sheepwise — English Dictionary

sheepwise

Adverb

  1. In an sheeplike manner.

    Usage
    • not-comparable
    Examples
    More examples (3)

    The rent is £35; which really seems £10 cheaper than such a House could be had for in Dumfries or Annan. The secret is our old friend, 'Gigmanity': Chelsea is unfashionable; it is also reputed unhealthy. The former quality we rather like (for our neighbours still are all polite-living people); the latter we do not in the faintest degree believe in, remembering that Chelsea was once considered the 'London Montpelier,' and knowing that in these matters now as formerly the Cockneys 'know nothing,' only rush in masses blindly and sheepwise. Our worst fault is the want of a good free rustic walk, like Kensington Gardens, which are above a mile off: however, we have the 'College' or Hospital Grounds, with their withered old Pensioners; we have open carriage-ways, and lanes, and really a very pretty route to Piccadilly (different from the Omnibus route) thro' the new Grosvenor edifices, Eaton Square, Belgrave Place &c: I have also walked to Westminster Hall by Vauxhall Bridge-end, Millbank &c; but the road is squalid, confused, dusty and detestable, and happily need not be returned to. To conclude, we are here on literary classical ground, as Hunt is continually ready to declare and unfold: not a stone-cast from this House Smollett wrote his Count Fathom (the house is ruined and we happily do not see it); hardly another stone-cast off, old More entertained Erasmus: to say nothing of Bolingbroke St. John, of Paradise Row and the Count de Grammont, for in truth we care almost nothing for them. On the whole we are exceedingly content so far.

    There had, indeed, been no scandal at all. Dr. Bradley might still be found entertaining the politest of tables with his agreeable stories; he had had no unfortunate case to cast a shadow over his professional reputation; his company was still sought at the clubs. Why, then, were people shrugging their shoulders at mention of his name? He was not suspected of any unpopular vice; he had never, so far as any one knew, done the least dishonorable action; he might certainly be hard up, but after the late Government's iniquities, who was not? Yet people did unquestionably shrug their shoulders. Perhaps they did so sheepwise; and yet they found that they had long been expecting to behave in this way. Why? None of them seemed to know. But the affair at the Piccadilly put an end to their shrugs; it broke their silence. Here was something definite. Here was the solution of all their doubts. Personally Dian Bradley might be a charming fellow, but of course he gambled fearfully, and when you gambled, you very often did other foolish things which generally brought trouble in the long run. What could you expect from a man who ... and so on. The men were not disposed to be charitable, and yet a number of them could hardly bring themselves to believe that Dian Bradley had actually descended to a common card-sharping transaction. What on earth could it mean? And it had taken place at the Piccadilly of all places, most exclusive of clubs, where blackballing was in the nature of a monthly pastime! The man must have been mad! But was he? They decided that he was not.

    The ganders spread abroad, sheepwise, grazing, and gabbling as they grazed. The geese came up from, or went down to the water with their families, stopping by the way to say things to other geese; and the young, waddling and paddling, frolicked even up to the hard, strong legs of the motionless skua.

    […] a public that either sheepwise has followed them or that often goes raptly to almost anything provided only it contains songs, girls, and scenery […]

    More examples (1)

    […] a public that either sheepwise has followed them or that seems frequently to go to almost anything provided only it contains songs, girls, and scenery representing something other than a sitting-room or library. It is this often apparently goat-like and easily impressed […]

  2. With regard to sheep.

    Usage
    • not-comparable
    Synonyms
    Examples
    More examples (1)

    It was assumed, when Johns Hopkins showed the way, that every university student was or should be engaged in original research and thus a candidate for the doctor's degree. This not unnatural assumption had the unfortunate result of dividing all graduate students, sheepwise and goatwise, into those who got the doctorate and those who failed, and here the M.A. came in as a solatium. To pursué higher studies for a year without enlisting as an investigator thus became respectable. This was a gain. It enabled school teachers and college graduates of scholarly tastes to undertake university studies without later having to explain that they had not been refused the doctorate.

  3. Per sheep: per head with regard to sheep.

    Usage
    • not-comparable
    • of costs or revenue
    Examples
    More examples (1)

    The projected values of sheepwise wool yield and total State wool production are also depicted in Table-VI. It can be noticed from the table that by 2000 A.D. the wool yield of ram, wether, ewe, lamb and overall sheep will be 1685.49. 1739.82. 1523.07. 630.68 and […]

Code Formatters

Format and beautify Java, Python, JavaScript, JSON, HTML and more; adjust indentation, spacing and line breaks.

More tools

Audio Editing & Effects

Trim, join or split recordings, remove silence or noise, and adjust volume, speed, pitch or channels.

More tools

Spreadsheet Tools

Open and edit CSV or Excel sheets, format tabular text, and convert CSV to Excel or SQL.

More tools

Markdown Tools

Write and preview Markdown, render Mermaid diagrams, and convert Markdown, HTML and tables between formats.

More tools

Text Tools

Compare passages, count words and keywords, sort or replace lines, and view DOCX text.

More tools

Dictionaries

Look up Chinese meanings, synonyms and antonyms, or find IPA pronunciations in multiple languages.

Audio Conversion & Playback

Convert between MP3, WAV, FLAC and more, play audio or raw PCM, and inspect or edit audio metadata.

JSON & Data Tools

Inspect, compare and validate JSON; test JSONPath expressions, or convert data to CSV, YAML and XML.

More tools

Speech Tools

Transcribe audio to text, generate speech from text, or record your voice in the browser.

Video Tools

Convert and compress video, trim or join clips, resize frames, and extract audio.

More tools

Video Playback & Recording

Play local or streaming video, record your screen or camera, and use your camera as an online mirror.

PDF Tools

Compress or merge PDFs, split and rearrange pages, convert pages to images, and view or compare documents.

More tools

Image Tools

Convert image formats, resize or crop photos, compress files, compare pictures, and extract text with OCR.

More tools

Image Creation

Capture and beautify screenshots, turn text into images or GIFs, draw on a whiteboard, and create word clouds or favicons.

More tools

Subtitle Tools

Edit SRT or VTT captions with a video preview, shift timing, convert formats, and manage subtitle tracks.

More tools

Archive Tools

Open ZIP, 7Z, RAR or TAR files, extract selected contents, and create new archives with optional ZIP/7Z passwords.

Encoders | Decoders

Encode and decode Base64 or Base32, escape URLs, HTML and Unicode text, and inspect JWT contents.

More tools

Number Tools

Convert number bases and values between binary, decimal and hex; turn numbers into words or text into binary.

Calculators

Work out percentages and fractions, summarize statistics, and calculate grades, discounts or aspect ratios.

More tools

Time Tools

Show an online clock, run a countdown or stopwatch, and calculate dates, ages or time-zone differences.

More tools

Network Tools

Check your IP and IPv6 connection, inspect HTTP requests or HAR files, and calculate CIDR address ranges.

Unit Conversions

Convert length, weight, temperature, data storage and other units.

Color Tools

Convert HEX, RGB and HSL values, extract colors from an image, check contrast, or test your display with solid colors.

QR Codes & Barcodes

Generate and scan QR codes or barcodes, including QR codes for links and Wi-Fi networks.

Developer & Security Tools

Generate hashes, UUIDs and passwords, test regular expressions, create URL slugs and check file permissions.

More tools

Utility Tools

Check screen resolution and refresh rate, measure with a screen ruler, test keys, or read from a teleprompter.

More tools

Games

2048, Minesweeper, Sudoku, Gomoku, Tank Battle

More tools