The AI-powered English dictionary
plural shiners
One who shines; a luminary. examples
One who causes things to shine; a polisher. examples
(colloquial) A black eye. examples
(colloquial) Raccoon eyes. examples
(slang, dated) A bright piece of money, especially a sovereign. quotations
Has she the shiners, d'ye think?
1776, Samuel Foote, The Capuchin
She may be generally found in the fore part of the day at her lodgings above mentioned, where a brace of shiners will ensure you the possession of charms above their value, cent per cent.
1789, Harris's List of Covent-Garden Ladies, London: H. Ranger, page 30
Any of numerous species of small freshwater American cyprinoid fishes of Notropis, Lythrurus, and allied genera, such as the redfin. examples
Any silvery fish, such as the horsefish, menhaden, or moonfish. examples
A common silverfish (Lepisma saccharinum, or any member of genus Lepisma. examples
(slang) A moonshiner.
A small reflective surface used for cheating at card games. quotations examples
Fargo wasn't sure what difference it made if one gambler passed something to another, unless it was to be used in cheating, a shiner maybe. But nobody at that table would let a shiner pass.
2003, Jon Sharpe, Trailsman #258: Casino Carnage
(wine) A bottle of finished wine, without a label. quotations examples
Shiners are a big part of the wine business. […] Shiners are finished, bottled wines that don’t have a label or typically any other identifying feature until a vintner purchases them and then places a label on the bottles. […] They’re called shiners because they are unlabeled and have a “shiny” appearance.
2008, James Laube, “Shiners Are a Secret Part of the Wine Business”, in Wine Spectator