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short stack

short stack

2 3.5
A small pile of pancakes or other food for one person
  • noun
  • /ʃɔrt stæk/
  • US
translation icon : porción pequeña
  • He enjoyed a short stack of pancakes accompanied by fresh berries and cream.
  • a short stack of pancakes
  • a short stack of blueberry
  • coffee and a short stack

Examples

  • For breakfast, she ordered a short stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes.

  • A short stack.

  • How about that short stack of pancakes?

  • Hey, can I get a farmer's daughter short stack and bacon, well done.

  • How was that short stack, Laverne?

  • No, it's this short stack, short stack, come in and he goes, put some syrup in the cup.

  • He ordered coffee and a doughnut, but Bessie had the short stack and took her time over her coffee.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Or that that woman eats a short-stack of blueberry pancakes every morning without syrup?

  • I would like a short stack of pancakes with maple syrup on top.

Synonyms

stack
vsshort stack
182 1.0

A pile of things placed one on top of another

refers to a small amount often served as a food portion

How High

to tower
72 4.6
to pile
255 1.2
stack
182 1.0
short stack
  • US
2 3.5

Surface Forms

short stack singular
short stacks plural

Morphology

short + stack

The meaning 'a small stack' is directly derived from combining 'short' (small in size or height) with 'stack' (a pile), following a straightforward adjective+noun compositional pattern. This construction is cross-linguistically common and the diner sense (a small serving of pancakes) is a predictable extension, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase short stack comes from American diners where pancakes are served in a stack, and a short stack is just a small pile of pancakes. That's why it now means 'a small serving' or 'a small pile' of things.