short fuse

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noun

a quick temper: A person with a short fuse has to be handled diplomatically.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of short fuse

First recorded in 1965–70

Words nearby short fuse

Shorter Catechism, shortfall, short field, short for, short-form, short fuse, short game, shortgrass, shorthair, shorthaired, short hairs

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use short fuse in a sentence

There is a short fuse and a certain explosion at the end of this piece of treachery.
Cut the Baloney on Ukraine|Leslie H. Gelb|March 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He had a short fuse and would sometimes berate her when she spoke too much to Gluck.
Whitey Bulger's Wily Girl|Christine Pelisek|June 27, 2011|DAILY BEAST
With everyone on such a short fuse, no Obama Sunday talk marathon is going to calm anyone down.
Why Mouthing Off Is All the Rage|Tina Brown|September 21, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I offered to show them how to throw a smoke bomb, and they gave me one with an extra short fuse.
The Moving Picture Boys on the War Front|Victor Appleton

Besides the alarm, theres a little surprise on a short fuse.
The Knights of Arthur|Frederik Pohl
Don't treat business as though it were a lighted fire-cracker with a short fuse.
St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, July 1878, No. 9|Various
The next moment Dan had held the end of the short fuse he had provided to the candle, and a slight spluttering began.
The Black Tor|George Manville Fenn
I used only a third of a stick—you know, short fuse, with the end split so as to hold the head of a safety match.
The Red One|Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for short fuse

short fuse

noun

informal a quick temper

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

short fuse

Origin of short fuse

Words nearby short fuse

Words related to short fuse

How to use short fuse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for short fuse