come up short

1) To exert much effort but still fail miserably
2) Fall short of a goal
3) To get busted, caught red handed

1) It took him years to save all that money only to get it all stolen. That's what he gets for hiding all that cash in his house instead of putting it in the back. What a way to come up short!

2) He was banging this married chick. They were at her house fucking and her husband came home. Her husband was a cop! That guy came up short.

by NLL November 11, 2005

coming up short

A verb meaning failure to meet expectations. When said the short part is often a higher tone then the rest of the phrase.

* some dweeb gets a question wrong after raising his hand

Me: coming up SHORT

by margery stewart baxter April 26, 2012

coming up short

What it's called when a man has sex with a short woman

Rob: Dude where were you last night?
Dave: Sorry man ... I was busy coming up short
Rob: You did Marissa?! isn't she only like 4'11"?
Dave: 4'10" actually.

by robbitthehobbit July 16, 2009