long and short

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

The end; the result; the upshot.


You see I should have bore down on Sol Gills yesterday, but she took it away and kept it. That's the long and short of the subject.--Dombey and Son, ch. 23.

The long and short of all this was, that the white man and Indian girl got married.--Simon Suggs, p. 71.

But the long and short of it is, that if he keeps growing stupid, I'll send him adrift.--J. C. Neal, P. Ploddy, p. 15.

Well, uncle, the long and short of the matter is, that whether you advise me or not, I am determined to be no longer a burden to mother.--My Uncle Hobson and I, p. 24.

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