Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SHREWD, a.

1. Having the qualities of a shrew; vexatious; troublesome; mischievous. [Obs.] – Shak.
2. Sly; cunning; arch; subtil; artful; astute; as, a shrewd man.
3. Sagacious; of nice discernment; as, a shrewd observer of men.
4. Proceeding from cunning or sagacity, or containing it; as, a shrewd saying; a shrewd conjecture.
5. Painful; vexatious; troublesome. Every of this number / That have endur'd shrewd nights and days with us. [Obs.] – Shak. No enemy is so despicable but he may do one a shrewd turn. [Obs.] – L'Estrange.