caught short
English
editEtymology
editCompare French prendre de court.
Adjective
editcaught short (not comparable)
- (euphemistic) Needing to use the toilet at a point where no toilet facilities are available.
- Synonym: taken short
- 2009, Colin Cox, Short Hops Across the Atlantic, page 174:
- Some clever person came up with the apt name of little John (or big John for the optimist) for a suitably shaped container for those who were caught short.