Definition

1. Noun:

   • A simple, informal version of hockey: A game, often played by children, using a ball or a makeshift puck (like a can) on streets, ice, or a field, typically with simple rules and improvised equipment.

2. Verb:

   • To climb awkwardly or with effort: To ascend something, especially a tree or pole, by gripping with the hands and legs, often in a scrambling, ungraceful manner.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The kids organized a quick game of shinny on the frozen pond.
  • All you need for shinny is a stick and a ball.

• Verb:

  • He managed to shinny up the tree to rescue the cat.
  • We had to shinny over the fence to get the ball back.

Advanced Usage

• "to shinny up [something]": This is the most common verb construction, specifying what is being climbed.
  • The sailor shinnied up the mast to fix the sail.

Variants and Related Words

• Shinny (noun): Sometimes spelled "shinney." It is a variant of the game "shinty," a traditional Scottish game similar to field hockey.
• Shin (verb): A related verb meaning to climb quickly by gripping with the shins and hands. "Shinny" is often considered an extension or variant of this.

Synonyms

• Noun: Street hockey, pick-up hockey.
• Verb: Clamber, scramble, scale, swarm (up a tree).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Shinny up: To climb something, especially using one's arms and legs for grip.
  • The firefighter shinnied up the ladder with impressive speed.

Related Idioms

• No specific idioms are commonly formed with the word "shinny" itself. The word is typically used in its literal senses.

Noun

1. a simple version of hockey played by children on the streets (or on ice or on a field) using a ball or can as the puck

Verb

1. climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling