short commons
Definition
Noun (plural): "short commons" refers to insufficient or meager daily food rations, especially in institutional settings such as universities (historically at Oxford and Cambridge) or prisons. It denotes a situation where the amount of food provided is inadequate for normal sustenance.
Usage Examples
- (They received very little food each day.)
- (The daily food portions were too small.)
Advanced Usage
- "to be on short commons": to be forced to subsist on a reduced or inadequate food allowance.
- After the budget cuts, the entire household was on short commons. (Everyone had to eat much less than usual.)
Variants and Related Words
- Commons (n): in historical use, a common food supply or shared rations in a college or institution.
- The college commons were distributed equally among the students. (The shared food portions.)
Synonyms
- Short rations: insufficient food portions.
- Scanty fare: meager or limited food.
- Meager allowance: a very small amount of food given regularly.
Related Idioms
- "make short commons of": to consume or use up quickly, leaving little.
- They made short commons of the leftover bread. (They ate it all rapidly, leaving nothing.)