short commons

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Meg looked worn and nervous, the babies absorbed every minute of her time, the house was neglected, and Kitty, the cook, who took life ‘aisy’, kept him on short commons.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Already they were getting used to much walking on short commons — shorter at any rate than what in the Shire they would have thought barely enough to keep them on their legs.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

"You have lost neither stomach nor strength by the troubles, sergeant; the short commons of Charleston would have gone something against the grain with you, if you had stayed for that course of diet."

From Horse-Shoe Robinson A Tale of the Tory Ascendency by Kennedy, John Pendleton

No, the expression "short commons" has nothing do with the Long Parliament.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 93. September 17, 1887 by Various

It is, however, rumored that short commons, long tramps, and hope deferred bring most of them to the hospitals, where it is tenderly called pneumonia.

From McClure's Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 5, October 1893 by Various