ON THE SHELF Definition & Meaning

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on the shelf

Inactive, not employed, as in With mandatory retirement at 65, many useful employees are put on the shelf . [Second half of 1500s]
In a state of disuse, as in We'll have to put her proposal on the shelf until we have more funds . [Late 1800s]
Without prospects of marriage. For example, After she broke her third engagement, her parents were sure she'd be on the shelf . This usage is always said of a woman and today considered offensive. It is probably obsolescent. [Early 1800s] All these usages allude to an article left on the shelf of a store, bookcase, or the like.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Aunt Cecelia’s ashes used to be over there, in a wooden box on the shelf.

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Some Macaroni penguins that forage on the shelf where the iceberg is stuck could be affected, says Peter Fretwell at the British Antarctic Survey.

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That’s when, right as the Dodgers’ shorthanded rotation needed him most, Glasnow went on the shelf for good, developing a case of elbow tendinitis that would ultimately end his season despite repeated attempts to come back in time for the playoffs.

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“We are incredibly grateful that these philanthropies came together so Steve Soboroff could drop everything and help ensure we leave no tool on the shelf in our response without costing taxpayers a dime,” said Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for Bass.

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"Elsewhere, the price rises are much more modest and sellers need to price their homes carefully or risk seeing them stuck unsold on the shelf."

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