red-short

A blacksmith tests a red-hot iron bar and finds it red-short.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Brittle when hot: "red-short" describes a property of certain metals, especially iron or steel, that become brittle and prone to cracking when heated to a red-hot temperature. This term is used primarily in metallurgy and materials science.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The blacksmith avoided forging the red-short iron, as it would shatter under the hammer. (The iron is brittle when heated, making it unsuitable for shaping.)
  • Steel with high sulfur content is often red-short, requiring careful temperature control during processing. (The steel becomes fragile at high temperatures.)

Advanced Usage

• "red-shortness": the noun form referring to the property or condition of being red-short.
  • The red-shortness of the alloy was a significant drawback in industrial applications. (The brittleness at high temperatures limited its use.)

Variants and Related Words

• Red-shortness (n): the quality of being brittle at red heat.
  • Metallurgists test for red-shortness to ensure the material can withstand forging temperatures. (They check for this brittle property.)

Synonyms

• Hot-short: a synonym meaning brittle when hot, often used interchangeably for metals.
  • Hot-short steel behaves similarly to red-short steel under high heat. (Both terms describe the same phenomenon.)

Antonyms

• Ductile: able to be deformed without breaking, especially when hot.
  • Unlike red-short metals, ductile metals can be shaped easily at high temperatures. (Ductility is the opposite property.)

Related Idioms

• "Strike while the iron is hot": to take advantage of an opportunity promptly, though this idiom is unrelated to red-shortness, it alludes to the ideal timing in blacksmithing when metal is workable.
  • He knew the deal would not last, so he struck while the iron was hot. (He acted immediately.)