not having enough people; understaffed: The crews in the pearling schooners and small traders are very short-handed . See also: big hand / small hand. short change • small change short change —a less than the correct amount of money given back to a customer: After several rounds of drinks had been served, Sullivan accused Cook of giving him short change . small change—coins or bills of low denomination: It is always best to have some small change on you, locals often have no change of larger bills. short hours • small hours short hours —1. hours that seem to pass very quickly: Young or old, guy or girl, thick or thin, we’ll teach you to windsurf in a few short hours . 2. the early hours of the morning after midnight: The monks prayed in the minster till the long hours passed into the short . small hours—(also: wee hours) = short hours 2: He invited friends home, who used to come at ten o’clock, and begin to get happy about the small hours . See also: short time / small time. short in something • short of something short in something—(also: short on something ) not having enough of smth.: Though I was at that time rich in fame— for my book ran like wildfire — yet I was very short in money. short of something—1. = short in something: Elizabeth, always short of money, railed against the required outlay. 2. not fully amounting to smth.: If the court does not deem it appropriate to inflict punishment, it shall adopt other measures short of punishment. 3. except for smth.: He will do anything short of murder to achieve his ends. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase short for something—used of the short version of a name: “B-girls?” I repeated, “What are they?” “That’s just short for bar girls.” short order • tall order short order—(U.S.) an order for food to be prepared and served up quickly: A good short-order cook in a well-designed kitchen can plate 100 meals an hour during morning rush. tall order—an excessive or unreasonable demand; a difficult task: Miss Maple considered: “It would be better, I think, to find the body first. Don’t you?” “Yes, but isn’t that rather a tall order ?” short talk • tall talk short talk —a brief lecture or address: The Director said that he would like me to broadcast a short talk under my own name. tall talk —(coll.) boastful or pretentious talk (also: big talk): Tall talk is luckily an object of suspicion to Englishmen. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase talk highly—(also: speak highly) praise a person or thing: He talks very highly of his students and the faculty. short time • small time short time —1. fewer than the regular number of hours allot- ted to daily or weekly work: 80,000 textile workers were flung out of work, and thousands more were on short time . 2. (sl.) a brief visit to a prostitute: They [sailors] make straight for the nearest bar and then on to the brothel for what is known in the jargon as “a short time .” small time—said of smth. that does not bring much profit or receives little public notice: In these years occur the first productions of all Shaw’s early plays. Commercially, it was small time . Cf.: big time — said of a very high level of attainment: Jason is doing extremely well for a freshman and his winning goal against Indiana was big time . Note: The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase thin time—(coll.) a miserable, unhappy period: The Germans are having a thin time at present, but they have a past they can recall, and they still have a hope of the future. See also: short hours / small hours. shout at someone • shout to someone shout at someone—talk to a person angrily in a loud voice: She shouted at us for spoiling her lovely evening. shout to someone—address smb. in a very loud voice that can be heard from a long distance away: Davis was struggling to carry the heavy wireless set; I shouted to him to ditch it and save himself. shouting head • talking head shouting head —(derog., also: barking head) a television com- mentator who speaks in a loud voice and whose comments tend to be aggressive: We have instead shouting heads trying to interrupt each other to get their talking points across. talking head —a television commentator whose upper body is all that is shown on the screen: Former TV talking head Jim Compton did not respond to the Weekly’s request for an inter- view. show a face • show one’s face show a face—(dated) demonstrate bravery or audacity: De la Haye and Douglas were both wounded, but the little party continued to show a face to their foes. show one’s face—(often negat.) appear somewhere, especially when one is not welcome in a place: After what she said, she had better not show her face around here again. show girl • showman show girl—1. a chorus girl in a musical comedy; an actress in a nightclub show: He found it hard to believe that she was an actress, and a show girl at that. 2. a woman employed in the showrooms of dress-makers, shops, etc., to show off clothes: Not the least interesting thing about these parades is that among the show girls are many well-known titled heiresses. showman —1. the producer of a play or other theatrical show: Cole credits his management skills in part to legendary pro- ducer David Merrick, dubbed “the abominable show man .” 2. a man who performs in a public show or spectacle: Some young musicians who have established themselves in the first rank are excellent showmen . 3. (pejor.) a man who performs in sports, politics, etc. with a display of pose and affectation: He is a consummate political showman whose critics say he has more style than substance. show must go on, the • stop the show show must go on, the—is used to say that an activity must continue no matter what unfortunate event has occurred: She may never perform again, perhaps her back is broken but the show must go on . stop the show —(of an actor, singer, etc.) give an outstanding performance: Twelve-year-old Reggie Jackson stopped the show last night with “America the Beautiful.” show of hands • show one’s hand show of hands—a method of voting in which people raise their hands: The chairman of the meeting called for a show of hands on the proposed measure. show one’s hand—reveal one’s true and previously hidden plans, intentions, etc.: It was only after Hitler became Chan- cellor that he really showed his hand . show one’s cards • show one’s colors show one’s cards—reveal one’s plans or intentions: The Prime Minister had not shown his cards so far as to who would be given the brief to hold the discussions. short change – 296 –