in a coconutshell 

A way of prefacing text that you originally started with saying "In a nutshell," because you thought it was gonna be conscise, but as it turned out, there was no quick way to say it.

There is very little space inside a nutshell, but there is a lot inside a coconut shell. So your long text needs a coconut shell. You could just erase the "In a nutshell," part, but that would make sense.

Someone: "Why is the US government making their students pay for their own college? That's why they're dumb. Other countries use tax money for higher education. But the US spends all its tax money on military. They also don't have mandatory military service. Why are so many people volunteering to do villainous shit if they don't have to??"

Someone else: "Well, in a nutshell, the issue with the free education and mandatory military service thing is that it's straightforward and honest. Dumb people care more about feeling like they're not being controlled than they do about anything else. If you exert power on them in any way that's upfront, it doesn't matter if it's fair. They'll fight you to the death. So it's better to just tell them they can't succeed if they don't go to college, make college unaffordable, then offer free college to anyone who joins the military voluntarily. That policy is effectively the same, except it puts the burden entirely on poor people. Anyone who's rich enough to pay for their own college can stay. Everyone thinks they're free."

The first someone: "That was not nutshell size."

Second someone: "Fine, I'll say 'In a coconutshell' next time."

in a coconutshell by Some rando idk March 3, 2024