Short End of the stick




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Short End of the stick : Phrases



Meaning:

The inferior part; worse side of an unequal deal.


Example:

Trudy got the short end of the stick by having to work an extra hour on graveyard shift of Daylight Savings Day.


Origin:

1500s origin from term worse end of the staff which in the mid-1800s became short or shitty end of the stick - allegedly from a stick poked up one's rectum by another in command of the situation.

Alternative: Fighting with sticks, where having a shorter stick is a disadvantage.


Related Phrase: Wrong End Of The Stick.

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