make short work of

1. 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.”

Example Sentences

Rounding into form nicely in just his third college game after a lengthy layoff from his Spanish club team, Mara recorded career highs across the board to help the Bruins make short work of Long Island during a 78-58 victory.

From Los Angeles Times

Judge Chutkan will make short work of any pretrial motions based on such defenses, and this case can move more quickly than the Florida documents case.

From Salon

Bowron was reelected on the eve of World War II. Two months after Pearl Harbor, he went on the radio and declared that had Abraham Lincoln been president at that moment in history, he “would make short work of rounding up the Japanese and putting them where they could do no harm,” and that meant Japan-born and U.S.-born alike, “good and bad.”

From Los Angeles Times

That said, you’re apt to make short work of Ruse’s maple pecan tart.

From Washington Post

The reason you make short work of a plate of pig ears is because they’re braised in a stock of Chinese wines, tossed in cornstarch, fried to a crunch and completed with strawberries macerated in chiles and lime juice.

From Washington Post

Related Words

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• zip