sawn-off shotgun

English

Alternative forms

• sawed-off shotgun (US)

Noun

sawn-off shotgun (plural sawn-off shotguns)

1. A shotgun whose barrel(s) has been shortened to give a larger spread, though with more limited range (often for illegal purposes).
   • 2007, “Jigsaw Falling into Place”, in In Rainbows, performed by Radiohead:

     I never really got there / I just pretended that I had / Words are blunt instruments / Words are sawn-off shotguns

Further reading

• sawed-off shotgun on Wikipedia.Wikipedia