cut

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.