shortt (short)

[ His sight wasteth, his wytte mynysheth, his lyf shorteth. The Book of Good Manners (1486). 2. Naut., to take in the slack; haul in. We layd out one of those ankers, with a hawser which he had of 140 fadom long, thinking to haue warpt in, but it would not be; for as we shorted vpon ye said warpe the anker came home. Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 277. II. trans. 1. To make short; shorten. And eek I praye, Jhesu shorte hir lyves That nat wol be governed by hir wyves. Chaucer, Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 405. Which affray shorttyd the lyffdayes of the sayd Phillippe, whiche dyed withynne shorte tyme after the said Paston Letters , I. 278. affray. IMG:content-0919.png:[blocks in formation] or the like. IMG:content-0920.png:[blocks in formation] 4. pl. The bran and coarse part of meal, in mixture.-5. pl. In rope - making, the toppings and tailings of hemp, which are dre ed for boltropes and whale-lines; also, hemp inferior to that used in making staple ropes.-6. pl. Small-clothes; knee-breeches: a term introduced when but few persons still wore this dre , trousers being more common. A little emphatic man, with a bald head, and drab shorts, who suddenly rushed up the ladder, at the imminent peril of snapping the two little legs encased in the drab shorts . Dickens, Pickwick, xxxiii. We can recall a pair of drab shorts worn as part of a walking dre , with low quartered shoes and white-cotton stockings, nearly as late as 1829 or 30. Quarterly Rev., CXLVI. 195. The little old gentleman... follows him, in black shorts and white silk stockings. W. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, p. 49. 7. pl. In printing , the copies that have been or should be reprinted to make full a deficient edition.-8. In exchange dealings : ( a ) A short sale: as, to cover one's shorts. (b) One who has made short sales, or has sold short. See to sell short, below.-9. In base - ball , same as short-stop. For short, by way of abbreviation: as, her name is Elizabeth, but she is called Bet for short . [Colloq.] The property-man, or, as he is always called, "props," for short. New York Tribune , July 14, 1889. In short, in few words; in brief; to sum up briefly. Now I must telle in shorte , for I muste so, Youre observaunce that ye shalle done at none. Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 5. Gay and sunny, pellucid in air and water, we are sure that Smyrna is in short , everything that could be wished. De Quincey, Homer, i. To cover shorts. See cover1 . short (short), adv. [ Speak short , and have as short despatch. Fletcher, Humorous Lieutenant, i. 1. If the cakes at tea ate short and crisp, they were made Goldsmith, Vicar, xvi. by Olivia. He answer'd not, Or short and coldly. Tennyson, Lance lot and Elaine. To blow short. See blowl. - To cut short. See cut. -To sell short, in exchange dealings, to sell what the seller does not at the time po e , but hopes to buy at a lower rate before the time specified for delivery. - To set shortt, to regard or treat as of little value. Com pare to set light, etc. For-thy ich consaille alle creatures no clerk to dispise, No sette short by here science what so the i don hemselue. Piers Plowman (C), xv. 65. To take up short, to check abruptly; answer or interrupt curtly; take to task unceremoniously or uncivilly. When some of their Officers that had been sent to apprehend him came back with admiration of him, and said, Never man spake like this man, they take them up short , and tell them, They must believe as the Church believes. Stilling fleet , Sermons, II. x. i. He was taken up short, as one that spoke irreverently of a mystery. Swift , Tale of a Tub, ii. deficit; deficiency; the amount by which anything is short. On all Grain blown and screened to lighters for harbor delivery, shortage in exce of one bushel per you sand bushels will not be guaranteed. New York Produce Exchange Report , 1888-9, p. 236. short-armed (short'ärmd), a. Having short arms; not reaching far; hence, feeble. Which short - armed ignorance itself knows. Shak., T. and C., ii. 3. 15.