caught short

adjective

Needing to use the toilet at a point where no toilet facilities are available.

Similar
taken short
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Meanings

adjectivecaught short (not comparable)
  1. UKeuphemisticnot comparableNeeding to use the toilet at a point where no toilet facilities are available.

    Some clever person came up with the apt name of little John (or big John for the optimist) for a suitably shaped container for those who were caught short.

    2009, Colin Cox, Short Hops Across the Atlantic, page 174

    Synonyms: taken short

  2. idiomaticinformalnot comparableunprepared or without enough of something when it is needed

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveNeeding to use the toilet at a point where no toilet facilities are available.

Similar
taken short
Also see
bleedingcatameniacursemenstruationshark weektaken short

Origin

Compare French prendre de court.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

caught short. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caught%20short

MLA

“caught short.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caught%20short. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “caught short,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caught%20short.

Source: caught short on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.