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shelled
01
(cycling) exhausted and unable to keep up, having depleted one's energy reserves
Slang
Grammatical Information
Composition
past participle adjective
qualitative
Superlative
most shelled
Comparative
more shelled
gradable
What does "shelled" mean in cycling slang?
The term "shelled" means being completely exhausted and dropped from a group ride or race because of depleted energy. The structure is a metaphor where "shelled" suggests being stripped or peeled away from the main group. It is informal cycling slang commonly used in endurance riding and racing contexts to describe riders who can no longer maintain the pace.
Examples
He was completely shelled after the last hill.
Lexical Tree
unshelled
shelled
shell
