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You are here: Home / Language / Where Did the Expression “In a Nutshell” Originate and What Does the Idiom Mean?

Where Did the Expression “In a Nutshell” Originate and What Does the Idiom Mean?

February 22, 2020 by Karen Hill

“In a nutshell” indicates a drastically reduced summary.

Long before modern electronics, a few scholars made attempts at condensing massive literary works so they could be more easily stored.

It became an obsession to some to see just how small they could write.

For example, a copy of the Qur’an was reduced on a parchment measuring four inches by half an inch.

These copies were so small it was said they could be stored in a nutshell.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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