English Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions
Alphabetical List - C
(page 16 : cut both ways → cut it fine)
| cut both ways | Something that
cuts both ways has both a positive and
a negative effect at the same time. Banning cars in the town centre can cut both ways : less traffic congestion but fewer customers in the shops. |
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| cut the cackle | If you tell a group
of people to cut the cackle, you
are asking them to stop talking aimlessly and start dealing with more important or serious matters. OK. It's time to cut the cackle and get down to business |
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| cut corners | Cutting corners
means not following the correct procedure in
order to save time, effort or money (often
with unsatisfactory results). I want the job well done - no cutting corners please! |
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| cut a dash | If a person
cuts a dash, they make a striking
impression by their appearance and
attractive clothes. Wearing his uniform, my grandfather cut a dash on his wedding day. |
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| cut and dried | If you refer to a
situation, problem or solution as cut
and dried, you mean that it is clear
and straightforward with no likely
complications. When the new manager arrived, he didn't find the situation as cut and dried as he had expected. |
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| cut from the same cloth | If two people are
cut from the same cloth, they are
very similar in character or behaviour. Although the brothers look alike, they are not cut from the same cloth. They each have their own personality. |
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| cut the ground from under someone's feet | When someone
cuts the ground from under another's feet,
they do something which weakens their position or spoils theiir plans. When we launched the new product, we cut the ground from under our competitors' feet. |
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| cut no ice | If something
cuts no ice, it has no effect or makes
no impression on someone. Her explanation cut no ice with the teacher who said he would tolerate no more unjustified absences. |
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| cut loose | If someone cuts
loose or is cut loose, they
stop being influenced or controlled by
another person or group. He's thirty years old and still hasn't cut loose from his familiy. |
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| cut one's losses | If you end or
withdraw from something that is already
failing, in order to reduce the loss of
money, time or effort invested in it, you cut your losses. The project is heading for failure. Let's cut our losses before it's too late. |
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| cut one's own throat | If you cut your
own throat, you do something that will
be the cause of your own failure or ruin
your chances in the future. Tony has already missed a lot of classes. He's cutting his own throat. |
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| cut it/cut things fine | If you cut
it/cut things fine, you leave barely
enough time to do something. You're counting just an hour between the airport and the train station - isn't that cutting things a bit fine? |
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| ...back next... | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alphabetical Lists C: | ||||||||||||||||||
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| more alphabetical lists ... | ||||||||||||||||||
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