GET THE SHORT END OF THE STICK definition
Translations of get the short end of the stick
in Chinese (Traditional)
倒楣,承受某情況的惡果…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
倒霉,承受某情况的恶果…
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get the message across phrase
get the message phrase
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get the short end of the stick idiom
get the wrong end of the stick idiom
get the/this show on the road idiom
get this show on the road idiom
get through
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Contents
EnglishTranslations
The saying ‘The short end of the stick’
The short end of the stick
Other phrases about:
- The proverbs of John Heywood
- Phrases from by Nicholas Udall
What’s the meaning of the phrase ‘The short end of the stick’?
To get the short end of the stick is to come off worst in a bargain or contest.
What’s the origin of the phrase ‘The short end of the stick’?
The expression ‘the … end of the stick’ comes in many forms. The majority of these refer to getting the worse or, occasionally, the better part of a bargain. They inserted adjectives which indicate the bad outcome are ‘short’, ‘crappy’ or ‘blunt‘ (or their synonyms or antonyms). There is also the phrase ‘getting the wrong end of the stick’, which has a different meaning, that is, ‘having the facts wrong’ or simply ‘being mistaken’.
Taking the occurrence of these in search engines as a guide, the four forms rank in popularity of current usage like this:
1. Short/shorter/long.
2. Wrong/rough/right.
3. Shit/shitty/dirty/crap/crappy.
4. Butt/blunt/pointy/pointed/thick.
Both meanings of the phrase, that is, bad bargain or wrong facts, originated with a negative connotation. The ‘long end of the stick’ and ‘right end of the stick’ were coined later as simple opposites of their respective original form.
The ‘worst end of a bargain’ form of the expression is quite an old phrase and, in keeping with its medieval origins, originally referred to a staff, rather than a stick; for example, the phrase occurs in Nicolas Udall’s Apophthegmes of Erasmus, 1542:
As often as thei see theim selfes to haue the wurse ende of the staffe in their cause.
The jump from staff to stick was made explicit soon afterwards, when John Heywood published his notable reference work, A Dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe tongue, 1562:
“The worst end of the staff”, we now say “wrong end of the stick”.
Heywood makes it eminently clear that, in the 16th century, ‘the wrong end of the stick’ meant the same as ‘the worst end of the stick’. The meaning of that phrase didn’t change, that is, people didn’t start getting the wrong end of the stick in the sense of ‘being mistaken’, until the mid 19th century. The earliest use that I can find of the phrase in that context is in the British political magazine The New Monthly Magazine, 1850:
“I am so stupid – I am so apt to take things up in a wrong light. In fact, I am always getting hold of the wrong end of the stick.”
‘The short end of the stick’ is by far the most commonly used form of the phrase. That is rather odd, in that the ends of sticks can be dirty or pointy, they can even be iridescent or hirsute, but it is difficult to see how they can be short. This has spawned the suggestion that ‘short’ is simply a euphemism for ‘shit’ – after all sticks can be shitty and that form of the phrase is also commonplace.
The date of ‘the shit end of the stick’ makes this theory at least plausible, in that the phrase was known in that form by the mid 19th century, as in this example from The Swell’s Night Guide, 1846:
Which of us had hold of the crappy (sh-ten) end of the stick?
I can find no examples of ‘the short end of the stick’ with the current figurative meaning that pre-date that example.
To take the case for the opposition to the ‘short’ equals ‘shit’ premise, it isn’t difficult to find examples in print of people grasping ‘the short end of the stick’ that are clearly intended to be literal, that is, a real stick was involved. What a short end of a stick is still unclear to me, but it seems that others, in the 19th century at least, knew what it meant. The jury is still out
Outdoor stick technique [IT tambourine]
A short stick, 18 to 24 inches long (45–61 cm) and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, can serve as an ideal weapon. If such a stick is not at hand, it can be replaced with a tree branch, an umbrella, with a certain skill, a bottle of water.
Sticks are made from palm wood, bamboo, kamagong. Their length is in the range of 70-80 cm, diameter is 2.5-3 cm, the ends are blunt. They are called “baston” or “muton”. Short sticks imitating “dagu” (dagger) are 30-40 cm long. The pole is usually equal in length to two “bastons”.
Technique:
The basic principle of stick fighting is as follows: to carry out undercutting blows to the legs, poking to the body and head, chopping to the hands.
Overhead save throw. Scouts must firmly grasp that when trying to strike with a machine gun (with a stick) from above on the head or on the side of the jaw, the enemy most often manages to put his hands up. Consequently, it will not work to “knock out” it with one blow, in addition, noise will inevitably rise: screams, stomp, fuss. Therefore, the first blow with the butt should be applied either from below in the stomach (or in the groin), or in a straight line to the face. Then the enemy will not have time to scream, he will settle on the ground and it will be possible to finish him off with a butt blow to the neck, throat or temple already on the ground.
Option 1: Captain William Fairbairn: Attack with a short stick or cane
Option 2: More forgiving than option 1. As in a bayonet fight.
- You stand facing your opponent as shown in fig. 88. We hold the stick in front of us parallel to the ground. The right hand is on top, the left is on the bottom. The distance from the edge of the stick is at least one and a half palms.
- Strike the opponent in the stomach with the left end of the stick in a sharp circular motion to the right. When executing this blow, one should remember four important points that must be carried out simultaneously: a) From a free grip of both ends of the stick, one must immediately go to a strong grip of the stick in the hands; b) The left hand must move to the right; c) The movement of the right hand should be directed inward to the left, but it should be much shorter than the movement of the left hand, since the right hand moves to the right side; d) Performing the reception, take a step with your left foot forward to the right. This will allow you to put the weight of your body into the blow, as shown in Fig. 89. The stick moves parallel to the ground, does not rise.
With the same end of the stick, practically without a swing, a blow is applied to the stomach with the end of the stick. Like a bayonet.
- Step towards the enemy. Blow up with the middle of the stick under the chin fig. 93.
- Strike with the right end of the stick to the temple.
The stick is held with one hand. The palm is located at least 10-15 cm from the edge of the stick. The stick is pointing down. It turns out like a reverse grip for a knife.
No swing. The upper end of the stick is beaten in the groin of the enemy with a step forward.
Outgoing. A whipping blow with the lower part of the stick in the groin of the opponent. The position of the stick is always perpendicular to the ground.
The stick rests on the right shoulder and is held with the right hand only.
Grasp the wrist of the right hand with the left hand.
With a turn of the body and a squat (to strengthen the blow), we strike from the side to the opponent’s knee.
Short stick with which the traffic controller indicates the direction of traffic 4 letters
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