n. 25B6; verb
Britain shouldered the primary responsibility : TAKE ON (ONESELF), undertake, accept, assume; bear, carry.
another lad shouldered him aside : PUSH, shove, thrust, jostle, force, bulldoze, bundle.
25A0; give someone the cold shoulder SNUB, shun, cold-shoulder, ignore, cut (dead), rebuff, spurn, ostracize; informal give someone the brush-off, freeze out; Brit. informal send to Coventry; N. Amer. informal give someone the brush.
25A0; put one's shoulder to the wheel GET (DOWN) TO WORK, apply oneself, set to work, buckle down, roll up one's sleeves; work hard, be diligent, be industrious, exert oneself.
25A0; shoulder to shoulder
the regiment lined up shoulder to shoulder : SIDE BY SIDE, abreast, alongside (each other).
he fought shoulder to shoulder with the others : UNITED, (working) together, jointly, in partnership, in collaboration, in cooperation, side by side, in alliance.