shimmy

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun an abnormal wobble in a motor vehicle (especially in the front wheels)
noun a woman's sleeveless undergarment
noun lively dancing (usually to ragtime music) with much shaking of the shoulders and hips

A back-formation from chemise (mistaken for a plural).

And being so fresh from the country I suppose she can't dope out what a cheap shimmy lizard Lester is. — Torchy and Vee, Sewell Ford
You found me in evil company, highkickers, coster picnicmakers, pugilists, popular generals, immoral panto boys in fleshtights and the nifty shimmy dancers, La Aurora and Karini, musical act, the hit of the century. — Ulysses, James Joyce
Why, you're always touting these Greek dancers, or whatever they are, that don't even wear a shimmy!” “But, dear, the trouble with that film--it wasn't that it got in so many legs, but that it giggled coyly and promised to show more of them, and then didn't keep the promise. — Main Street, Sinclair Lewis

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