Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
✂️ Shortened by cutting 👦 Very short person
sawed-off

sawed-off

1 7.8
Very short in height, often used about people
  • adjective
  • /ˈsɔːdˌɔf/
  • Offensive
translation icon : enano (ofensivo)
  • "What's all this about?" says Judith, a tall woman with a sawed-off shotgun and a clipboard.
  • sawed-off runt
  • sawed-off little

Examples

  • He is a sawed-off kid, but he has a big personality that makes everyone laugh.

  • We don't need some sawed-off Scotsman poopin' drives out 40 yards in Jones and Hagen's way.

    The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)

  • Well, because, I'm a sawed-off sportsman.

    The Missouri Breaks (1976)

  • All I see is his man Jelly and some sawed-off little prick nobody knows.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • You sawed-off little runt!

    Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)

  • Despite being sawed-off, she plays basketball with determination and skill.

  • The sawed-off teacher often relates to her students because she understands their struggles.

Synonyms

pint-sized
vssawed-off
  • Informal
7 4.2

Very small, often used for a person, animal, or thing that is lively

describes specifically very short height rather than any smallness
runty
vssawed-off
  • Informal
1 7.8

Smaller and weaker than others of the same kind

means short stature without implying weakness or stunted development
pint-size
vssawed-off
  • Informal
1 4.4

Very small in height, usually used for a person or animal

focuses specifically on very short height rather than general smallness
cutty
vssawed-off
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Short in size or lasting only a little time

refers specifically to a person's very short height, not duration
sawn-off
vssawed-off
  • Offensive
8.0

A person who is very short and stocky

is the informal American term for shortness without stressing build

Antonyms

tall
∞ 1.0

Higher than most people or things of the same kind

How Short

diminutive
20 6.8
sawed-off
  • Offensive
1 7.8
short
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

sawed-off positive

Morphology

sawed-off = saw off (semi-transparent) = saw + off + ed

Morphologically derived from 'saw off' + '-ed', but the sense 'very short' is a metaphorical extension from 'cut short' rather than a literal description.

Etymology

Sawed-off uses the same image of something being 'cut off' to make it much shorter. A helpful way to remember its informal meaning 'very short' is to imagine a long object made short by sawing, which is why people sometimes call a short person 'sawed-off'.