the long and short

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English

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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the long and short

  1. (usually followed by of) The gist; the essence or substance; the most important or salient features.
    The speech went on for hours, but the long and short of it is that not much has changed since last year.
    • 2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Omega:
      Shepard: What's your relationship with Cerberus?
      Zaeed: Easy. Cerberus is paying me a lot of money to help you on your mission. That's the long and short.
    • 2024 May 1, Philip Haigh, “Network News: Pathing issues see NR ditch ECML December timetable”, in RAIL, number 1008, page 7:
      NR explained: "The long and short of it is that there is too much concern that the timetable wouldn't work in practice.

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