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short shrift

noun
/ˌʃɔːt ˈʃɹɪft/UK/ˌʃɔɹt ˈʃɹɪft/US

Etymology

From short + shrift (“act of going to or hearing a religious confession; confession to a priest”). Shrift is derived from Middle English shrift (“confession to a priest; act or instance of this; sacrament of penance; penance assigned by a priest; penitence, repentance; punishment for sin”) [and other forms], from Old English sċrift (“penance, shrift; something prescribed as punishment, penalty; one who passes sentence, a judge”), from sċrīfan (“of a priest: to prescribe absolution or penance; to pass judgment, ordain, prescribe; to appoint, decree”) (whence shrive), from Proto-Germanic *skrībaną (“to write”), from Latin scrībō (“to write”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ- (“to scratch, tear”).

  1. derived from *(s)kreybʰ-✻ — “to scratch, tear”
  2. derived from scrībō — “to write”
  3. inherited from *skrībaną✻ — “to write”
  4. inherited from sċrift — “penance, shrift; something prescribed as punishment, penalty; one who passes sentence, a judge”
  5. inherited from shrift — “confession to a priest; act or instance of this; sacrament of penance; penance assigned by a priest; penitence, repentance; punishment for sin”

Definitions

  1. A rushed sacrament of confession given to a prisoner who is to be executed very soon.

    • Diſpatch my Lo[rd] the Duke would be at dinner: / Make a ſhort ſhrift, he longs to ſee your head.
    • I pray you, tell my kind cousin, if he loves such companions, he had best keep them in his own estates; for here they are like to meet short shrift and a tight cord.
    • "Doubt not my sanctity," interrupted the Friar, "or I shall be necessitated to convince thee, by shewing thee a cast of my office which will make thee repent of thy error. I am used to give short shrifts and sharp cords."

  2. Speedy execution, usually without any proper determination of guilt.

    • One of the most picturesque objects in Amsterdam was the Herring-packers' Tower. Here persons suspected of heresy were confined, and given short shrift, being thrown out at night, tied hands and feet, into the Y.

  3. A short interval of relief or time.

    • Short were his shrift in that debate, / That hour of fury and of fate, / If Lorn encounter'd Bruce!
  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. Sometimes preceded by the

      Sometimes preceded by the: a quick dismissal or rejection, especially one which is impolite and undertaken without proper consideration.

      • The bank gave me short shrift when I applied for a loan.
      • The proposal got short shrift.

    2. Something dealt with or overcome quickly and without difficulty

      Something dealt with or overcome quickly and without difficulty; something made short work of.

      • He made all haste to the building and notified the fire department, who made short shrift of the small conflagration.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for short shrift. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA