Meanings
alternative the long and the short
- usuallyThe 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.
2 more examples
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: OmegaNR 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
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe gist; the essence or substance; the most important or salient features.
Translations
Russian самая суть
- самая суть (samaja sutʹ)gist
Cite this entry
the long and short. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20long%20and%20short
“the long and short.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20long%20and%20short. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the long and short,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20long%20and%20short.
Source: the long and short on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.