short sharp shock

noun

A regime intended to deter crime by making an immediate severe impact.

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Meanings

nounshort sharp shock (plural short sharp shocks)

plural short sharp shocks

  1. UKA regime intended to deter crime by making an immediate severe impact.

    While COVID-19 has provided a short, sharp shock to the industry, the end hopefully appears to be in sight.

    2020 December 2, Mark Phillips, “Rebuilding Rail in the 2020s”, in Rail, page 47

Origin

Coined by W. S. Gilbert in the song "I Am So Proud" from The Mikado, referring euphemistically to a beheading.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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