shoot one's wad

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

shoot one's wad (third-person singular simple present shoots one's wad, present participle shooting one's wad, simple past and past participle shot one's wad)(slang)

1. To expend all of one's resources or efforts; to express all the arguments or ideas which one has.
   • 1888 June, The Railroad Brakeman's Journal, volume 5, number 6, page 266:

     Well, I guess I have about "shot my wad," and had better "cork up," or I might find my way to the waste-basket.

   • 1906 November, The Railway Clerk, volume 5, number 11, page 460:

     There, I have shot my wad. I have told you in a few words what we have done, and you, my brothers, are now standing just where we were 25 years ago.

   • 1963, Garet Rogers, Scandal in Eden, a novel.:

     "You're not pregnant again?" he inquired chattily. "God, no. Fritzie shot his wad." "Quite a wad," Mark approved.

   • 1985 May 26, Richard Witkin, “Pilots and United halt talks seeking strike's end”, in New York Times, retrieved 21 August 2013:

     Negotiations between United Airlines and striking pilots broke off yesterday after the two sides . . . became deadlocked over back-to-work provisions. . . . Ralph Colliander, a board mediator, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying: "We have shot our wad. You get burnt up once in a while."

   • 1993, Steve Martini, Compelling Evidence‎^[1], →ISBN:

     When the old hair falls out, new hair begins to replace it, and the cycle starts again, though not for Harry, who says his follicles have shot their wad.

   • 2004, Stephen Goodwin, Breaking Her Fall, →ISBN, page 179:

     I have a special fondness for all late summer bloomers since so many gardens, and all the fancy perennial gardens, have shot their wad by then.

2. To spend all of one's money.
   • 1982 October 31, Louise M. Forscher, “Letter to Editor: Lake District”, in New York Times, retrieved 21 August 2013:

     During the summer of 1965 my two daughters and I, traveling on a very limited budget, shot our wad at Sharrow Bay - and never regretted a penny of it.

3. (vulgar, of a man) To ejaculate.
   • 1974, Sam Savoy, Hot and hard:

     However, Mike had shot his wad into the mouth of the man whose body was now jammed back against his and he began jacking the throbbing cock faster and harder!

   • 2003, Harlyn Aizley, Buying Dad: One Woman's Search for the Perfect Sperm Donor, Los Angeles, Calif.: Alyson Books, →ISBN, page 70:

     It's a strange thing this yellow liquid, the bodily fluid of a stranger. What was he thinking when he shot his wad? Is he somewhere now wondering about his sperm? Is he at this very moment wondering if a woman somewhere is inseminating with his seed? Well, we are! Here we are in Boston, and we are!

   • 2008, Chaucer Malone, Miguk, the Holy Man, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 490:

     Grabbing hold of his throbbing organ, he started to turn away from her, had second thoughts, and proceeded to shoot his wad, ejaculate all over the sweating, sultry body that was stretched out, languishing at his feet.

   • 2010, Simon Sheppard, Sodomy!: Stories, Maple Shade, N.J.: Lethe Press, →ISBN, page 62:

     [W]henever a particularly delectable wrestler got tossed across the ring, landing with a meaty thump, his dick would swell and tingle and he'd nearly shoot his wad.

Synonyms

• (spend all one's money): blow one's wad
• (expend all one's resources): blow one's load, blow one's wad, shoot one's bolt
• (ejaculate): blow one's wad, shoot one's load, see Thesaurus:ejaculate

References

• “shoot one's wad”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.