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short shrift

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noun
  1. a brief time for confession or absolution given to a condemned prisoner before his or her execution.
  2. little attention or consideration in dealing with a person or matter: to give short shrift to an opponent's arguments.
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Origin of short shrift

First recorded in 1585–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for short shrift

short shrift

noun
  1. brief and unsympathetic treatment
  2. (formerly) a brief period allowed to a condemned prisoner to make confession
  3. make short shrift of to dispose of quickly and unsympathetically
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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