The Short End of the Stick

 The Short End of the Stick

A few days ago I gave a talk at the Barton Language School, which helps refugees and immigrants improve their English. The School is affiliated with First Presbyterian Church in downtown Spokane.

My comments were about English as a strange (and hence difficult to learn) language, one of my emphases being that we English-speakers rely heavily on idioms.

Among the examples I shared with the audience were “It’s raining cats and dogs,” “Throw someone under the bus,” and “The short end of the stick.”

What is a non-native speaker to make of these and other expressions that enliven our speech? They’re mostly explained easily enough but pity that poor soul whose starting point is to take the expressions literally.

Now about that stick: how can you tell from the picture above which is the short end? More importantly, what does the expression mean?

Google says: “‘To get the short end of the stick’ means to receive the less favorable or unfair part of a situation, deal, or arrangement, ending up in a worse position than others through no fault of your own.” It’s similar to another idiom, “Drawing the short straw.”

Where does this idea about the stick come from?

Google says: “Possible theories include a reference to carrying loads mounted on rods. Leverage works against the bearer holding the short end, so they must carry more of the load. Another refers to a staff, or straight pole used as a weapon in the 1500s.”

Other possible explanations are available here: https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa-wro3.html

Then there are the cats and dogs….

The fact-checking site, Snopes, provides equivalents from other languages:

• “Like a pissing cow,” in French.
• “Chair legs,” in Greek
• “Female trolls,” in Norwegian
• “Tractors,” in Slovak.

Then, significantly, there’s Welsh: “Old ladies and sticks.”

(Yes, but which end of the sticks?)

[300 Words]