make short work of, to
make short work of someone or something
and make fast work of someone or somethingto finish with someone or something quickly. I made short work of Tom so I could leave the office to play golf. Billy made fast work of his dinner so he could go out and play.
See also: make, of, short, work
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
make short work of
Complete or consume quickly, as in The children made short work of the ice cream, or They made short work of cleaning up so they could get to the movies. This term, first recorded in 1577, in effect means "to turn something into a brief task."
See also: make, of, short, work
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
make short work of
accomplish, consume, or destroy quickly.See also: make, of, short, work
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
make short work of, to
To dispose of something with dispatch. This term, too, is an old one, recorded as far back as 1577, when it appeared in John Grange’s The Golden Aphroditis (“Desirous to make shorte worke thereof ”). A later use was in E. Clodd’s Myths and Dreams (1885): “Criticism has made short work of the romancing chronicles which so long did duty for sober history”(cited by the OED). It is often used jocularly. See also short shrift.
See also: make, short, work
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- be/have done with somebody/something
- be in line with (someone or something)
- better of
- (someone or something) promises well
- begin with
- begin with (someone or something)
- bird has flown, the
- beware of
- beware of (someone or something)
- be rough on (someone or something)