cut a big swath Go to cut a wide swath.
a cut above someone or something a measure
or degree better than someone or some-
thing else. (Especially with average, as in
the examples.) Your shirt is beautiful,
but mine is a cut above yours. John is-
n’t the best mechanic in town, but he’s a
cut above average.
cut across something to reach beyond some-
thing; to embrace a wide variety; to slice
across a figurative boundary or barrier.
(Also literal.) His teaching cut across all
human cultures and races. This rule cuts
across all social barriers.
cut a fine figure to look good; to look
elegant. (Formal. Usually said of a male.)
Tom really cuts a fine figure on the
dance f loor. Bill cuts a fine figure since
he bought some new clothes.
cut-and-dried fixed; determined before-
hand; usual and uninteresting. I find
your writing quite boring. It’s too cut-and-
dried. The lecture was, as usual, cut-
and-dried. It was the same thing we’ve
heard for years.
cut and run to get free and run away.
(Slang. As in cutting loose the rope on a
ship’s or boat’s anchor and sailing away
in a hurry.) Max decided to cut and run
when he heard the police sirens. As soon
as I finish what I am doing here, I’m go-
ing to cut and run. I’ve got to get home by
six o’clock.
cut a wide swath and cut a big swath
to seem important; to attract a lot of at-
tention. In social matters, Mrs. Smith
cuts a wide swath. Bob cuts a big swath
whenever he appears in his military
uniform.
cut back (on something) to reduce one’s use
of something; to use less of something.
The government has to cut back on its
spending. It’s very difficult for the gov-
ernment to cut back.
cut both ways to affect both sides of an is-
sue equally. Remember that your sug-
gestion that costs should be shared cuts
both ways. You will have to pay as well.
If our side cannot take along supporters to
the game, then yours cannot either. The
rule has to cut both ways.
cut class to skip going to class. (Informal.)
If Mary keeps cutting classes, she’ll fail
the course. I can’t cut that class. I’ve
missed too many already.
cut corners to reduce efforts or expendi-
tures; to do things poorly or incom-
pletely. You cannot cut corners when
you are dealing with public safety. Don’t
cut corners, Sally. Let’s do the job right.
cut from the same cloth and made from
the same mold sharing a lot of similar-
ities; seeming to have been created,
reared, or fashioned in the same way.
She and her brother are cut from the same
cloth. They both tell lies all the time.
They are made from the same mold and
even sound alike on the telephone.
cut loose (with something) Go to let go
(with something).
cut no ice (with someone) to fail to change
the mind of someone; to have no influ-
ence on someone. (Informal.) What
you just said will cut no ice with the man-
ager. All that may be true, but it cuts
no ice with me. That idea cuts no ice.
It won’t help at all. It cuts no ice that
your mother is the mayor.
cut off to stop by itself or oneself. (Infor-
mal.) The machine got hot and cut off.
Bob cut off in midsentence.
cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face to
harm oneself while trying to harm an-
other person. (Note the variation in the
examples.) Billy loves the zoo, but he re-
fused to go with his mother because he was
mad at her. He cut off his nose to spite his
face. Find a better way to be angry. It
is silly to cut your nose off to spite your
face.
cut one’s eyeteeth on something to have
done something since one was very
young; to have much experience at some-
thing. (Folksy.) Do I know about cars?
I cut my eyeteeth on cars. I cut my eye-
teeth on Bach. I can whistle everything he
wrote.
cut one’s losses to reduce someone’s losses
of money, goods, or other things of value.
I sold the stock as it went down, thus
cutting my losses. He cut his losses by
putting better locks on the doors. There
were fewer robberies. The mayor’s rep-
utation suffered because of the scandal. He
finally resigned to cut his losses.
cut one’s (own) throat [for someone] to ex-
perience certain failure; to do damage to
oneself. (Also literal. Informal.)
were to run for office, I’d just be cutting my
throat. Judges who take bribes are cut-
ting their own throats.
cut out to be something well-suited for a
particular role or a particular occupation.
(Compare this with cut out for something.)
Tom was not cut out to be a banker.
Sally was cut out to be a doctor.
cut (someone) a check to write a check; to
have a computer print a check. We will
cut a check for the balance due you later
this afternoon. We will cut you a check
as soon as possible.
cut someone dead to ignore someone totally.
Joan was just about to speak to James
when he cut her dead. Jean cut her for-
mer husband dead.
cut someone down (to size) and take some-
one down (to size) to make a person
humble; to put one in one’s place. (See also
beat someone down (to size).) John’s re-
marks really cut me down to size. Jane
is too conceited. I think her new boss will
take her down to size. The boss’s angry
stare will really cut her down.
cut someone in to give someone a share of
something. (Informal or slang.) Shall
we cut Bill in on this deal? I don’t think
we should cut anybody in. T Pretty soon
we’ll have to cut in the whole town.
cut someone off without a penny to end
someone’s allowance; to fail to leave
someone money in one’s will. Mr. and
Mrs. Franklin cut their son off without a
penny after he quit school. T They cut off
both of their sons without a penny. T We
learned, when Uncle Sam’s will was read,
that he cut off his own f lesh and blood
without a penny.
cut someone or something up to criticize some-
one or something severely. (Also literal.
Slang.) Jane is such a gossip. She was
really cutting Mrs. Jones up. T The pro-
fessor really cut up my essay.
cut someone to the quick to hurt someone’s
feelings very badly. Your criticism cut
me to the quick. Tom’s sharp words to
Mary cut her to the quick.
cut to the chase to get to the important
matters. Let’s stop all this chatter and
cut to the chase. I like the way you cut
to the chase and don’t waste my time.
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