in a nutshell

1. Concisely, in a few words, as in Here's our proposal—in a nutshell, we want to sell the business to you. This hyperbolic expression alludes to the Roman writer Pliny's description of Homer's Iliad being copied in so tiny a hand that it could fit in a nutshell. For a time it referred to anything compressed, but from the 1500s on it referred mainly to written or spoken words.

Example Sentences

Its dereliction in a nutshell: only investigating whether the sentiment was right, not whether the policy—at the cost of trillions—did what it said it did.

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“That’s just Miller in a nutshell, like he’s always trying to help others,” said Pomerantz, one of the many volunteers at Moss’ youth football camp.

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“Nonstop,” Cole said, describing Banana Ball in a nutshell.

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So, in a nutshell, the team has made progress, they have a better driver line-up and you're seeing it in the performance of the car.

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What are the main revelations in a nutshell?

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Related Words

• brusque 
• concise 
• cryptic 
• curt 
• elliptical 
• incisive 
• laconic 
• pithy 
• precise 
• succinct 
• trenchant