Plain and Simple English Talks (2)
Let us now look at more examples of common phrases with the word "cut":
A cut (noun) = a knife wound = an injury caused by a sharp object
What about my cut? = What about my share?
Cut! : Stop! (often heard shouted by a film/play director)
She cuts across the park. = She travels straight over the park. = She does not follow the pathway.
She cuts through the garden. = She takes a short cut through the garden.
A short cut. = a shorter way/route to get somewhere.
May I cut in? = May I take your place (in a queue)?
A car cut in on a bike. = A car overtook and moved right in front of a bike.
A cut-out (noun) = a switch (mostly to turn off electricity supply).
(Some electrical words: brown out = become hot and burn; black out = a break/pause in electricity supply;
a surge = a spike/sharp rise in electricity supply; blown out = blown fuse/short in electricity supply)
Cut it out! = Stop (doing) it!
We cut him out. = We drop(ped) him (from our team/group).
He cut it up. = He cut it into small pieces.
A cut-over (noun) = A (time to) change over to something new. = A time to replace.
They cut open the carcass. = They (use a knife to) expose (what inside) the corpse.
We cut down on sugar. We use less sugar.
The scene is cut away. = The scene is changed to another scene quickly.
She cut away all loose ends. = She trimmed off untidy pieces.
I cut away clean. = I gave up everything. = I left everthing behind.
He cut off all ties. = He gave up everything. = He burned bridges behind him.
The dog was cut loose. = The dog was untied/unchained. = The dog was let go. = The dog was cut free.
The budget was cut back. = The budget was reduced. = The budget was cut down.
We cut corners because the budget was cut back. = we did it the cheaper ways because the budget was less.
...
Cuttings (noun) = twigs (or small parts of a plant) for reproducing other plants.
I will undercut any offer. = I will sell for less than any sale-price.
a clean-cut = neat and clear = easy to see/tell apart = a clear-cut
the first cut = the first prototype/attempt to make something
the final cut = the finished product
meat cuts = certain ways to cut meat into many pieces
to cut a long story short = to leave out details/parts of the story
It was cut-and-dry. = It was the usual/common way. = It was ordinary.
...
I will come back and add more when I come by more examples. But we should have enough here to keep us busy ;-)
