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Meantolearn Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary

-in short order

Does 'in short order' mean in short time?
Does 'order' mean 'time' here? Can anyone breifly explain why?

Thanks
  

Top answer

"in short order, with promptness or speed; rapidly: The merchandise arrived in short order. " - Random House Unabridged Dictionary CB

— Cool Breeze

  • "in short order, with promptness or speed; rapidly: The merchandise arrived in short order.
  • " - Random House Unabridged Dictionary CB
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4 Answers
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"in short order, with promptness or speed; rapidly: The merchandise arrived in short order."
- Random House Unabridged Dictionary

CB
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Yes, it is in reference to time. Why? Good question. Perhaps, it comes from a short order cook, who generally work in diners. They get "short orders" and they prepare food quickly.

Anyone have a better answer?
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Hi, cwtch.

People go to a restaurant and try to get their food in 20 minutes. Are these sorts of orders considered "short orders"? Do you call these sorts of orders "short orders"?

Thanks for the reply.
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No, we just call it the order.

The orders are understood to be short because of the type of restaurant. In a diner, orders are generally short and simple and therefore, the cooks are "short order cooks.

However, this is just a convention. If I go to a fancy restaurant, and order a bowl of soup, the order is short but it will not be prepared by a short order cook. It will be p
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