13 January 2015

terse

[turs]

adjective, terser, tersest.

1. neatly or effectively concise; brief and pithy, as language.
2. abruptly concise; curt; brusque.

Origin

Latin
1595-1605; < Latin tersus, past participle of tergēre to rub off, wipe off, clean, polish

Related forms

tersely, adverb
terseness, noun
unterse, adjective
untersely, adverb
unterseness, noun

Synonyms

1. succinct, compact, neat, concentrated. 1, 2. See concise.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for terse

– My comments on the first manuscript were fairly terse and probably about a page long.
– In the past security officers were usually terse ex-military types who wore holsters and brush cuts.
– The film’s style is so economical it seems almost terse.

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Today’s aphorism

If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.

– Albert Einstein

On this day

13 January 1893 – birth of Roy Cazaly, Australian Rules football legend, known for his high marks and ruck-work. Immortalised in the song, ‘Up there Cazaly‘, by The Two Man Band (Mike Brady & Peter Sullivan). Died 10 October 1963.

13 January 1929 – death of Wyatt Earp in Los Angeles, American gunfighter, famous for the gunfight at the OK Corral. He was 80 years old.

13 January 1939 – Black Friday fires in Victoria, Australia, covering more than 4,900,000 acres, destroying 1,000 homes and killing 71 people. It was one of the world’s worst bush-fire disasters.

13 January 2001 – a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hits El Salvador, killing 1,000 people