All 3 Uses of
scarcity
in
All's Well That Ends Well, by Shakespeare
- I have now found thee; when I lose thee again I care not: yet art thou good for nothing but taking up; and that thou art scarce worth.†
Scene 2.3 *scarce = in short supply OR barely or hardly (by a small margin)
- Something; and scarce so much:—nothing, indeed.†
Scene 2.5
- Three great oaths would scarce make that be believed.†
Scene 4.1
Definitions:
-
(1)
(scarcity) shortage (having an amount that is less than desired)
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
More rarely (and typically in classic literature), scarce can be short for scarcely or hardly or barely or by a small margin -- such as in "She was scarce ten years old," or "I scarce know why."