See short end of the stick in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{ "etymology_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "en" }, "expansion": "Unknown", "name": "unk" } ], "etymology_text": "Unknown. Attested since the 1500s, suggested by one theory to be a minced oath of shit end of the stick, as an 1840s cite uses crappy, but this theory is unlikely. Possibly also derived from a previous literal meaning, as wrong end of the stick is even older, though the precise literal meaning is unclear.", "forms": [ { "form": "short ends of the stick", "tags": [ "plural" ] }, { "form": "short end", "tags": [ "alternative" ] } ], "head_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "short ends of the stick" }, "expansion": "short end of the stick (plural short ends of the stick)", "name": "en-noun" } ], "lang": "English", "lang_code": "en", "pos": "noun", "senses": [ { "categories": [ { "kind": "other", "name": "English entries with incorrect language header", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Pages with 1 entry", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Pages with entries", "parents": [], "source": "w" } ], "examples": [ { "text": "Near-synonyms: shitty stick; shortest straw; raw deal" }, { "ref": "1963 April, Ralph E. Lapp, \"The Strategy of Overkill,\" Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, p. 10 (Google preview)", "text": "Soviet emphasis on high-yield weapons might give them a megaton surplus. . . . We might then be on the short end of the stick." }, { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 304, 326 ] ], "ref": "1981 August 24, Claudia Wallis, “Gee Thanks, Ronnie, but...”, in Time, retrieved 2014-04-10:", "text": "[T]he 44 Governors . . . spent three days in tense, often heated discussion of the enormous political and fiscal problems handed to the states under President Reagan's \"new federalism.\" Said Wisconsin Governor Lee Dreyfus: \"There is some apprehension on the part of the Governors that we are getting the short end of the stick.\"", "type": "quote" }, { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 110, 132 ] ], "ref": "2010 July 9, Bob Herbert, “Restoring a Hallowed Vision”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-04-10:", "text": "“[W]orking people are sick and tired of the bosses getting million-dollar bonuses and the workers getting the short end of the stick.”", "type": "quote" }, { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 37, 59 ] ], "ref": "2012 September 2, Tim Jonze, “Africa Express: rolling coverage”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 2014-04-10:", "text": "Does this mean Middlesbrough get the short end of the stick, with what will surely be the most ramshackle show of the tour?", "type": "quote" }, { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 68, 90 ] ], "ref": "2021 August 5, Shira Ovide, “YouTube Is Underwhelming”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:", "text": "I learned the hard way that people who ditch cable TV still get the short end of the stick.", "type": "quote" } ], "glosses": [ "A situation, opportunity, or outcome which is less favorable than situations, opportunities, or outcomes experienced by or available to others." ], "id": "en-short_end_of_the_stick-en-noun-3GH6szeD", "links": [ [ "situation", "situation" ], [ "opportunity", "opportunity" ], [ "outcome", "outcome" ], [ "favorable", "favorable" ], [ "experience", "experience" ], [ "available", "available" ] ], "raw_glosses": [ "(idiomatic) A situation, opportunity, or outcome which is less favorable than situations, opportunities, or outcomes experienced by or available to others." ], "related": [ { "word": "wrong end of the stick" }, { "word": "short straw" } ], "tags": [ "idiomatic" ] } ], "sounds": [ { "audio": "En-au-short end of the stick.ogg", "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0d/En-au-short_end_of_the_stick.ogg/En-au-short_end_of_the_stick.ogg.mp3", "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/En-au-short_end_of_the_stick.ogg" } ], "word": "short end of the stick" }
{ "etymology_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "en" }, "expansion": "Unknown", "name": "unk" } ], "etymology_text": "Unknown. Attested since the 1500s, suggested by one theory to be a minced oath of shit end of the stick, as an 1840s cite uses crappy, but this theory is unlikely. Possibly also derived from a previous literal meaning, as wrong end of the stick is even older, though the precise literal meaning is unclear.", "forms": [ { "form": "short ends of the stick", "tags": [ "plural" ] }, { "form": "short end", "tags": [ "alternative" ] } ], "head_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "short ends of the stick" }, "expansion": "short end of the stick (plural short ends of the stick)", "name": "en-noun" } ], "lang": "English", "lang_code": "en", "pos": "noun", "related": [ { "word": "wrong end of the stick" }, { "word": "short straw" } ], "senses": [ { "categories": [ "English countable nouns", "English entries with incorrect language header", "English idioms", "English lemmas", "English multiword terms", "English nouns", "English terms with quotations", "English terms with unknown etymologies", "Pages with 1 entry", "Pages with entries" ], "examples": [ { "text": "Near-synonyms: shitty stick; shortest straw; raw deal" }, { "ref": "1963 April, Ralph E. Lapp, \"The Strategy of Overkill,\" Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, p. 10 (Google preview)", "text": "Soviet emphasis on high-yield weapons might give them a megaton surplus. . . . We might then be on the short end of the stick." }, { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 304, 326 ] ], "ref": "1981 August 24, Claudia Wallis, “Gee Thanks, Ronnie, but...”, in Time, retrieved 2014-04-10:", "text": "[T]he 44 Governors . . . spent three days in tense, often heated discussion of the enormous political and fiscal problems handed to the states under President Reagan's \"new federalism.\" Said Wisconsin Governor Lee Dreyfus: \"There is some apprehension on the part of the Governors that we are getting the short end of the stick.\"", "type": "quote" }, { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 110, 132 ] ], "ref": "2010 July 9, Bob Herbert, “Restoring a Hallowed Vision”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-04-10:", "text": "“[W]orking people are sick and tired of the bosses getting million-dollar bonuses and the workers getting the short end of the stick.”", "type": "quote" }, { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 37, 59 ] ], "ref": "2012 September 2, Tim Jonze, “Africa Express: rolling coverage”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 2014-04-10:", "text": "Does this mean Middlesbrough get the short end of the stick, with what will surely be the most ramshackle show of the tour?", "type": "quote" }, { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 68, 90 ] ], "ref": "2021 August 5, Shira Ovide, “YouTube Is Underwhelming”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:", "text": "I learned the hard way that people who ditch cable TV still get the short end of the stick.", "type": "quote" } ], "glosses": [ "A situation, opportunity, or outcome which is less favorable than situations, opportunities, or outcomes experienced by or available to others." ], "links": [ [ "situation", "situation" ], [ "opportunity", "opportunity" ], [ "outcome", "outcome" ], [ "favorable", "favorable" ], [ "experience", "experience" ], [ "available", "available" ] ], "raw_glosses": [ "(idiomatic) A situation, opportunity, or outcome which is less favorable than situations, opportunities, or outcomes experienced by or available to others." ], "tags": [ "idiomatic" ] } ], "sounds": [ { "audio": "En-au-short end of the stick.ogg", "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0d/En-au-short_end_of_the_stick.ogg/En-au-short_end_of_the_stick.ogg.mp3", "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/En-au-short_end_of_the_stick.ogg" } ], "word": "short end of the stick" }
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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-05-27 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-05-20 using wiktextract (a4e883e and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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