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[shore up]{v.} To add support to (something) where weakness is shown; make (something) stronger where support is needed; support. •/When the flood waters weakened the bridge, it was shored up with steel beams and sandbags until it could be rebuilt./ •/The coach sent in a substitute guard to shore up the line when Fitchburg began to break through./
[shorn] See: GOD TEMPERS THE WIND TO THE SHORN LAMB.
[short] See: CAUGHT SHORT, FALL SHORT, FOR SHORT, IN BRIEF or IN SHORT, IN SHORT ORDER, IN SHORT SUPPLY, MAKE SHORT WORK OF, RUN SHORT, SELL SHORT, THE LONG AND THE SHORT.
[short and sweet]{adj.} Brief and to the point. •/Henry’s note to his father was short and sweet. He wrote, "Dear Dad, please send me $5. Love, Henry."/
[shortchange]{v. phr.} To return less money to a customer in a store than is coming to him or her; cheat. •/I was shortchanged by the cashier when I got seven dollars back instead of eight./
[shortcut]{n.} A road shorter than the one that people normally take. •/We can save twenty minutes if we take this shortcut over the hill./
[short end]{n.} The worst or most unpleasant part. •/The new boy got the short end of it because all the comfortable beds in the dormitory had been taken before he arrived./ •/The girls who served refreshments at the party got the short end of it. When everybody had been served, there was no cake left for them./
[shorthanded]{adj.} Understaffed; short on workers. •/With several employees gone for the holiday weekend and two dozen people in line, the rent-a-car agency suddenly found itself terribly shorthanded./
[short haul]{n.} A short distance; a short trip. •/The Scoutmaster said that it was just a short haul to the lake./ •/The man from the moving company said they did not make short hauls, so we hired a truck to move our furniture three blocks to our new house./ Contrast: LONG HAUL.
[short list] or [short-listed]{v. phr.} To place on the list of select finalists for a job. •/Only three of the twenty-seven applicants were short-listed for the assistant professorial vacancy in our department./
[short of(1)]{adj. phr.} 1. Less or worse than. •/Don’t do anything short of your best./ 2. Not having enough. •/We did not buy anything because we were short of money./ •/The girls were asked to wait on tables because the kitchen was short of help./
[short of(2)]{adv. phr.} Away from; at a distance from. •/The day’s drive still left us a hundred miles short of the ocean./ •/The golfer’s shot fell far short of the hole./
[short of breath]{adj.} Panting and wheezing. •/He ran up six flights of stairs so rapidly that he was short of breath for several minutes./
[short-order cook]{n.} A person who prepares food that cooks quickly. •/Bruce found a summer job as a short-order cook in a drive-in restaurant./ •/The new diner needs another short-order cook./ Compare: SLING HASH.
[short shrift]{n.} Little or no attention. — Usually used with "get" or "give". •/In books about jobs, women’s work is consistently given short shrift./
[short-spoken]{adj.} Using so few words that you seem impatient or angry; speaking in a short impatient way; saying as little as possible in an unfriendly way. •/Jim is always short-spoken when he is tired./ •/We were hoping to borrow Dad’s car, but he was so short-spoken when he came home that we were afraid to ask./
[shot] See: BIG CHEESE or BIG SHOT, BY A LONG SHOT, CALL ONE’S SHOT, CALL THE SHOTS, FOUL SHOT, LONG SHOT.
[shot in the arm]{n. phr.}, {informal} Something inspiring or encouraging. •/The general’s appearance was a shot in the arm for the weary soldiers./ •/We were ready to quit, but the coach’s talk was a shot in the arm./
[shot in the dark]{n. phr.} An attempt without much hope or chance of succeeding; a wild guess. •/A was just a shot in the dark, but I got the right answer to the teacher’s question./
[shot through with] Full of. •/His speech was shot through with praise for the president./ •/Jane’s letter was shot through with hints for a pony./
[shoulder] See: CHIP ON ONE’S SHOULDER, COLD SHOULDER, GOOD HEAD ON ONE’S SHOULDERS, HEAD AND SHOULDERS, PUT ONE’S SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL, ON ONE’S SHOULDERS, RUB ELBOWS or RUB SHOULDERS, SQUARE ONE’S SHOULDERS, WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ON ONE’S SHOULDERS.
[shoulder to cry on] or [to lean on]{n. phr.} A sympathetic person who is willing to listen to one’s complaints and troubles. •/When Ken left her, Donna needed a shoulder to lean on, and Bob was right there to fill the role./
[shoulder to shoulder]{adv. phr.} 1. One beside the other; together. •/The three boys were shoulder to shoulder all during the working hours./ Compare: SIDE BY SIDE. 2. Each helping the other; in agreement; together. — Often used with "stand". •/We can win the fight if we all stand shoulder to shoulder./ Compare: SEE EYE TO EYE.
[shoulder to the wheel] See: PUT ONE’S SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL.