Meaning of short shrift | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A rushed sacrament of confession given to a prisoner who is to be executed very soon.
   countable, historical, uncountable
2. Speedy execution, usually without any proper determination of guilt.
   broadly, uncountable
3. A short interval of relief or time.
   broadly, countable
4. Sometimes preceded by the: a quick dismissal or rejection, especially one which is impolite and undertaken without proper consideration.
   figuratively, uncountable
5. Something dealt with or overcome quickly and without difficulty; something made short work of.
   dated, figuratively, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“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."”

“"I demand⟳ a brief space and a confessor, to make⟳ my peace with heaven." […] "Grant his request⟳," said the archbishop, in a careless tone, which showed that he only spoke to save⟳ appearances; "my chaplain, upon whose discretion I can rely⟳, will make⟳ short shrift with them."”

“[A]n hour was allotted him to make⟳ peace with the Unknown; ropes were placed around the necks of the three, and at the end⟳ of the time they were given short shrift, and were soon hanging between heaven and earth.”

“"Here is a spy of the enemy, General," said the Sergeant. / "Make⟳ short shrift of him! We have⟳ no time for court-martials now." / "He's been condemned already, sir. He's the same man that was rescued from under the gallows by Commodore Stout's men."”

“Where actual disloyalty could be directly or constructively proved, the Crown made short shrift about surrenders, as in the case of those houses which were implicated in the Pilgrimage of Grace: the monks were tied up to the nearest beam, the abbots condemned to the halter and the butcher's knife (on which [Thomas] Cromwell called "sorted" evidence), and the property at once confiscated.”

“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.”

“Painfully he tried to puzzle out what had happened. Obviously somebody must have⟳ crept up behind him as he listened and struck him down with a blow⟳ on the head. They knew him now for a spy, and would in all probability give⟳ him short shrift.”

“Short were his shrift in that debate⟳, / That hour of fury and of fate, / If Lorn encounter'd Bruce!”

“The bank gave me short shrift when I applied for a loan.”

“It will scarcely be believed that this heavy burden is sought to be discharged in a way which would meet⟳ with very short shrift in any judicial tribunal, or, for the matter⟳ of that, in any tribunal presided over by sound⟳ common-sense and judgment.”

“Some environmentalists are critical of TACB for being too pro-business and giving short shrifts to their concerns.”

“Until fairly recent times, Native Americans involved in crimes were often gratuitously identified in the local press⟳ as Indians. In some papers tribal concerns were given short shrift.”

“"Winterfell" does a lot of work⟳ in a short amount of time, but unlike some previous episodes that engaged in significant table setting, it never feels too rushed or like⟳ characters are being given short shrift in the effort to hurry⟳ to the next beat⟳.”

“But [Donald] Trump's biggest crime Wednesday night was the short shrift he gave to what should have⟳ been his core message: Keep⟳ your distance.”

“[L]ast week that scoundrel of a factor went to the hut with two of his men and seized the cow because they couldn't pay⟳ the rent⟳—said his lordship advised him to give⟳ short shrift, since indulgence did not pay⟳—that he himself was in want⟳ of money for his travels, and must get⟳ the rents of Uribol.”

“The moral sense⟳ of the world would have⟳ been shocked at the spectacle of a vulgar commonplace ruffian who, in a public railway saloon, publicly shot the chief magistrate of the United States, in the presence of a Cabinet minister and a number⟳ of spectators. Taken in the very fact, with his smoking pistol in hand, it would be thought that his shrift would be short. But short shrifts do not pay⟳ the gentlemen of the long robe, and, accordingly, day after day and week after week was the legal farce prolonged.”

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

CEFR level