Shawshank

English

Etymology

A reference to the 1982 novel Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King and its 1994 film adaptation The Shawshank Redemption.

Verb

Shawshank (third-person singular simple present Shawshanks, present participle Shawshanking, simple past and past participle Shawshanked)

1. To escape, especially by tunneling out or without warning.
   • 2009, Kilt Kilpatrick, “Last Times at Ridgemont High”, in Lori Perkins, editor, Hungry for Your Love: An Anthology of Zombie Romance, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Griffin, →ISBN, page 314:

     After endless Shawshanking through the ducts, I came to a grate that offered my first break from the horror show.

   • 2012, Phil Brody, The Holden Age of Hollywood:

     Kid up and disappears, Shawshanks like a fart in the wind.

   • 2013, Maggie Robinson, Elyssa Patrick, Holiday for Two:

     It was like everything in him had been set free. Like the secret part of himself—the one he kept hidden and didn't let out so he could remain safe and intact—had Shawshanked itself and wasn't going to let it be captured again.

   • 2017, Alex Wheatle, Straight Outta Crongton, London: Atom Books, →ISBN, page 277:

     'So your mind's made up?' Elaine said. 'You're Shawshanking out on us?'

   • 2021, Mary Hughes, Night's Bliss:

     And nothing to scrape with, so we're not Shawshanking our way out.

2. To punish (someone) for something that they did not do.
   • 1997, Randi Reisfeld, Too Hottie to Handle, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 131:

     Jim hadn't, but he did agree to give us more time before he Shawshanked me.

   • 2015, Buffy: Season Nine Library Edition Volume 3, page 165:

     Sorry you got Shawshanked, but it doesn't change anything.

   • 2017, M.C. Cerny, The Warden:

     I could have been honest, said it was all a mistake and that I'd been shawshanked, but that hadn't won me any favors so far.

   • 2022, Kathleen Ann Tia, The Naked Green Eyes, page 3:

     It's like going to prison with an innocent conscience: he Shawshanked me real hard; and it was up to me to dig my way out to freedom.

3. To accomplish something by doing a little bit at a time over a long period of time.
   • 2020·, Gerry Ugalde, Dancing with Disease:

     I had just given notice at work that I was taking a leave and I wanted to start "Shawshanking" things home

   • 2022, Chris Tuff, Save Your Asks:

     Easy, I shawshaked you.

4. To rape (a man, by a man) as an act of dominance and bullying.
   • 2022, Mamadou Ndiaye, 100 Animals That Can F*cking End You, page 107:

     This isn't an act of love; he's basically getting Shawshanked by a long-necked bully.

Noun

Shawshank (plural Shawshanks)

1. A literal or figurative prison.
   • 2012, Vance Brown, No Matter the Cost, page 174:

     We all have our Shawshanks. Some of us have broken free.

   • 2016, Maura Grady, Tony Magistrale, The Shawshank Experience, page 130:

     […] the various walls men elect to live behind inside their own self-constructed Shawshanks, laboring under the debilitating belief that they have no other choice than to mirror the quiet desperation of their own experience (or their father's) by living in isolation.

   • 2017, Jeff Lazarus, Catakism:

     Therefore, cat strollers are designed as rolling mini Shawshanks, keeping your kitty locked in, while you get the benefits of a walk.