shoo
(redirected from shooed)Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus.
be a shoo-in
To be predicted to easily win a competition. Julia is a shoo-in for this year's spelling bee—she's the best speller in the whole town.
shoo away
To drive someone or an animal away by or as if by crying "Shoo!" A noun or pronoun can be used between "shoo" and "away." The security guard shooed away the kids who were loitering near the entrance of the mall. I saw a deer eating the flowers in my garden, so I ran outside and shooed it away.
shoo off
To drive someone or an animal away by or as if by crying "Shoo!" A noun or pronoun can be used between "shoo" and "off." The security guard shooed off the kids who were loitering near the entrance of the mall. I saw a deer eating the flowers in my garden, so I ran outside and shooed it off.
shoo-in
Someone or something that is predicted to easily win a competition. Julia is a shoo-in for this year's spelling bee—she's the best speller in the whole town.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
be a shoo-in
INFORMALIf someone is a shoo-in for something such as an election or contest, they are certain to win. Note: `Shoo-in' is sometimes spelled `shoe-in'. The president seemed a shoo-in for a second term, even though the election was some 20 months away. She seemed like a shoo-in. But in the past month she has seen her 20-point lead reduced to a mere five percentage points.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
be a ˈshoo-in
(American English, informal) be a person or team that will win easily or will definitely be chosen for something: He’s a shoo-in for governor. ♢ She was a shoo-in to win the award.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
shoo-in
(ˈʃuɪn) n. an easy winner. My horse was a shoo-in. It won by a mile.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
shoo-in
A sure winner. This term comes from horse racing. The verb “to shoo” has long meant to drive or urge on. In the early 1900s corrupt jockeys would select a long shot to beat the faster horses, which would then be “shooed in” by the others. Turned into a noun, the expression now is used for a team, a political candidate, or other competitor, without any connotation of malfeasance.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer