short and sweet

American  

[shawrt uhn sweet] / ˈʃɔrt ən ˈswit /

idiom

1. pleasantly brief and relevant.

   We're in a hurry, so make it short and sweet.

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short and sweet More Idioms  

1. Satisfyingly brief and pertinent, as in When we asked about the coming merger, the chairman's answer was short and sweet—it wasn't going to happen. This expression was already proverbial in 1539, when it appeared in Richard Taverner's translation of Erasmus's Adagia. Over the years it was occasionally amplified, as in James Kelly's Scottish Proverbs (1721): “Better short and sweet than long and lax.”

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Etymology

Origin of short and sweet

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

My question is short and sweet: Can these be written off on our tax return, or does the deduction go to the gift giver?

From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026

"The short and sweet of it was that my family needed the money," he adds.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

As the teams took a short break after the fourth game, Panthers coach Jordan McGregor made her message to her team short and sweet.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 18, 2023

He captioned the post with a short and sweet, “Strike over! @sagaftra.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2023

I tell him the short and sweet of it.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick