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Glite Dictionary
short and sweet

short and sweet

12 4.0
Quick and pleasant without extra detail, often about a talk or message
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : breve y conciso
  • Keep your messages short and sweet when using social media and Internet sites.
  • keep it short and sweet
  • make this short and sweet
  • short and sweet answer

I'm sunny and I'm gonna keep this short and sweet like me.

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Examples

Synonyms

brief
vsshort and sweet
587 2.0

Using few words or lasting only a short time

adds a pleasant, effective quality beyond mere few-word length
to the point
vsshort and sweet
303 3.7

A comment that is direct and brief, talking only about the subject

adds a pleasant, effective tone beyond mere directness
concise
vsshort and sweet
37 4.2

Using few words to give important information clearly

focuses on being pleasant and effective rather than covering every detail
succinct
vsshort and sweet
18 6.4

Short and clear, using only a few words

adds a friendly, effective quality beyond plain clear few-word phrasing
pithy
vsshort and sweet
18 6.5

Short and strong, expressing a clear idea

chooses a gentler, pleasant effect rather than sharp memorable emphasis
crisp
vsshort and sweet
10 4.1

Short and clear with no extra words

keeps a pleasant or effective tone rather than only clear exactness

Antonyms

detailed
353 3.7

Having many small parts or facts that you can see

long-winded
18 5.8

Saying or writing more words than needed and taking too long

How Brief

short and sweet
  • Informal
12 4.0
succinct
18 6.4
concise
37 4.2
terse
12 7.0
wordy
8 3.7
long-winded
18 5.8

Surface Forms

short and sweet positive

Morphology

short + and + sweet

The meaning 'brief but pleasant/effective' is directly derivable from combining 'short' (brief in duration) with 'sweet' (pleasant or agreeable); the conjunction simply links the two qualities. This compositional pattern is common and intuitive across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Short and sweet comes from the image of a small piece of candy: it is short to eat and sweet in taste. So when something is called 'short but pleasant', it means it is brief and to the point.