Sheeny
adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A Jew. ethnic, offensive, slang, slur
"May I never get groggy, if I shall ever forget the joke between you and the old Sheenie, when you threatened to throw him overboard for selling you a dumb time-keeper. ‘Blesh ma heart,’ said the Jew, while his under works shook like a cutter’s foresail going about, ‘how could you expect de vatch to go well, ven de ship vas all in confusion?’ an excuse that saved him from sailing ashore in a skuttle-bucket."
- 2 (ethnic slur) offensive term for a Jew wordnet
- 3 A cheat or fraudster. slang
- 1 Having a sheen; glossy.
- 2 Bright; radiant; shining.
"And many a sheeny summer-morn, / Adown the Tigris I was borne, / By Bagdat's shrines of fretted gold, / High-walled gardens green and old; […]"
- 1 reflecting light wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"May I never get groggy, if I shall ever forget the joke between you and the old Sheenie, when you threatened to throw him overboard for selling you a dumb time-keeper. ‘Blesh ma heart,’ said the Jew, while his under works shook like a cutter’s foresail going about, ‘how could you expect de vatch to go well, ven de ship vas all in confusion?’ an excuse that saved him from sailing ashore in a skuttle-bucket."
Etymology
Seems to have originated in 1820s London. Could be a mockery of Yiddish שיין (sheyn, “beautiful, nice”), much used in praising wares.
From sheen + -y.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.