See Shawshank in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "A reference to the 1982 novel Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King and its 1994 film adaptation The Shawshank Redemption.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "Shawshanks",
"tags": [
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]
},
{
"form": "Shawshanking",
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{
"form": "Shawshanked",
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"lang_code": "en",
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14,
26
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"ref": "2009, Kilt Kilpatrick, “Last Times at Ridgemont High”, in Lori Perkins, editor, Hungry for Your Love: An Anthology of Zombie Romance, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Griffin, →ISBN, page 314:",
"text": "After endless Shawshanking through the ducts, I came to a grate that offered my first break from the horror show.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
23,
33
]
],
"ref": "2012, Phil Brody, The Holden Age of Hollywood:",
"text": "Kid up and disappears, Shawshanks like a fart in the wind.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
162,
173
]
],
"ref": "2013, Maggie Robinson, Elyssa Patrick, Holiday for Two:",
"text": "It was like everything in him had been set free. Like the secret part of himself—the one he kept hidden and didn't let out so he could remain safe and intact—had Shawshanked itself and wasn't going to let it be captured again.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
47,
59
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],
"ref": "2017, Alex Wheatle, Straight Outta Crongton, London: Atom Books, →ISBN, page 277:",
"text": "'So your mind's made up?' Elaine said. 'You're Shawshanking out on us?'",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
41,
53
]
],
"ref": "2021, Mary Hughes, Night's Bliss:",
"text": "And nothing to scrape with, so we're not Shawshanking our way out.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To escape, especially by tunneling out or without warning."
],
"id": "en-Shawshank-en-verb-iON2gYrr",
"links": [
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"escape",
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{
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"examples": [
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"bold_text_offsets": [
[
60,
71
]
],
"ref": "1997, Randi Reisfeld, Too Hottie to Handle, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 131:",
"text": "Jim hadn't, but he did agree to give us more time before he Shawshanked me.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
14,
25
]
],
"ref": "2015, Buffy: Season Nine Library Edition Volume 3, page 165:",
"text": "Sorry you got Shawshanked, but it doesn't change anything.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
70,
81
]
],
"ref": "2017, M.C. Cerny, The Warden:",
"text": "I could have been honest, said it was all a mistake and that I'd been shawshanked, but that hadn't won me any favors so far.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
58,
69
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],
"ref": "2022, Kathleen Ann Tia, The Naked Green Eyes, page 3:",
"text": "It's like going to prison with an innocent conscience: he Shawshanked me real hard; and it was up to me to dig my way out to freedom.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To punish (someone) for something that they did not do."
],
"id": "en-Shawshank-en-verb-7aNorm34",
"links": [
[
"punish",
"punish"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "3 7 14 74 2",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "4 4 7 83 2",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "3 3 13 78 2",
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81,
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"ref": "2020·, Gerry Ugalde, Dancing with Disease:",
"text": "I had just given notice at work that I was taking a leave and I wanted to start \"Shawshanking\" things home",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
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8,
18
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],
"ref": "2022, Chris Tuff, Save Your Asks:",
"text": "Easy, I shawshaked you.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To accomplish something by doing a little bit at a time over a long period of time."
],
"id": "en-Shawshank-en-verb-A6z-fo1L",
"links": [
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"accomplish",
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50,
61
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"ref": "2022, Mamadou Ndiaye, 100 Animals That Can F*cking End You, page 107:",
"text": "This isn't an act of love; he's basically getting Shawshanked by a long-necked bully.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To rape (a man, by a man) as an act of dominance and bullying."
],
"id": "en-Shawshank-en-verb-m8FRpifo",
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[
"rape",
"rape"
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"wikipedia": [
"Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption",
"Stephen King",
"The Shawshank Redemption"
],
"word": "Shawshank"
}
{
"etymology_text": "A reference to the 1982 novel Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King and its 1994 film adaptation The Shawshank Redemption.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "Shawshanks",
"tags": [
"plural"
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],
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"ref": "2012, Vance Brown, No Matter the Cost, page 174:",
"text": "We all have our Shawshanks. Some of us have broken free.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
81,
91
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],
"ref": "2016, Maura Grady, Tony Magistrale, The Shawshank Experience, page 130:",
"text": "[…] the various walls men elect to live behind inside their own self-constructed Shawshanks, laboring under the debilitating belief that they have no other choice than to mirror the quiet desperation of their own experience (or their father's) by living in isolation.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
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54,
64
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],
"ref": "2017, Jeff Lazarus, Catakism:",
"text": "Therefore, cat strollers are designed as rolling mini Shawshanks, keeping your kitty locked in, while you get the benefits of a walk.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
85,
94
]
],
"ref": "2023 February 16, Pavlo Kazarin, “A year ago I volunteered as a soldier in the Ukrainian army”, in NATO Review, archived from the original on 31 Mar 2025:",
"text": "We are Harry Potter and William Wallace, the Na’vi and Han Solo. We’re escaping from Shawshank and blowing up the Death Star. We are fighting with the Harkonnens and challenging Thanos. Ukraine is hosting one of the great epics of this century.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A literal or figurative prison."
