{"id":10031,"date":"2022-11-04T18:33:05","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T18:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=10031"},"modified":"2022-11-04T18:33:05","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T18:33:05","slug":"nasty-brutish-and-short-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/nasty-brutish-and-short-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Nasty Brutish and Short \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you seen the phrase 'nasty brutish and short' <\/strong>somewhere on the internet or in a text and would like to know more about what it means? The saying 'nasty brutish and short'<\/strong> is a figurative, descriptive English saying. This post unpacks its origin, meaning and correct use.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The phrase 'nasty brutish and short' <\/strong>is an English language saying.<\/p>\n

When it's used, the phrase 'nasty brutish and short' <\/strong>is used to say that someone is unpleasant, or has behaved in an unpleasant way.<\/u><\/p>\n

The phrase can be said about somone, or said in direct reference to someone.<\/u><\/p>\n

The phrase 'nasty brutish and short' <\/strong>carries negative implications for the person it is being said about (or to).<\/u><\/p>\n

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<\/u>.<\/p>\n

The saying can be used in the denial form to indicate that someone is not 'nasty brutish and short' <\/strong>though this is rare use of the phrase.<\/p>\n

There are several correct ways to write the saying, including to use it with commas or without: 'nasty, brutish and short' <\/strong>is also considered correct.<\/p>\n

While the phrase can have seirous implications, it is mostly said as an insult.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn't marry someone else because he was poor, I married someone else because he was nasty brutish and short!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was pretty nasty, brutish and short. Nobody would have picked him even if it were a blind date.\u201d<\/p>\n

Origin<\/h2>\n

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:<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Within the original first use, Hobbes used the saying to refer to what he imagined life would be without governmental rule.<\/p>\n

After its use in 1651, the phrase would become popular as a saying again in the 1800s.<\/p>\n

The phrase 'nasty brutish and short' would continue in use, with unchanged meaning, throughout the 1900s to modern times.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Phrases Similar to Nasty Brutish and Short<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Angry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Phrases Opposite to Nasty Brutish and Short<\/h2>\n
      \n
    • N\/a<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n
        \n
      • Nasty brutish and short<\/li>\n
      • Nasty, brutish and short<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Ways People May Say Nasty Brutish and Short Incorrectly<\/h2>\n

        There are several ways in which someone can misuse or misunderstand the saying 'nasty, brutish and short' in conversation.<\/p>\n

        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.<\/p>\n

        Someone can mishear the phrase when said as 'nasty British and short' if they do not know prior use of the phrase.<\/p>\n

        Acceptable Ways to Phrase Nasty Brutish and Short<\/h2>\n

        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.<\/p>\n

        Someone can use the phrase as 'nasty brutish and short' or punctuate the phrase with commas to appear as 'nasty, brutish and short'.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        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' […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10031"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10031"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10033,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10031\/revisions\/10033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}