Question about short volatility in Nassim Taleb interview with Bloomberg stocks

In the video here, he says that he bought a lot of very out-of-the-money options because they were cheap, and then says:I was effectively short volatility… I would have been harmed by small movements… (This was right before Black Monday, so he ended up with the last result.) But why does he call this position short volatility? Shouldnt it be…. Short mild volatility and long large volatility or something like that?

In the video here, he says that he bought a lot of very out-of-the-money options because they were cheap, and then says: I was effectively short volatility… I would have been harmed by small movements… I was set up to be harmed by small movements and gain if the move continues to something very large, and it was a very nice way to earn money if nothing happens, lose money if something mild happens, and of course make a lot of money if something huge happens. (This was right before Black Monday, so he ended up with the last result.) But why does he call this position short volatility? Shouldnt it be…. Short mild volatility and long large volatility or something like that?