To which God of his bounty would shift Crowns two of
flowers well smelling. --Chaucer.
2. To change the place of; to move or remove from one place
to another; as, to shift a burden from one shoulder to
another; to shift the blame.
Hastily he schifte him[self]. --Piers
Plowman.
Pare saffron between the two St. Mary's days, Or set
or go shift it that knowest the ways. --Tusser.
3. To change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to
turn; as, to shift the helm or sails.
Carrying the oar loose, [they] shift it hither and
thither at pleasure. --Sir W.
Raleigh.
4. To exchange for another of the same class; to remove and
to put some similar thing in its place; to change; as, to
shift the clothes; to shift the scenes.
I would advise you to shift a shirt. --Shak.
5. To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively. [Obs.]
As it were to ride day and night; and . . . not to
have patience to shift me. --Shak.
6. To put off or out of the way by some expedient. ``I
shifted him away.'' --Shak.
{To shift off}, to delay; to defer; to put off; to lay aside.
{To shift the scene}, to change the locality or the
surroundings, as in a play or a story.
Shift the scene for half an hour; Time and place are
in thy power. --Swift.