short of
English
Phrase
- Except; but; without resorting to; up to the point of.
- He tried everything short of lending her the money himself.
- Insufficiently equipped with.
- He's a nice person, but a bit short of brains.
- Less than.
- An Olympic athlete cannot perform at any level short of world-class.
Usage notes
- "Short of" is often used in full-deckisms such as "a few sandwiches short of a picnic" (i.e. "foolish" or "insane"). See "a few X short of a Y" in Appendix:English snowclones.
Translations
except — see except
insufficiently equipped with
less than