short end of the stick

stick

S s

Definitions of short end of the stick words

noun short end of the stick a branch or shoot of a tree or shrub that has been cut or broken off. 1
noun short end of the stick a relatively long and slender piece of wood. 1
noun short end of the stick a long piece of wood for use as fuel, in carpentry, etc. 1
noun short end of the stick a rod or wand. 1
noun short end of the stick a baton. 1
noun short end of the stick Chiefly British. a walking stick or cane. 1

before 1000

One of the 6% oldest English words

before 1000; Middle English stikke, Old English sticca; akin to Old High German stehho, Old Norse stik stick; akin to stick2

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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