],
"id": "en-Shawshank-en-noun-ZuTfA22l",
"links": [
[
"prison",
"prison"
]
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}
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"wikipedia": [
"Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption",
"Stephen King",
"The Shawshank Redemption"
],
"word": "Shawshank"
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{
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"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English verbs",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries"
],
"etymology_text": "A reference to the 1982 novel Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King and its 1994 film adaptation The Shawshank Redemption.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "Shawshanks",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "Shawshanking",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "Shawshanked",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "Shawshanked",
"tags": [
"past"
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],
"head_templates": [
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"expansion": "Shawshank (third-person singular simple present Shawshanks, present participle Shawshanking, simple past and past participle Shawshanked)",
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],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
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{
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{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
14,
26
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],
"ref": "2009, Kilt Kilpatrick, “Last Times at Ridgemont High”, in Lori Perkins, editor, Hungry for Your Love: An Anthology of Zombie Romance, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Griffin, →ISBN, page 314:",
"text": "After endless Shawshanking through the ducts, I came to a grate that offered my first break from the horror show.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
23,
33
]
],
"ref": "2012, Phil Brody, The Holden Age of Hollywood:",
"text": "Kid up and disappears, Shawshanks like a fart in the wind.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
162,
173
]
],
"ref": "2013, Maggie Robinson, Elyssa Patrick, Holiday for Two:",
"text": "It was like everything in him had been set free. Like the secret part of himself—the one he kept hidden and didn't let out so he could remain safe and intact—had Shawshanked itself and wasn't going to let it be captured again.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
47,
59
]
],
"ref": "2017, Alex Wheatle, Straight Outta Crongton, London: Atom Books, →ISBN, page 277:",
"text": "'So your mind's made up?' Elaine said. 'You're Shawshanking out on us?'",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
41,
53
]
],
"ref": "2021, Mary Hughes, Night's Bliss:",
"text": "And nothing to scrape with, so we're not Shawshanking our way out.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To escape, especially by tunneling out or without warning."
],
"links": [
[
"escape",
"escape"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
60,
71
]
],
"ref": "1997, Randi Reisfeld, Too Hottie to Handle, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 131:",
"text": "Jim hadn't, but he did agree to give us more time before he Shawshanked me.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
14,
25
]
],
"ref": "2015, Buffy: Season Nine Library Edition Volume 3, page 165:",
"text": "Sorry you got Shawshanked, but it doesn't change anything.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
70,
81
]
],
"ref": "2017, M.C. Cerny, The Warden:",
"text": "I could have been honest, said it was all a mistake and that I'd been shawshanked, but that hadn't won me any favors so far.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
58,
69
]
],
"ref": "2022, Kathleen Ann Tia, The Naked Green Eyes, page 3:",
"text": "It's like going to prison with an innocent conscience: he Shawshanked me real hard; and it was up to me to dig my way out to freedom.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To punish (someone) for something that they did not do."
],
"links": [
[
"punish",
"punish"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
81,
93
]
],
"ref": "2020·, Gerry Ugalde, Dancing with Disease:",
"text": "I had just given notice at work that I was taking a leave and I wanted to start \"Shawshanking\" things home",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
8,
18
]
],
"ref": "2022, Chris Tuff, Save Your Asks:",
"text": "Easy, I shawshaked you.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To accomplish something by doing a little bit at a time over a long period of time."
],
"links": [
[
"accomplish",
"accomplish"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
50,
61
]
],
"ref": "2022, Mamadou Ndiaye, 100 Animals That Can F*cking End You, page 107:",
"text": "This isn't an act of love; he's basically getting Shawshanked by a long-necked bully.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To rape (a man, by a man) as an act of dominance and bullying."
],
"links": [
[
"rape",
"rape"
],
[
"dominance",
"dominance"
],
[
"bullying",
"bullying"
]
]
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption",
"Stephen King",
"The Shawshank Redemption"
],
"word": "Shawshank"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English verbs",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries"
],
"etymology_text": "A reference to the 1982 novel Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King and its 1994 film adaptation The Shawshank Redemption.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "Shawshanks",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "Shawshank (plural Shawshanks)",
"name": "en-noun"
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"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
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{
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"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
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16,
26
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"ref": "2012, Vance Brown, No Matter the Cost, page 174:",
"text": "We all have our Shawshanks. Some of us have broken free.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
81,
91
]
],
"ref": "2016, Maura Grady, Tony Magistrale, The Shawshank Experience, page 130:",
"text": "[…] the various walls men elect to live behind inside their own self-constructed Shawshanks, laboring under the debilitating belief that they have no other choice than to mirror the quiet desperation of their own experience (or their father's) by living in isolation.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
54,
64
]
],
"ref": "2017, Jeff Lazarus, Catakism:",
"text": "Therefore, cat strollers are designed as rolling mini Shawshanks, keeping your kitty locked in, while you get the benefits of a walk.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
85,
94
]
],
"ref": "2023 February 16, Pavlo Kazarin, “A year ago I volunteered as a soldier in the Ukrainian army”, in NATO Review, archived from the original on 31 Mar 2025:",
"text": "We are Harry Potter and William Wallace, the Na’vi and Han Solo. We’re escaping from Shawshank and blowing up the Death Star. We are fighting with the Harkonnens and challenging Thanos. Ukraine is hosting one of the great epics of this century.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A literal or figurative prison."
],
"links": [
[
"prison",
"prison"
]
]
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption",
"Stephen King",
"The Shawshank Redemption"
],
"word": "Shawshank"
}
Download raw JSONL data for Shawshank meaning in English (6.7kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (1a05e46 and e3d6d4e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.