shaky

Related to shaky: hypoglycemia

on shaky ground

Questionable or lacking support, as of an idea. His hypothesis has been on shaky ground to since the beginning, so I'm not surprised that he couldn't prove it in the lab.
See also: ground, on, shaky

shaky cam

A cinematographic technique in which the camera is operated by hand, as opposed to being fixed on a mount, resulting in a jerky, unstable image. This is done to emulate a first-person perspective or imitate what an ordinary person might have captured on a handheld camcorder in order to create a sense of immersion or heighten the sense of excitement, terror, urgency, etc. I'm really sick of the trend in recent horror movies to have the whole thing filmed in shaky cam. It isn't scary, it's just nauseating! It just felt like the shaky cam was a cheap way for the filmmakers to give the documentary a sense of authenticity. The director uses shaky cam to give the audience a glimpse into the protagonist's point of view during especially emotional scenes.
See also: cam, shaky

shaky camera

A cinematographic technique in which the camera is operated by hand, as opposed to being fixed on a mount, resulting in a jerky, unstable image. This is done to emulate a first-person perspective or imitate what an ordinary person might have captured on a handheld camcorder in order to create a sense of immersion or heighten the sense of excitement, terror, urgency, etc. I'm really sick of the trend in recent horror movies to have the whole thing filmed in shaky camera. It isn't scary, it's just nauseating! It just felt like the shaky camera was a cheap way for the filmmakers to give the documentary a sense of authenticity. The director uses shaky camera to give the audience a glimpse into the protagonist's point of view during especially emotional scenes.
See also: camera, shaky
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

on shaky ground

 and on dangerous ground
Fig. [of an idea or proposal] on an unstable or questionable foundation; [of an idea or proposal] founded on a risky premise. When you suggest that we are to blame, you are on shaky ground. There is no evidence that we are at fault. The case for relying solely on nuclear energy seems to be on dangerous ground.
See also: ground, on, shaky
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

shaky-cam

n. a camera, used mainly in advertisements and documentaries, that is shaken and moved constantly to create a sense of excitement, urgency, or crisis. We can’t afford much in the way of costumes for the sequence, so we will use the shaky-cam and shoot it in dim light.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • on shaky ground
  • be out on a limb
  • go out on a limb
  • go down a blind alley
  • blind alley
  • blind alley, (up) a
  • a blind alley
  • in the hole for (something)
  • in practice
  • be one sandwich short of a picnic
References in periodicals archive
him four He is bruised and shocked and shaky and upset and his face has swollen up like a balloon.
Appeal after thugs beat up autistic Joel, 27; victim's sister says attackers lured him out of flat with taunts
Yet following the breakthrough of Hot Dog, within a year Shaky was looking down on the charts from top spot thanks to This Ole House.
The highs and lows of Ely boy Shaky's career; Echoes of the past
Speaking about the tour announcement, Shaky said: "I can't wait to get back on the road, and introduce the songs from 'Echoes Of Our Times' to people who have seen me perform in the past, and those who have not."
Shaky's back with album and UK tour; PREVIEW: Shakin' Stevens
Shaky subsequently discovered that he had a half-brother Alfred, who has since died - and that it was a family secret that had certainly been kept from him and so it seems from the brothers and sisters who are still alive.
SHAKY: MY SECRET FAMILY SHOCK
Jim Thompson who, with wife Vanessa, was wearing a specially made "Shaky" T-shirt, summed up the thoughts of many when he said: "Everyone in the world, there's always someone that dislikes you.
'Shaky's' funeral is fit for the King!
At the core of Shaky Foundations are three chapters that articulate the development and ramifications of this twinned approach for research programs sponsored by the Defense Department, the Ford Foundation, and the NSF, which only gradually reversed its earlier opprobrium.
Shaky Foundations: The Politics-Patronage-Social Science Nexus in Cold War America
The US-led invasion shook the country to its core in 2003, and the Iraqi government's been shaky every since.
It's depressing how many MENA countries make the world's 10 most corrupt list
The Bank of England has said that the confidence in the banking system is shaky.
Bank of England says confidence in banking system still shaky
VIENNA, Dhu-AlQa'dah 13, 1435, September 08, 2014, SPA -- The ceasefire in Ukraine has largely held but remains shaky, a senior official of European security watchdog the OSCE said on Monday, according to Reuters.
Ukraine ceasefire overall held, still shaky - OSCE
Of course, bearing a strong resemblance to a robbery suspect is a little shaky for an arrest, and really shaky for a conviction.
Maybe he liked the food in prison?
Ois is the Midland music shop where you can pick up an Egyptianstyle lute dating back to the Book of Genesis - and a shaky egg!
THAT'S WHAT I CALL WORLD MUSIC; Ouds, bazoukis, vihuelas - this shop sells them all..
Calling Israel "the roguish, filthy, rabid dog of the region," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the (Israeli) Zionist regime is a regime whose pillars are extremely shaky and is doomed to collapse.
Khamenei: Zionists are like animals
Summary: Paul Gascoigne has been filmed shaky and drunk at a charity event.
Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne shaky and drunk at charity event
I have never been bothered by my shaky hand, but people have started pointing it out.
The Doctor; Doctor Gareth Smith is here to answer all your health queries. Write to him at Dr Gareth, Sunday Mail, One Central Quay, Glasgow G3 8DA. Email g.smith@sundaymail.co.uk
| DAMASCUS, April 21 (KUNA) -- A team of United Nations observers, who are here to monitor the shaky ceasefire in Syria, visited on Saturday the central Syrian province of Homs on Saturday.
UN monitors visit Syria''s Homs