short shrift
noun phrase; informal

- Treatment showing little sympathy, patience or attention.

- Scant consideration given to a person, argument or matter.

- Quick work; historically, a condemned prisoner’s brief opportunity for confession.

Cambridge Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary

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PHRASE ORIGIN

Shrift comes from Old English scrift, meaning confession, penance or absolution. It is related to shrive: to hear someone’s confession and grant absolution. Farther back lies Latin scribere, “to write”, because a penance was something prescribed.

The earliest known appearance of short shrift is in Shakespeare’s Richard III, written around 1592 and first printed in 1597. Lord Hastings has been condemned to immediate execution and is told: “Make a short shrift; he longs to see your head.” His final confession must therefore be distressingly brief.

During the nineteenth century, the expression lost its specifically religious and fatal associations. Giving someone or something short shrift came to mean allowing little time, sympathy or consideration. The execution has vanished, but the impatient dismissal remains.

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THE VALUE OF BEING HEARD

A decision can remain unchanged yet feel fairer simply because someone was allowed to speak.

Psychologists call this the “voice effect”. Research into procedural justice has found that people judge a process more favourably when they can express their views—even if they have no power to alter the result.

One experiment produced a particularly surprising finding: participants responded more positively when permitted to speak after a decision had already been made. Their words could have no practical influence. Being heard still mattered.

This helps explain why an unfavourable answer isn’t always the main source of resentment. People also notice how the answer was reached. Were they allowed to explain? Did the decision-maker appear neutral? Were the reasons clear? Were they treated with respect?

Studies of courts have found that defendants’ willingness to accept decisions is strongly connected with their perception of procedural fairness. A favourable outcome naturally helps, but respectful treatment can matter even when the person loses.

Listening, then, isn’t valuable only because it supplies useful information. It also signals that the speaker belongs in the process and has been recognised as a person rather than processed as a problem.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

brush-off, cursory treatment, dismissive treatment, scant attention, SHORT SHRIFT

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