the taming of the shrew

noun

1. a comedy (1594?) by Shakespeare.

A comedy by William Shakespeare. The “shrew” is Katherina, or Kate, a wildly moody woman. She meets her match in the spirited Petruchio, who marries her and behaves even more wildly than she, meanwhile treating her as if she were a kind and gentle lady. By the end of the play, she has been reformed, and she makes a memorable speech urging wives to submit to their husbands.