on the shelf
Meaning
(idiomatic) Laid aside, unused, abandoned.
(idiomatic, especially of a woman) Unmarried, typically through lack of interest from potential spouses.
(idiomatic, sports) Injured.
Source: en.wiktionary.orgSynonyms
Antonyms
Examples
After only four weeks on the shelf, the courts ruled that Nintendo was the only company which had the rights to Tetris on home game systems.
After two years sitting on the shelf, Sunrise revisited the project and brought in relative newcomer Kazuki Akane as the new director.
As she approached the area in the aisle where the Drano was on the shelf, a woman, seeing my wife wearing a mask and gloves, pulled her cart across the aisle to block my wife from going farther.
By hanging the rod higher, you can free up space for extra folded clothes which you can keep on the shelf underneath.
Admittedly, my books are hardly the most violent ones on the shelf, and I don’t let the girls read that kind of book anyway, even if it is one of mine.
At the time, the facility was shuttered, and its patented technology had been, effectively, on the shelf for many years.