shiner

See also: Shiner

English

The side of a brick which is a shiner.

Etymology

From Middle English schyner, equivalent to shine +‎ -er. Compare Old English sċīnere (“one who produces deceptive appearances, magician”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: shīn'ə(r), IPA^(key): /ˈʃaɪnə(ɹ)/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪnə(ɹ)

Noun

shiner (plural shiners)

1. One who shines; a luminary.
2. One who causes things to shine; a polisher.
3. (colloquial) A black eye.
4. (colloquial) Raccoon eyes.
5. (slang, dated) A bright piece of money, especially a sovereign.
   • 1776, Samuel Foote, The Capuchin:

     Has she the shiners, d'ye think?

   • 1789, Harris's List of Covent-Garden Ladies, London: H. Ranger, page 30:

     She may be generally found in the fore part of the day at her lodgings above mentioned, where a brace of shiners will ensure you the possession of charms above their value, cent per cent.

6. Any of numerous species of small freshwater American cyprinoid fishes of Notropis, Lythrurus, and allied genera, such as the redfin.
7. Any silvery fish, such as the horsefish, menhaden, or moonfish.
8. A common silverfish (Lepisma saccharinum, or any member of genus Lepisma.
10. (slang) A moonshiner.
11. A small reflective surface used for cheating at card games.

    Synonym: convex

    • 2003, Jon Sharpe, Trailsman #258: Casino Carnage:

      Fargo wasn't sure what difference it made if one gambler passed something to another, unless it was to be used in cheating, a shiner maybe. But nobody at that table would let a shiner pass.

12. (wine) A bottle of finished wine, without a label.
    • 2008, James Laube, “Shiners Are a Secret Part of the Wine Business”, in Wine Spectator‎^[1]:

      Shiners are a big part of the wine business. […] Shiners are finished, bottled wines that don’t have a label or typically any other identifying feature until a vintner purchases them and then places a label on the bottles. […] They’re called shiners because they are unlabeled and have a “shiny” appearance.

13. A brick that is laid on its tallest, thinnest side, with its largest face facing the outside of the wall (oriented so that this face is wider than it is tall).

Derived terms

• beautiful shiner (Cyprinella formosa)
• bigeye shiner (Notropis boops)
• bigmouth shiner (Notropis dorsalis)
• blackchin shiner (Notropis heterodon)
• blacknose shiner (Notropis heterolepis)
• blacktail shiner (Cyprinella venusta)
• blueside shiner (Lythrurus ardens)
• bridle shiner (Notropis bifrenatus)
• carmine shiner (Notropis percobromus)
• comely shiner (Notropis amoenus)
• common shiner (Luxilus cornutus)
• eastern shiners (Notropis spp., esp. Notropis dorsalis)
• emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides)
• finescale shiners (Lythrurus spp.)
• flagfin shiners (Pteronotropis spp.)
• golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas)
• highscale shiners (Luxilus spp.)
• Kiamichi shiner (Notropis ortenburgeri)
• palezone shiner (Notropis albizonatus)
• phantom shiner (Notropis orca)
• redlip shiner (Notropis chiliticus)
• red shiner (Cyprinella lutrensis)
• redside shiners (Richardsonius spp.)
• red-striped shiner (Richardsonius egregius)
• rosefin shiner (Lythrurus ardens)
• sand shiner (Notropis stramineus)
• satinfin shiners (Cyprinella spp.)
• scarlet shiner (Lythrurus fasciolaris)
• sharpnose shiner (Notropis oxyrhynchus)
• shiner perch (Cymatogaster aggregata)
• silverband shiner (Notropis shumardi)
• spottail shiner
• swallowtail shiner (Notropis procne)
• Tennessee shiner (Notropis leuciodus)

 

Translations

black eye — see black eye

References

• “*shiner”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• shiner on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• shiner Teleostei on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Category:shiner Teleostei on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Anagrams

• Hiners, Hirens, renshi, rhines, shrine