We tend to think of shorts as meaning “short” – a reference to someone’s height. Also, shorts mean “short” – we all know that too. But something that many people don’t realize is that shorts can have a related, but very different, meaning. Let’s take a closer look.
Coming from an old German word that meant “to cut” ( scurz ), the word short retained a connotation of “end” or “lack” of something. That’s where we get the expression cut short , which means “to interrupt”, “to put an end”. That’s also where we get to be short on something , which means… that’s right, “to be short of something”.
In fact, to be short on has a number of translations, depending on the context, but the meaning is always the same – we are talking about something that is “lacking”.
To comment, in a negative way, that someone has “too much X, but too little Y”, we can formulate the sentence like this: he is long on X, but short on Y.
Furthermore, it is common to see phrases like I’m short on time or He ‘s short on cash.
In the examples below (for Anki ), you see how the expression can be used in very different situations.
I’ve always found his movies long on style and short on content .
We ‘re short on coffee – I’d better get some more .
It seems like kids these days are all short on work ethic .
What he said was a little short on substance .
He ‘s a nice guy, but a little short on brains .
The president’s speech was long on colorful phrases but short on solutions .
He was very short on enthusiasm .
The proposals were short on detail .
I’m a little short on time now .
They said they were short on cash and wouldn’t be able to help us at the time .
What did you think of this expression? Tell me – I’m waiting for you!
