Short

To be short

Today I’m going to show you one way to use the expression, “to be short.” I’m not talking about my own personal stature. Actually, since moving to Mexico, I’ve gone from being slightly below-average height to being slightly above-average height, so I’m feeling pretty tall right now.

I’m going to show you a different way to use it. We can use the phrase “to be short” when talking about something that is scarce, something that is limited in quantity. And if something is short, you don’t have enough of it. Time, money, and space are three things that can be short.

You heard it today in the context of space. Space is short in London’s cemeteries . That means space is scarce; there isn’t a lot of it; in fact, there isn’t enough of it.

How often do you order meals from delivery apps? I don’t do that very often. The extra fees tend to add up . But when time is short, I do sometimes order from the apps. When time is short: when I don’t have enough time to do everything I need to do. When I’m on my way home, it’s already 8:30 at night, I don’t have anything prepared: time is short. That’s when I might order from a delivery app. For me, that’s maybe once every two weeks. I do it only when time is short and I don’t have anything ready at home.

YouTube is experimenting with free ad-supported streaming channels. If you don’t subscribe to pay television, you probably have streaming services like HBO Max and Netflix. But those require you to pick and choose what to watch, and, crucially, you have to pay.

Some people like the old television model of flipping through the channels to see what’s on. That’s not me, but some people like that. So YouTube is creating some “channels” with content playing 24 hours a day, and people can flip through the channels just like on their old cable plan. These channels include ads, and they will be free.

Anyway, I read an article saying that when money is short, “free” is a good price for an entertainment option. A lot of people think the world is heading for a recession. We’ve had a couple of years of high inflation. And the bills for monthly services add up, so for many people money is short. And if money is short, then it’s nice to have another streaming or entertainment option that you don’t have to pay for.

When I lived in New York, I knew people who would share one-bedroom apartments. They would be professionals, college graduates, with good jobs, paying $50,000 or $75,000 per year. And they would share a one-bedroom apartment! They would hang a sheet down the middle of the one bedroom—these are unrelated people, not dating—they’d hang a sheet or even build a temporary wall in the middle of the one single bedroom, and put a bed on either side. Why?

Living space in New York is short. There’s just not enough of it for the people who want to live there. So the prices are high and the simple lack of availability causes people to do some crazy things. When space is short, you have to make compromises.

So those are some examples with time, space, and money being short. Time is short; space is short; money is short—it all means that there is not enough of it. Those are the most common words to use with “short” in this sense.

It’s less common, but you can say your patience is short. You might say this to your kids. “My patience is short today, so I need you to be on your best behavior.” In a sports context, if you throw or kick a ball and it doesn’t go far enough, you can use “short.” In American football, if a player attempts a long field-goal, and it doesn’t quite reach the crossbar, you can say, “The kick was short.” So those are a few more examples, but the most common would be time, space, and money.

JR’s song of the week

Today’s song of the week is “You Should Probably Leave” by Chris Stapleton. It’s about—how shall I put this?—resisting temptation. It’s a good sound, like a southern country sound. “You Should Probably Leave” by Chris Stapleton is the song of the week.

See you next time!

If you’re a Plus+ member, then you can find this page on the website, get there by going to PlainEnglish.com/543, and below this page, with the expression, is a practice area where you can write your own examples with the word “short” and I will give you personal feedback. And the space for this is not short: it’s unlimited. This is a great advantage of the Plus+ membership. Underneath everything you learn—the videos and the expressions—is the chance to practice it in writing, and get individual feedback from me.

One of the ways I start my day is to look at all the great examples Plus+ members have written below the video and expression lessons on the web site. If you’re a Plus+ member, you get that at PlainEnglish.com/543 and under every single expression and video on the site.

If you’re not yet a Plus+ member, this is one of the great benefits to consider. You learn a new word, you think you understand it, you want to try to use it in real life…but you don’t want to do it wrong. That’s why we have this feature, you practice with us, and you’ll get it right in the real world. If that sounds like something that can help you, then visit us at PlainEnglish.com/Plus and sign up today.

We’ll be back next Monday with a new lesson, as always. See you then!