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I'm writing a text about rectangular plates (skirts) that are mounted to semi-trailers, as shown in the image below:

enter image description here

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In the text, we want to emphasize that our products are shorter (in the longitudinal sense) than those used before. At the moment we describe them as 'shorter', but we got feedback from our proofreaders that they associated 'shorter' with the vertical length (height). I thought about 'shorter length' skirts, but I'm wondering if there is an alternative. I repeat this feature several times, so it would be good to have some alternatives to avoid word repetition.

Is there a way to describe 'shorter in the longitudinal sense' in a brief way?

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  • You may need a diagram—a graphic or picture of what you’re doing. Shorter length sounds right to me, though. Length, height, width,
    – Xanne
    Commented Dec 21, 2020 at 9:52
  • Thanks for the comments. This is exactly the issue. However, there are words that are tied to a certain direction, like for example 'tall', so I'm hoping there is something similar for other directions too.
    – ROIMaison
    Commented Dec 21, 2020 at 10:10
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    Slim: (of a thing) small in width and typically long and narrow in shape. — Oxford Languages via Google; comparative: "slimmer".
    – niamulbengali
    Commented Dec 21, 2020 at 11:37
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    The question is desperately in need of the sentence in which the term is used and a full description of the article. It could well be that, given the shape of the article, "shorter" does not help.
    – Greybeard
    Commented Dec 21, 2020 at 11:44
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    @BrianDonovan, I think I should not ignore the comments of the proofreaders. Iif they are confused, it's likely future readers will also be. I think the 400-meter race is not a good example, as here both options (i.e. change in height and change in length) are equally likely.
    – ROIMaison
    Commented Dec 21, 2020 at 13:01

1 Answer 1

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[Narrow is an alternative that is associated with width rather than height. ] - was original answer before the OP changed their question to be more specific.

EDIT AFTER UPDATE TO QUESTION: Another option that implies reduction in length of the largest dimension is truncate

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  • narrower, less wide, slimmer (as a more colloquial version) are all good options indeed
    – Grand Torini
    Commented Dec 21, 2020 at 12:10
  • I'm not convinced about this answer myself. The "width" of the skirt is an ill-defined term for anyone who understands that the skirt is a panel that runs longitudinally and not laterally, and a person may easily resort to thinking that the "width" relates to the height (the very problem the OP starts with) or even the thickness of the skirt.
    – Steve
    Commented Dec 21, 2020 at 13:16
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    @Steve indeed, I answered the question when it was being asked in general terms and not with a specific example so I am inclined to agree with you now that we can see to what the OP is referring.
    – Arkhem
    Commented Dec 21, 2020 at 13:21
  • Narrow refers to the smallest dimension, rather than to any particular direction. For instance the narrowness of a tunnel would be the distance across from left to right as you look along the tunnel; for a tube, the narrowness is the diameter (regardless of orientation); although for a tower, narrowness is the distance across (width not height).
    – Stuart F
    Commented Dec 21, 2020 at 13:47
  • @StuartF kindly read my above comment. The OP changed their question after my initial answer.
    – Arkhem
    Commented Dec 21, 2020 at 13:51

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