The inferior part, the worse side of an unequal deal. For example, Helen got the short end of the stick when she was assigned another week of night duty . The precise analogy in this term, first recorded in the 1930s, has been lost. Some believe it comes from worse end of the staff , used since the early 1500s, which in the mid-1800s became, in some instances, short or shitty end of the stick , allegedly from a stick poked up one's rectum by another in command of the situation. Others believe it alludes to fighting with sticks, where having a shorter stick is a disadvantage. Also see wrong end of the stick