short end of the stick

短语

发音

AU

词形变化

short ends of the stick 复数 short ends of the stick

别名

short end

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    A situation, opportunity, or outcome which is less favorable than situations, opportunities, or outcomes experienced by or available to others.

    习语

    Near-synonyms: shitty stick; shortest straw; raw deal

    Soviet emphasis on high-yield weapons might give them a megaton surplus. . . . We might then be on the short end of the stick.

词源

Unknown. Attested since the 1500s, suggested by one theory to be a minced oath of shit end of the stick, as an 1840s cite uses crappy, but this theory is unlikely. Possibly also derived from a previous literal meaning, as wrong end of the stick is even older, though the precise literal meaning is unclear.

来源：wiktionary