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Johnson13 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Short against bewilderment

In the Labours Of Hercules:

-She must have meant - Hercule Poirot was brought up short against bewilderment. What an intriguing, what an unpredictable woman!

eg She is not short of excuses when things go wrong.
eg He was a big strapping guy but short on brains.
eg She was just short of her 90th birthday when she died.
eg I'm sorry I was short with you earlier—I had other things on my mind.

These are the most similar prepositional postmodifier I can find in dictionaries, but SHORT AGAINST is no where to be found; even google doesn't have similar things. When I googled the three-word phrase, the only results were all from the novel. Could you tell me what short against bewilderment means?
  

Top answer

Johnson13 Could you tell me what short against bewilderment means? I don't know either. He was brought up short means He was suddenly caused to stop what he was doing.

— Blue Jay

  • Johnson13 Could you tell me what short against bewilderment means?
  • I don't know either.
  • He was brought up short means He was suddenly caused to stop what he was doing.
  • How that ties in with against bewilderment I don't know.
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3 Answers
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Johnson13Could you tell me what short against bewilderment means?
I don't know either. He was brought up short means He was suddenly caused to stop what he was doing.
How that ties in with against bewilderment I don't know.
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Probably this: He was stymied / flummoxed to the point of bewilderment.
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Basically, the phrase 'brought up short by' means stopped suddenly and completely by.

Here are some concrete, simple examples.
eg He ran around the corner and was brought up short by an 8-foot wall.
eg The dog ran towards me but
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