Meaning:
If a person gets the ‘short finish of the stick,’ that suggests they gained the bad end of a deal. In other words, they received the leastern desirable outcome from something.You are watching: Getting the short end of the stick
Example: My uncle took me and also my brothers out fishing at a big lake. He lugged 4 fishing rods via him, which was enough for everyone, and we each got to pick the one we wanted. However before, I had actually to pick last, so I feel favor I got the brief finish of the stick bereason the one I finished up with was smaller and also much less sturdy than the others.
Quick End Of The Stick – Origin
This saying has existed considering that at least the 16th century. However, it was shelp differently earlier then. Throughout that time, Instead of ‘the short finish of the stick,’ the expression was ‘the worst end of the staff.’ In spite of the distinctions, its meaning was still comparable as far as I understand. This older variation (the one with ‘staff’ in it) provides an appearance in Nicolas Udall’s translation of Apophthegmes, that is to saie, prompte, quicke, wittie and sentencious saiynges, 1542:“Which as often as thei watch theim selfes to haue the worse ende of the staffe in their reason.”According to The Phrase Finder, the change from the word ‘staff’ to ‘stick’ happened about the mid-1sixth century according to the writings of John Heytimber. He was a writer and also collector of proverbs who lived at that time. He created a book called The Proverbs, Epigrams, and also Miscellanies of John Heywood in 1562, and also in it he explains:“Staff, ‘the worse end of the staff’, we currently say ‘wrong finish of the stick.’ “What around this expression through the exact wording it has actually today? The earliest example I have actually viewed in print is from the late 19th century.See more: Why Do The Choices I Make Matter ? Why Do The Choices I Make Matter
For instance, here is a quote from the Bar Harbor Record newspaper, 1895:“There was a equine and also hog trade consummated in Bar Harbor last week between 2 famous men which has been the topic of conversation ever since, and it is a question regarding who got the brief end of the stick.”