A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

shake the pagoda tree • shake the plum tree
shake the pagoda tree—(UK hist.) make a fortune rapidly in
India: Many a Banya or Brahman who had helped to “shake
the pagoda tree” retired quietly to his ancestral village.
shake the plum tree —(U.S.) appoint applicants to public
offices as a reward for their loyalty to the party in power: As
chairman of the Republican Party, Quay “knew how to shake
the plum tree” and spent a lot of money in getting Benjamin
Harrison elected president in 
1
888.
Note: 
Neither expression is related in meaning to the phrase
shake someone’s tree
— arouse a person to action or reaction;
dis turb smb.: The lead investigator called the fraudster and
shook his tree a bit. The person who was defrauded got her
money back.
sharp as a needle • sharp as a wet noodle
sharp as a needle —(also: sharp as a razor) very intelligent;
quick to learn or realize things: The child was as sharp as a
needle and soon began to use quite difficult words.
set something on foot
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sharp as a wet noodle —(U.S. ironic) very dull, stupid: You
can tell from the things he says that he’s about as sharp as a
wet noodle.
ship company • ship’s company
ship company —(also: shipping company) commercial com-
pany engaged in transporting passengers and cargo by ship:
The day of building tramp steamers by means of money raised
from single ship companies has passed away.
ship’s company —the whole crew of any ship: It was certainly
a good run ashore for the ship’s company, with the Principality
of Monaco granting free admission to many places of inter-
est.
shipmaster • shipping-master
shipmaster —(also: master of the ship) captain or commander
of a vessel: No shipmaster is permitted to use an anchor which
has not been tested and stamped with a government mark.
shipping-master —an official supervising the signing-on and
discharging of seamen: When the crew is first engaged, the
agreement shall be signed in duplicate, and one part shall be
retained by the shipping master.