down to the short hairs

[GG]

"come/get down to the short hairs"
http://tinyurl.com/78mtjmh

seems to have both the
"come/get to the last resources available"
and the
"come/get to the smallest details"
meanings, right?

Thanks.

[John Varela]

I don't think I've ever heard that expression. What I've heard is
"come/get down to the short strokes", which means reach a climax or
at least a conclusion, and that I've always interpreted as obscene.

--
John Varela

[Peter Brooks]

It looks like a conflation of that with 'get somebody by the short and
curlies'.

" [OED]
1948 Partridge Dict. Forces' Slang 168 Short and curlies, the short
hairs, in the phrase ‘He got me by the short and curlies’—he caught me
out properly.    1956 P. Scott Male Child iii. i. 191 ‘Is there any
point in going on, if you can't fool yourself?’‥ ‘Of course not.
That's where we're got by the short and curlies. We cling on.’    1969
J. Gardner Founder Member iv. 72 ‘Stalemate?’‥ ‘Looks like it.‥ Got us
hard by the {short and} curlies. I wouldn't try arguing.’    1971 D.
Francis Bonecrack xii. 153 Suppose‥that I abducted Alessandro.‥ I
would then have Enso by the short and curlies.    1976 P. Hill Hunters
xi. 164 There is no need for kid gloves now, we've got him by the
short and curlies.
"

[Adam Funk]

On 2012-02-11, Peter Brooks wrote:

> On Feb 11, 9:51 pm, "John Varela" <newla...@verizon.net> wrote:
>> On Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:15:59 UTC, GG <nos...@nowhere.com> wrote:
>> > "come/get down to the short hairs"
>> >http://tinyurl.com/78mtjmh
>>
>> > seems to have both the
>> > "come/get to the last resources available"
>> > and the
>> > "come/get to the smallest details"
>> > meanings, right?
>>
>> I don't think I've ever heard that expression. What I've heard is
>> "come/get down to the short strokes", which means reach a climax or
>> at least a conclusion, and that I've always interpreted as obscene.
>>
> It looks like a conflation of that with 'get somebody by the short and
> curlies'.

Or "X has got Y by the short hairs" (a variation that I've also heard).


--
It is probable that television drama of high caliber and produced by
first-rate artists will materially raise the level of dramatic taste
of the nation. (David Sarnoff, CEO of RCA, 1939; in Stoll 1995)

[Mike Lyle]

On Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:59:10 +0000, Adam Funk <a24...@ducksburg.com>
wrote:

>On 2012-02-11, Peter Brooks wrote:
>
>> On Feb 11, 9:51 pm, "John Varela" <newla...@verizon.net> wrote:
>>> On Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:15:59 UTC, GG <nos...@nowhere.com> wrote:
>>> > "come/get down to the short hairs"
>>> >http://tinyurl.com/78mtjmh
>>>
>>> > seems to have both the
>>> > "come/get to the last resources available"
>>> > and the
>>> > "come/get to the smallest details"
>>> > meanings, right?
>>>
>>> I don't think I've ever heard that expression. What I've heard is
>>> "come/get down to the short strokes", which means reach a climax or
>>> at least a conclusion, and that I've always interpreted as obscene.
>>>
>> It looks like a conflation of that with 'get somebody by the short and
>> curlies'.
>
>Or "X has got Y by the short hairs" (a variation that I've also heard).

I think the uncurled version is the original: certainly it could be
used in print in the late 19C - Stalky translates it into Latin. I've
always assumed it must mean "by the hairs on the back of his head",
making it impossible for the victim to move at all; but it's a
difficult image. More difficult, though, is the "curlies" one, as
taking a firm hold on somebody by the pubic hairs seems most unlikely
- I don't suppose its users worked too hard at making literal sense of
the expression.

--
Mike.

[Peter Brooks]

My understanding is that it's usually a jocular expression whose force
comes from the vividness of the description of pubic hair, rather than
from the imagined act of grasping it.

If the imagery were to be considered at all, I'd think it close to the
expression; 'if you have somebody by the balls, then their heart and
mind will follow'.