the long and the short of it

the long and the short of it
all that can or need be said

the long and short of it is that he got himself mugged

* * *

the long and (the) short of it
— used when making a statement that is brief and that tells someone only the most important parts of something

I could give you a lot of reasons for my decision, but the long and short of it is that I just don't want to go.

• • •
Main Entry:long
————————
the long and (the) short of it — see long, 3
• • •
Main Entry:short

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • The long and the short — Short Short, n. 1. A summary account. [1913 Webster] The short and the long is, our play is preferred. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. pl. The part of milled grain sifted out which is next finer than the bran. [1913 Webster] The first remove above bran… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • the long and the short — or[the long and short] {n. phr.} All that needs to be said; the basic fact; point. * /The long and the short of the matter is that the man is no actor./ * /The money isn t there, and that s the long and short of it./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • the long and the short — or[the long and short] {n. phr.} All that needs to be said; the basic fact; point. * /The long and the short of the matter is that the man is no actor./ * /The money isn t there, and that s the long and short of it./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • the long and the short — phrasal see the long and short …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • long and short of it — {n. phr.} The essence; the whole story in a nutshell. * /The long and short of it is that he is lazy and doesn t really want to find a job./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • long and short of it — {n. phr.} The essence; the whole story in a nutshell. * /The long and short of it is that he is lazy and doesn t really want to find a job./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • the long and short — or the long and the short phrasal gist …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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