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The meaning and origin of the expression: This is the short and the long of it

This is the short and the long of it

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What's the meaning of the phrase 'This is the short and the long of it'?

The short and long of it is the substance; the plain truth. It is used to refer to something which is unambiguous and may be described quite simply - the long version and the short version being the same. For example, "You can debate the 1971 Ali/Frazier fight all you like but the long and short of it is 'Frazier won'".

For some reason, later users of the expression have preferred to use the reverse form - 'the long and short of it'.

What's the origin of the phrase 'This is the short and the long of it'?

The meaning and origin of the phrase 'The short and the long of it'From Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1600:

MISTRESS QUICKLY: Marry, this is the short and the long of it; you have brought her into such a canaries as 'tis wonderful. The best courtier of them all, when the court lay at Windsor, could never have brought her to such a canary.

Gary Martin - the author of the phrases.org.uk website.

By Gary Martin

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

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