Curt — A Vocabulary Story
The Map at Portobello Road
Marina hurried between the stalls of Portobello Road Market, clutching a folded map her uncle Anil had drawn on the back of a receipt. He had promised she could find a vintage compass for under five pounds, but only if she haggled.
The first seller, a tall man with paint-flecked hands, barely glanced up.
"Twelve quid," he said, curt as a slammed door.
Curt means rudely brief or abrupt in speech or manner.
Marina swallowed. She tried another stall, where a woman polishing brass replied with an equally curt, "No discounts before noon."
This was harder than Anil had suggested. His instructions had been curt too: smile, offer half, walk away slowly. Marina wondered whether being curt was a secret language all the traders spoke.
At the final stall, an older trader named Ibrahim was arranging pocket watches. Marina pointed at a tarnished compass and offered three pounds. He laughed, not unkindly, though his reply was curt.
"Four, and you carry it carefully."
"Done," she said, surprising herself with how curt and confident she sounded.
Ibrahim wrapped the compass in newspaper. As Marina threaded back through the crowd, the needle inside the little brass case quivered north, steady beneath her thumb.
Word Definition
curt
meaning
rudely brief or abrupt in speech or manner
synonyms
brusque · blunt · terse · pithy · gruff
antonyms
polite · courteous · gracious
example sentence
She gave a curt reply and walked away.