapid movement.