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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Google counts on Nov 20, 2006
63,400 “give short shrift to”
80 “give short shift to”
Analysis by Joe Krozel
To “give short shrift to” means to pay little attention to. (See bottom for more discussion about “short shrift.”)
The word “shrift” is largely unfamiliar to the common person, and the closest sounding word that might substitute for it is “shift.” If one thinks of a “shift” as a block of time—like a shift of work—then the meaning that one might lend to “give short shift to” is to undercut the amount of time given to something.
Examples
Slugger O’Toole: Campaign stopping people going to police?Given the murder rate in America I hope that George Bush has the good sense to give short shift to these morons. Yes he was killed by the IRA but so were …
www.sluggerotoole.com/archives/2005/03/ … stoppi.php – 45k – Cached – Similar pages
Amazon.com: Olé Coltrane: Music: John ColtraneEven the local jazz stations seem to give short-shift to Ole. However, if – like me, you enjoy Coltrane but have put off getting Ole – or are unfamiliar …
www.amazon.com/Ol̩-Coltrane-John/dp/B000002I59 Р121k РCached РSimilar pages
Amazon.com: Profile For Nick Tropiano: Reviews… mountainous (heh) “Western” lanscape, and give short-shift to the elelments that made his other westerns so compelling, like story and characters. ...
www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A15ZZDKRKP7L4R – 76k – Cached – Similar pages
The Buck Starts HereDon’t give short shift to the budget and its justification. This is the first part of the proposal that some reviewers read. An experienced reviewer can get …
www.ccfbest.org/fundraising/thebuckstartshere.htm – 9k – Cached – Similar pages
[PDF] The Making of Meaning: Comments on Hofstee and Ten BergeFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
give short shift to the long line of evidence demonstrating. that individuals with statistical training are just as susceptible …
www.leaonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15327752jpa8302_05 – Similar pages
Foolish books for fools, clowns, and actorsVorhaus give short shift to physical comedy, so you may have to transpose the structure of verbal jokes to physical ones. What do you expect from a writer …
www.dramaticfool.com/books.html – 18k – Cached – Similar pages
A few words about “short shrift”...
According to one online dictionary… http://www.bartleby.com/61/53/S0365300.html
WORD HISTORY: To be given short shrift is not the blessing it once was. The source of our verb shrive (shrove, shriven) and noun shrift, which have technical meanings from ecclesiastical Latin, is Classical Latin scrbere, “to write.†Shrive comes from the Old English verb scrfan, “to decree, decree after judgment, impose a penance upon (a penitent), hear the confession of.†The past participle of scrfan is scrifen, our shriven. The noun shrift, “penance; absolution,†comes from Old English scrift with the same meaning, which comes from scrptus, the perfect passive participle of scrbere, and means “what is written,†or, to use the Latin word, “what is prescribed.†Theologians and confessors viewed the sacrament of penance as a prescription that cured a moral illness. In early medieval times penances were long and arduous—lengthy pilgrimages and even lifelong exile were not uncommon—and had to be performed before absolution, not after as today. However, less demanding penances could be given in extreme situations; short shrift was a brief penance given to a person condemned to death so that absolution could be granted before execution.
Last edited by jorkel (2006-11-20 10:49:42)
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