The Only Use of
scarcity
in
Holes, by Louis Sachar
- Because of the scarcity of water, each camper was only allowed a four-minute shower.†
p. 21.2
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."