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Short shrift

Posted by Elizabeth S.O. on March 20, 2011 at 20:00

Here it says that the phrase "short shrift" was first seen in Shakespeare's play Richard III. However, I have also seen this phrase in Samuel Butler's translation of The Odyssey. Does anyone know if Butler took this phrase from Richard III (or some later context) when he was translating? Or was it originally in The Odyssey?

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