Have you seen the phrase 'nasty brutish and short' somewhere on the internet or in a text and would like to know more about what it means? The saying 'nasty brutish and short' is a figurative, descriptive English saying. This post unpacks its origin, meaning and correct use.
Meaning
The phrase 'nasty brutish and short' is an English language saying.
When it's used, the phrase 'nasty brutish and short' is used to say that someone is unpleasant, or has behaved in an unpleasant way.
The phrase can be said about somone, or said in direct reference to someone.
The phrase 'nasty brutish and short' carries negative implications for the person it is being said about (or to).
As a figurative saying it does not necessarily refer to someone's stature, but the sentence is another way to say that someone is unpleasant to deal with.
The saying can be used in the denial form to indicate that someone is not 'nasty brutish and short' though this is rare use of the phrase.
There are several correct ways to write the saying, including to use it with commas or without: 'nasty, brutish and short' is also considered correct.
While the phrase can have seirous implications, it is mostly said as an insult.
Example Usage
“I didn't like the guy who put the pineapple on our pizza, and I didn't like the way he behaved when I asked him about it. He was nasty, brutish and short.”
“You know, the thing that most people didn't like about Margaret Thatcher was the fact that she was nasty, brutish and short. For a while the kids in school called her Milk Snatcher.”
“I didn't marry someone else because he was poor, I married someone else because he was nasty brutish and short!”
“He was pretty nasty, brutish and short. Nobody would have picked him even if it were a blind date.”
Origin
According to most top online language resources, the phrase 'nasty brutish and short' originates from the 1600s, where it was first used in 1651 by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan:
The phrase is used to refer to any number of unpleasant people, and the expression in popular culture is only a shortened version of the whole saying.
Within the original first use, Hobbes used the saying to refer to what he imagined life would be without governmental rule.
After its use in 1651, the phrase would become popular as a saying again in the 1800s.
The phrase 'nasty brutish and short' would continue in use, with unchanged meaning, throughout the 1900s to modern times.
Unlike a great deal of other expressions that survived until modern times, the phrase 'nasty brutish and short' is not found on Urban Dictionary as of 2022.
Phrases Similar to Nasty Brutish and Short
- Angry
Phrases Opposite to Nasty Brutish and Short
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- Nasty brutish and short
- Nasty, brutish and short
Ways People May Say Nasty Brutish and Short Incorrectly
There are several ways in which someone can misuse or misunderstand the saying 'nasty, brutish and short' in conversation.
The saying 'nasty brutish and short' is used as a whole phrase, and it is not generally shortened. The phrase 'nasty brutish and short' does not commonly appear in the denial form to indicate that someone is not.
Someone can mishear the phrase when said as 'nasty British and short' if they do not know prior use of the phrase.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Nasty Brutish and Short
The correct way to use the phrase 'nasty brutish and short' is as a reference to imply that someone is unruly, aggressive or unpleasant to deal with.
Someone can use the phrase as 'nasty brutish and short' or punctuate the phrase with commas to appear as 'nasty, brutish and short'.