shortness

short ► ADJECTIVE 1) of a small length or duration. 2) relatively small in extent. 3) (of a person) small in height. 4) (short of/on) not having enough of. 5) in insufficient supply. 6) (of a person) terse; uncivil. 7) (of a ball in sport) travelling only a small distance, or not far enough. 8) (of odds or a chance) reflecting or representing a high level of probability. 9) Phonetics (of a vowel) categorized as short with regard to quality and length (e.g. in standard British English the vowel sound in good). 10) (of pastry) containing a high proportion of fat to flour and therefore crumbly.

► ADVERB ▪ (in sport) at, to, or over a short distance, or not as far as the point aimed at.

► NOUN 1) Brit. informal a strong alcoholic drink, especially spirits, served in small measures. 2) a short film as opposed to a feature film. 3) a short circuit.

► VERB ▪ short-circuit.

● be caught short — Cf. ↑be caught short

● bring (or pull) up short — Cf. ↑pull up short

● for short — Cf. ↑for short

● get (or have) by the short and curlies — Cf. ↑have by the short and curlies

● go short — Cf. ↑go short

● in short — Cf. ↑in short

● in the short run (or term) — Cf. ↑in the short term

● in short supply — Cf. ↑in short supply

● make short work of — Cf. ↑make short work of

● short for — Cf. ↑short for

● short of — Cf. ↑short of

● stop short — Cf. ↑stop short

DERIVATIVES shortish adjective shortness noun.

ORIGIN Old English, related to SHIRT(Cf. ↑shirted), SKIRT(Cf. ↑skirt).