What does it mean if a person is a shrew?

What does it mean if a person is a shrew?

What does it mean if a person is a shrew?

1 : any of a family (Soricidae) of small chiefly nocturnal insectivores related to the moles and distinguished by a long pointed snout, very small eyes, and short velvety fur. 2 : an ill-tempered scolding woman.

Can a woman be a shrew?

Shrew is defined as a woman with a bad temper who nags or scolds. An example of a shrew is a character in a novel that is angry for no reason all the time. Any of numerous small mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae.

What does shrew mean in Taming of the shrew?

a bad-tempered woman (Shrew is an old-fashioned word for a bad-tempered woman.) She behaves unpleasantly to him but he pretends not to notice. In the end he marries her and ' tames' her by treating her roughly until she becomes as easy to control as wives were expected to be at that time.

Are shrews good or bad?

Shrews don't damage plants, and they do little or no burrowing into garden beds. They live under leaf litter and grass and might travel along existing mole and vole tunnels. For these reasons, shrews are beneficial in a garden and should not be eliminated unless they become a nuisance.

What's the male version of a shrew?

I agree with timpeac that grubble's "grouch" is a good suggestion and I would find it strange if a man were referred to as a "shrew". One could, instead of using a single term, list the required characteristics: a wining, bad-tempered (old) bugger.

How long does a Shrew live?

Etruscan shrew: 2 years Eurasian water shrew: 3 years Shrews/Lifespan

Is Shrew a bad word?

The word later came to be used to describe a nagging, ill-tempered woman, as in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Unless you are a famous dead author, however, you may want to steer clear of this one in conversation: it's considered offensive.

What kind of a character is the Shrew?

The shrew – an unpleasant, ill-tempered woman characterised by scolding, nagging, and aggression – is a comedic, stock character in literature and folklore, both Western and Eastern.

Why does a man get married to a shrew?

This basic plot structure typically involves a series of recurring motifs: A man, often young and penniless, marries a woman with shrewish or other negative qualities (laziness, etc.), for her dowry or other reasons unrelated to love, despite another trying to talk him out of it.

Who are the married couples in The Taming of the Shrew?

In the final scene of the play there are three newly married couples; Bianca and Lucentio, the widow and Hortensio, and Katherina and Petruchio. Because of the general opinion that Petruchio is married to a shrew, a good-natured quarrel breaks out amongst the three men about whose wife is the most obedient.

Why was Katherina described as a shrew in The Taming of the Shrew?

Language itself is a major theme in the play, especially in the taming process, where mastery of language becomes paramount. Katherina is initially described as a shrew because of her harsh language to those around her.

Related Posts: