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Shrew-mouse

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A small insectivorous mammal, resembling a mouse in form. It was supposed to have the power of injuring cattle by running over them; and to provide a remedy our forefathers used to plug the creature into a hole made in an ash-tree, any branch of which would cure the mischief done by the mouse. (Anglo-Saxon, screawa, a shrew-mouse; mouse is expletive.)

 

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.

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Shorne (Sir John) or Master John Shorne
Short
Short Stature (Noted Men of)
Shot
Shot in the Locker
Shot Window (A)
Shotten Herring
Shoulder
Shovel-board
Show
Shrew-mouse
Shrieking Sisterhood (The)
Shrimp
Shropshire
Shrovetide Cocks
Shunamite’s House (The)
Shunt
Shut up
Shy
Shylock
Shylock (A)