short strokes

Meaning

Noun

• The final steps of an undertaking, especially one which has been lengthy or laborious.
• Bare essentials.

Related

Similar words

• finishing touches, final effort, last gasp

Origin

• Possibly an allusion to painting, in which a painter typically finishes a work with short, careful, finishing strokes of the paint brush, or to golf, in which a player concludes each hole by making short strokes with a putter.