shrew

noun

1. Any of numerous small, mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae.
2. Certain other small mammals that resemble true shrews.
3. (derogatory)An ill-tempered, nagging woman: a scold.

   “The clerk had, I'm afraid, a shrew of a wife—shrill, vehement, and fluent. 'Rogue,' 'old miser,' 'old sneak,' and a great many worse names, she called him.”

   “His wife was a shrew with warts on her face and she spoke to him sharply when others were present, but Simcha did not complain.”

   ““Cease thy squalling, thou shrew!””

verb

1. (obsolete, transitive)To beshrew; to curse.

   “I shrew myself.”