Wiktionary
n. meagre rations.
Usage examples of "short commons".
We had nothing much to offer them except for hard work, short commons and hard lying - no possibility of prizes and no home leave.
We were on precious short commons in our mess, and the girl needed some too - famous tripe it was, famous tripe: I remember it now.
Your days on short commons are done, and once you've filled your bellies, we'll throw the traitors out of here and boot them back to Peachtree Province once and for all.
It would be very difficult, he felt, to put a dragon on short commons, and in any case it would put the crew on edge.
John Kneller and I and nearly all our messmates dined with him after some cruel weather off the River Plate and weeks of damned short commons - a sprung butt had drowned the bread-room.
And his anxiety was increased by the fact that tempers were wearing precious thin with continual toil in the great oppressive heat, and the short commons.
They are good in themselves and after our very short commons they were of course better by far.