Dictionary

the long and short en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (followed by of, usually) 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.
   • 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. 2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Omega:
   • NR explained: "The long and short of it is that there is too much concern that the timetable wouldn't work in practice. 2024 May 1, Philip Haigh, “Network News: Pathing issues see NR ditch ECML December timetable”, in RAIL, number 1008, page 7:

Forms

Relateds

long story short · longs and shorts · in a nutshell

Synonyms

digest · summary · upshot

Translations (1)

ru самая суть (gist)