English

Verb

shoot one's wad ‎(third-person singular simple present shoots one's wad, present participle shooting one's wad, simple past and past participle shot one's wad)

1. (idiomatic) To spend all of one's money.
   • 1982 Oct. 31, Louise M. Forscher, "Letter to Editor: Lake District," New York Times (retrieved 21 August 2013):

     During the summer of 1965 my two daughters and I, traveling on a very limited budget, shot our wad at Sharrow Bay - and never regretted a penny of it.

2. (idiomatic) To expend all of one's resources or efforts; to express all the arguments or ideas which one has.
   • 1985 May 26, Richard Witkin, "Pilots and United halt talks seeking strike's end," New York Times (retrieved 21 August 2013):

     Negotiations between United Airlines and striking pilots broke off yesterday after the two sides . . . became deadlocked over back-to-work provisions. . . . Ralph Colliander, a board mediator, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying: "We have shot our wad. You get burnt up once in a while."

   • 1993, Steve Martini, Compelling Evidence, ISBN 9781101563939, (Google preview):

     When the old hair falls out, new hair begins to replace it, and the cycle starts again, though not for Harry, who says his follicles have shot their wad.

   • 2004, Stephen Goodwin, Breaking Her Fall, ISBN 9780156029698, page 179 (Google preview):

     I have a special fondness for all late summer bloomers since so many gardens, and all the fancy perennial gardens, have shot their wad by then.

3. (idiomatic, vulgar, of a man) To ejaculate.
   • 2003, Harlyn Aizley, Buying Dad: One Woman's Search for the Perfect Sperm Donor, Los Angeles, Calif.: Alyson Books, ISBN 978-1-55583-755-6, page 70:

     It's a strange thing this yellow liquid, the bodily fluid of a stranger. What was he thinking when he shot his wad? Is he somewhere now wondering about his sperm? Is he at this very moment wondering if a woman somewhere is inseminating with his seed? Well, we are! Here we are in Boston, and we are!

   • 2008, Chaucer Malone, Miguk, the Holy Man, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, ISBN 978-1-4343-5666-6, page 490:

     Grabbing hold of his throbbing organ, he started to turn away from her, had second thoughts, and proceeded to shoot his wad, ejaculate all over the sweating, sultry body that was stretched out, languishing at his feet.

   • 2010, Simon Sheppard, Sodomy!: Stories, Maple Shade, N.J.: Lethe Press, ISBN 978-1-59021-031-4, page 62:

     [W]henever a particularly delectable wrestler got tossed across the ring, landing with a meaty thump, his dick would swell and tingle and he'd nearly shoot his wad.

Synonyms

• (spend all one's money): blow one's wad
• (expend all one's resources): blow one's wad, shoot one's bolt
• (ejaculate): blow one's wad, shoot one's load, see Wikisaurus:ejaculate

References

• shoot one's wad at OneLook Dictionary Search