shot1 (shot)

[Early mod. E. also shotte; (pp. scoten ), shoot: No man therfore, up peyne of los of lyf, No maner shot , ne pollax, ne short knyf Into the lystes sende, or thider brynge. Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 1686. 2. A projectile; particularly, a ball or bullet; also, such projectiles collectively. Projectiles for large guns are seldom called by this name without some qualifying term: as, solid shot, round shot, grape-shot. The term properly denotes a mi ile not intended to explode, as distinguished from ashell or bomb. Projectiles of unusual character, but solid and not explosive, are usually called shot with some descriptive word: as, bar - shot, buck - shot, chain -shot. Storm'd at with shot and shell. Tennyson, Charge of the Light Brigade. 3. A small ball or pellet, of which a number are combined in one charge; also, such pellets collectively. They are made by running molten lead combined with a little arsenic through a sieve, or pouring it from a ladle with a serrated edge from the top of a high tower (see shot - tower ) into water at the bottom. The stream of metal breaks into drops which become spheri cal. To obviate the use of the high tower, various expedients have been tried, such as dropping the metal through a tube up through which a strong current of air is driven, or dropping it through a column of glycerin or oil. Such shot is a orted by sizes of the pellets, distinguished by letters (as BB, spoken double - B ), or by numbers (usually Nos. 1 to 10 or 12), or by specific names (as swan shot, etc.). 4. The distance pa ed over by a mi ile or projectile in its flight; range: used, in com a good shot; a crack shot; a wing-shot. He was a capital cricketer; was so good a shot that any house desirous of reputation for its bags on the 12th or 1st was glad to have him for a guest. Mrs. Gaskell , Wives and Daughters, xiii. 11. In weaving, a single thread of weft carried through the warp at one run of the shuttle.12. A defect, of the nature of a streak, in the texture of silk and other textiles, caused by the interweaving of a thread or threads differing from the others in color, quality, or size. Compare shot1, p. a., 3.-13. In mining, a blast. -14. A nook; an angle; a plot of land; specifically, a square furlong of land; a group of strips or allotments, each one furlong in length, and together a furlong in width, in the open field system. See field. The Infield is divided into three shots or parts, much about eighteen acres in all. I'll to the alehouse with you presently; where, for one shot of five pence, thou shalt have five you sand welcomes. Shak., T. G. of V., ii. 5. 9. "Come, brothers, be merry," said jolly Robin, "Let us drink, and never give ore; For the shot I will pay, ere I go my way, If it cost me five pounds and more." Robin Hood and the Butcher (Child's Ballads, V. 36). You have had a feast, a merry one; the shot Is now to be discharged. Shirley , Love's Cruelty, iv. 1. 2t. A supply or amount of drink, perhaps paid for at a fixed rate. About noon we returned, had a shot of ale at Slathwaite. Meeke , Diary, Jan. 23, 1691. ( Davies .) Rescue shott. See rescue. To pay the shot. See payl. To stand shot, to meet the expense; pay the bill. Are you to stand shot to all this good liquor? Scott , Kenilworth, xix. "Bring him some victual, landlord," called out the recruiting serjeant. "I'll stand shot ." Mrs. Gaskell , Sylvia's Lovers, xxxiv.