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shoulder as in "should"

Posted: 2010-06-02 07:28:36
by credneb
Hello.

I looked up "shoulder" in Nisus Thesaurus just now and was surprised to find such entries as

shoulder (as in "should") v. : be expected to: "Parties should be fun"

What gives? How does the thesaurus work if it returns such results?
I even checked two paper dictionaries to see if this was an archaic usage, but no go.

Re: shoulder as in "should"

Posted: 2010-06-02 08:13:08
by Hamid
The current version of Nisus Thesaurus is still based on WordNet database version 1.7 (2001).
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/wordnet/

The current version of WordNet is 3.0:
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/wordnet/download/

I have updated my own copy of Nisus Thesaurus with updated files from version 3.0.
Under 'shoulder' >Similar, I get the following:
shoulder (as in "body part") n. : the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm

shoulder (as in "cut") n. : a cut of meat including the upper joint of the foreleg

shoulder (as in "ball-and-socket joint") n. : a ball-and-socket joint between the head of the humerus and a cavity of the scapula

shoulder (as in "cloth covering") n. : the part of a garment that covers or fits over the shoulder; "an ornamental gold braid on the shoulder of his uniform"

shoulder (as in "edge") n. : a narrow edge of land (usually unpaved) along the side of a road; "the car pulled off onto the shoulder"

shoulder (as in "raise") v. : lift onto one's shoulders

shoulder (as in "thrust") v. : push with the shoulders; "He shouldered his way into the crowd"

shoulder (as in "transport") v. : carry a burden, either real or metaphoric; "shoulder the burden"