Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Covered with long, thick, and untidy hair, fur, or fibers: Describes something that has a rough, unkempt, and often thick covering.
   • Having a rough, uneven, or bushy surface or texture: Can describe natural features like tree bark or man-made items like textiles that are not smooth.

Examples of Usage

• Describing animals:
  • The shaggy dog ran through the field, its coat full of burrs.
  • We saw a shaggy bison on the plains.
• Describing people or their hair:
  • He had a shaggy beard that hadn't been trimmed in months.
  • Her shaggy hair fell over her eyes.
• Describing objects or surfaces:
  • The old armchair was covered in a shaggy brown fabric.
  • The shaggy bark of the ancient tree provided a home for insects.

Advanced Usage

• "Shaggy" in figurative language: Can be used to describe something that is metaphorically rough, unpolished, or disorderly.
  • The manuscript was a shaggy first draft, full of tangents and raw ideas.
• "Shaggy-dog story": An idiom referring to a long, rambling story or joke with a pointless or absurdly anticlimactic ending.
  • He told us a shaggy-dog story that went on for twenty minutes, only to end with a terrible pun.

Variants and Related Words

• Shaggily (adverb): In a shaggy manner.
  • The wool hung shaggily from the sheep.
• Shagginess (noun): The quality or state of being shaggy.
  • The shagginess of the carpet made it difficult to vacuum.
• Shag (noun/verb): Can refer to a thick, rough carpet or fabric (noun), or the act of making something rough (verb). This is a related but distinct word.
  • The room had wall-to-wall shag. (noun)
  • The storm shagged the surface of the sea. (verb - less common)

Synonyms

• Bushy: Thick and spreading (often for hair or foliage).
• Unkempt: Not neatly combed or arranged; messy.
• Hirsute: Hairy (often used in a formal or biological context).
• Shagged: Having a rough, tangled surface (archaic or dialectal).

Idioms and Fixed Phrases

• Shaggy-dog story: As defined in 'Advanced Usage'.
  • The comedian specialized in long, elaborate shaggy-dog stories.

Adjective

1. having a very rough nap or covered with hanging shags
   • junipers with shagged trunks
   • shaggy rugs
2. used of hair; thick and poorly groomed
   • bushy locks
   • a shaggy beard