short shrift

noun

: barely adequate time for confession before execution

: little or no attention or consideration

gave the problem short shrift

: quick work

—usually used in the phrase make short shrift of

Did you know?

We’ve got a confession to make, but we’ll keep it brief: while it’s technically possible to make “long shrift” of something, you’re unlikely to find long shrift in our (virtual or actual) pages anytime soon. Short shrift, on the other hand, has been keeping it real—real terse, that is—for centuries. The earliest known use of the phrase comes from William Shakespeare’s play Richard III, in which Lord Hastings, who has been condemned by King Richard to be beheaded, is told by Sir Richard Ratcliffe to “Make a short shrift” as the king “longs to see your head.” Although now archaic, the noun shrift was understood in Shakespeare’s time to refer to the confession or absolution of sins, so “make a short shrift” meant, quite literally, “keep your confession short.” However, since at least the 19th century the phrase has been used figuratively to refer to a small or inadequate amount of time or attention given to something.

Examples of short shrift in a Sentence

He gives short shrift to the author's later works.

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

But the other big thing — her friendship with Snoop Dogg — was given short shrift in the soundtrack. —

Bethy Squires, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2024 Of all those jobs, the unseen, nonpublic-facing one—the actual cremation—began to get short shrift. —

Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024 The media focuses largely on the presidential and congressional contests, but that emphasis gives short shrift to other important decisions voters will make. —

Karlyn Bowman, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024 To tell that many stories in an hour gives short shrift to everybody. —

Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 11 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for short shrift