public static String clip(final String s,final int leftClip,final int rightClip){
  return leftClip + rightClip >= s.length() ? "" : s.substring(leftClip,s.length() - rightClip);
}

public static String clip ( final String s , final int leftClip , final int rightClip ) { return leftClip + rightClip >= s . length ( ) ? "" : s . substring ( leftClip , s . length ( ) - rightClip ) ; }
trims characters off the start and end of a string
