the short and the long of it

the short and the long of it

The essential or most important point being made; the plain truth of the matter. There are a lot of reasons I don't want to go, but the short and the long of it is that I don't want to see my ex-boyfriend there. Bob, the short and the long of it is that we aren't satisfied with your performance in work lately.See also: and, long, of, short