the long and short of it is...
to sum things up...
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
---
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT is that today’s teens are spoiled for choice; they don’t need Facebook to stay in touch.
(www.techcrunch.com)
---
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT is that if publishers, Microsoft, and presumably others want to do away with the used-games market as we know it, the pricing for games is going to have to change.
(www.cnet.com)
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT is that today’s teens are spoiled for choice; they don’t need Facebook to stay in touch.
(www.techcrunch.com)
---
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT is that if publishers, Microsoft, and presumably others want to do away with the used-games market as we know it, the pricing for games is going to have to change.
(www.cnet.com)
Did you
know?
the long and short of it
idiom
- the most important point; the summary of the matter
(McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs)
---
The long and short of it is, this expression has been around since the 16th century but no one knows the exact origin. The original order was reversed, so that people said, "the short and long of it." The present order - long and short - was established in the 17th century and has been the most common form since then.
The idea behind the phrase is that when explaining something, if you have told it long AND short, then you have said all that needs to be said. A similar expression is "to make a long story short," which is a way of summing up a longer story in case the person or people you are talking to appear bored or impatient. It is sometimes expressed as "to cut a long story short."
Long and short are also used in the phrase "the longest way round is the shortest way home," which is a proverb that means while it may seem to take too long to do something carefully and according to directions, it will in fact take less time than doing something carelessly, because you will not have to fix it afterwards.
Finally, there is the idiom "long on something and short on something," which is a way to describe having too much of one quality and not enough of another (The film was long on humour, but short on acting).
As a side note, our favourite use of the expression "the long and short of it" is for the name of a news magazine and Internet blog for Dachshund lovers.
---
SYNONYMS
in summary, to sum it up, the bottom line, in effect, when you boil it down, in a nutshell, to make it short and sweet
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The long and short of it is, successful services require good customer support."
idiom
- the most important point; the summary of the matter
(McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs)
---
The long and short of it is, this expression has been around since the 16th century but no one knows the exact origin. The original order was reversed, so that people said, "the short and long of it." The present order - long and short - was established in the 17th century and has been the most common form since then.
The idea behind the phrase is that when explaining something, if you have told it long AND short, then you have said all that needs to be said. A similar expression is "to make a long story short," which is a way of summing up a longer story in case the person or people you are talking to appear bored or impatient. It is sometimes expressed as "to cut a long story short."
Long and short are also used in the phrase "the longest way round is the shortest way home," which is a proverb that means while it may seem to take too long to do something carefully and according to directions, it will in fact take less time than doing something carelessly, because you will not have to fix it afterwards.
Finally, there is the idiom "long on something and short on something," which is a way to describe having too much of one quality and not enough of another (The film was long on humour, but short on acting).
As a side note, our favourite use of the expression "the long and short of it" is for the name of a news magazine and Internet blog for Dachshund lovers.
---
SYNONYMS
in summary, to sum it up, the bottom line, in effect, when you boil it down, in a nutshell, to make it short and sweet
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The long and short of it is, successful services require good customer support."
