nutshell
nutshell Lexical Profile
nutshell Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Something of very small size, compass, or scope, especially a concise summary (chiefly used in the phrase 'in a nutshell').
"To put the committee's findings in a nutshell, the project will require another six months of funding."
The hard outer covering or woody case that encloses the kernel of a nut.
"The squirrels left a pile of cracked nutshells at the base of the oak tree."
• verb
To state or summarize something very briefly and concisely (informal).
"She nutshelled the complex legal argument in just two sentences for the jury."
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English as a compound of 'nut' and 'shell' (from Old English 'hnutu' and 'scell'). Its common figurative use in the phrase 'in a nutshell' echoes Pliny the Elder's ancient Roman account that a copy of Homer's Iliad was once written on parchment small enough to fit inside the shell of a walnut.