Not having enough people to do a job or task properly; understaffed.
From 'short' (not enough) plus 'handed' (having hands/workers). The term emerged in the early 1900s in American English as a business and workplace term.
Many restaurants and hospitals were 'shorthanded' during the pandemic, creating a perfect real-world example of how one economic crisis ripples through service industries in ways most people don't see.
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