Part 295

Shal"low-brained` (?), a. Weak in intellect; foolish; empty-headed. South.

Shal"low-heart`ed (?), a. Incapable of deep feeling. Tennyson.

Shal"low*ly, adv. In a shallow manner.

Shal"low*ness, n. Quality or state of being shallow.

Shal"low-pat`ed (?), a. Shallow- brained.

Shal"low-waist`ed (?), a. (Naut.) Having a flush deck, or with only a moderate depression amidships; -- said of a vessel.

Shalm (?), n. See Shawm. [Obs.] Knolles.

Shalt (?), 2d per. sing. of Shall.

Shal"y (?), a. Resembling shale in structure.

Sham (?), n. [Originally the same word as shame, hence, a disgrace, a trick. See Shame, n.] 1. That which deceives expectation; any trick, fraud, or device that deludes and disappoint; a make-believe; delusion; imposture, humbug. "A mere sham." Bp. Stillingfleet.

Believe who will the solemn sham, not I.

Addison.

2. A false front, or removable ornamental covering.

Pillow sham, a covering to be laid on a pillow.

Sham, a. False; counterfeit; pretended; feigned; unreal; as, a sham fight.

They scorned the sham independence proffered to them by the Athenians.

Jowett (Thucyd)

Sham, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shammed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Shamming.] 1. To trick; to cheat; to deceive or delude with false pretenses.

Fooled and shammed into a conviction.

L'Estrange.

2. To obtrude by fraud or imposition. [R.]

We must have a care that we do not . . . sham fallacies upon the world for current reason.

L'Estrange.

3. To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign.

To sham Abram or Abraham, to feign sickness; to malinger. Hence a malingerer is called, in sailors' cant, Sham Abram, or Sham Abraham.

Sham, v. i. To make false pretenses; to deceive; to feign; to impose.

Wondering . . . whether those who lectured him were such fools as they professed to be, or were only shamming.

Macaulay.