Overshort


[shawrt] /ʃɔrt/

adjective, shorter, shortest.
1.
having little length; not long.
2.
having little height; not tall:
a short man.
3.
extending or reaching only a little way:
a short path.
4.
brief in duration; not extensive in time:
a short wait.
5.
brief or concise, as writing.
6.
rudely brief; abrupt; hurting:
short behavior.
7.
low in amount; scanty:
short rations.
8.
not reaching a point, mark, target, or the like; not long enough or far enough.
9.
below the standard in extent, quantity, duration, etc.:
short measure.
10.
having a scanty or insufficient amount of (often followed by in or on):
He was short in experience.
11.
being below a necessary or desired level; lacking:
The office is short due to winter colds and flu.
12.
Cookery.

13.
(of metals) deficient in tenacity; friable; brittle.
14.
(of the head or skull) of less than ordinary length from front to back.
15.
Stock Exchange.

16.
Phonetics.

17.
Prosody.

18.
(of an alcoholic drink) small:
a short drink.
19.
Chiefly British. (of whiskey) undiluted; straight.
20.
Ceramics. (of clay) not plastic enough to be modeled.
21.
Ropemaking. (def 39).
adverb
22.
abruptly or suddenly:
to stop short.
23.
briefly; curtly.
24.
on the near side of an intended or particular point:
The arrow landed short.
25.
Baseball.

noun
26.
something that is short.
27.
that which is deficient or lacking.
28.
the sum and substance of a matter; gist (usually preceded by the).
29.
shorts.

30.
a size of garment for men who are shorter than average:
He wears a 42 short.
31.
a garment, as a suit or overcoat, in such a size.
32.
Military. a shot that strikes or bursts short of the target.
33.
Electricity. .
34.
Prosody. a short sound or syllable.
35.
Baseball. (def 1).
36.
Movies. .
37.
Finance. .
38.
a deficiency or the amount of a deficiency.
39.
Chiefly British. a small drink of straight whiskey; shot.
verb (used with object)
40.
to cause a short circuit in.
41.
to cheat by giving less than is expected or deserved; .
verb (used without object)
42.
to short-circuit.
Idioms
43.
cut short, to end abruptly; terminate:
Her nap was cut short by a loud noise from outside.
44.
fall / come short,

45.
for short, by way of abbreviation:
Her name is Patricia, and she’s called Pat for short.
46.
in short,

47.
make short work of. (def 53).
48.
run short, to be in insufficient supply:
My patience is running short.
49.
sell short,

50.
short and sweet,

51.
short for, being a shorter form of; abbreviated to: “Phone” is short for “telephone.”.
52.
short of,

/ʃɔːt/
adjective
1.
of little length; not long
2.
of little height; not tall
3.
of limited duration
4.
not meeting a requirement; deficient: the number of places laid at the table was short by four
5.
(postpositive; often foll by of or on) lacking (in) or needful (of): I’m always short of money
6.
concise; succinct
7.
lacking in the power of retentiveness: a short memory
8.
abrupt to the point of rudeness: the salesgirl was very short with him
9.
(finance)

10.
(phonetics)

11.
(prosody)

12.
(of pastry) crumbly in texture See also shortcrust pastry
13.
(of a drink of spirits) undiluted; neat
14.
(of betting odds) almost even
15.
(informal) have someone by the short and curlies, to have (someone) completely in one’s power
16.
in short supply, scarce
17.
short and sweet, unexpectedly brief
18.
short for, an abbreviation for
adverb
19.
abruptly: to stop short
20.
briefly or concisely
21.
rudely or curtly
22.
(finance) without possessing the securities or commodities at the time of their contractual sale: to sell short
23.
caught short, taken short, having a sudden need to urinate or defecate
24.
fall short

25.
go short, not to have a sufficient amount, etc
26.
short of, except: nothing short of a miracle can save him now
noun
27.
anything that is short
28.
a drink of spirits as opposed to a long drink such as beer
29.
(phonetics, prosody) a short vowel or syllable
30.
(finance)

31.
a short film, usually of a factual nature
32.
See short circuit (sense 1)
33.
(informal) for short, as an abbreviation: he is called Jim for short
34.
in short

verb
35.
See short circuit (sense 2)
adj.

Old English sceort, scort “short, not long, not tall; brief,” probably from Proto-Germanic *skurta- (cf. Old Norse skorta “to be short of,” skort “shortness;” Old High German scurz “short”), from PIE root *(s)ker- (1) “to cut,” with notion of “something cut off” (cf. Sanskrit krdhuh “shortened, maimed, small;” Latin curtus “short,” cordus “late-born,” originally “stunted in growth;” Old Church Slavonic kratuku, Russian korotkij “short;” Lithuanian skurstu “to be stunted,” skardus “steep;” Old Irish cert “small,” Middle Irish corr “stunted, dwarfish”).

Meaning “having an insufficient quantity” is from 1690s. Meaning “rude” is attested from late 14c. Meaning “easily provoked” is from 1590s; perhaps the notion is of being “not long in tolerating.” Short fuse in figurative sense of “quick temper” first attested 1968. To fall short is from archery. Short run “relatively brief period of time” is from 1879. Short story first recorded 1877. To make short work of “dispose of quickly” is first attested 1570s. Phrase short and sweet is from 1530s. To be short by the knees (1733) was to be kneeling; to be short by the head (1540s) was to be beheaded.
n.

1580s, the short “the result, the total,” from short (adj.). Meaning “electrical short circuit” first recorded 1906 (see short circuit). Meaning “contraction of a name or phrase” is from 1873 (as in for short). Slang meaning “car” is attested from 1897; originally “street car,” so called because street cars (or the rides taken in them) were “shorter” than railroad cars.
v.

Old English sceortian “to grow short, become short; run short, fail,” from the source of short (adj.). Transitive meaning “make short” is from late 12c. Meaning “to short-circuit” is by 1904. Related: Shorted; shorting.

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