Using idioms with the word "CUT"

How well do you know the following idioms?

CUT IT CLOSE; CUT CORNERS; CUT OUT FOR; CUT OUT TO; MAKE THE CUT; 
CUT SOMEONE SOME SLACK; CUT IT OUT; CUT THE CRAP; NOT CUT IT

If you're familiar with all of them, then head over to our main blog for a quick exercise & check how well you can use these idioms in sentences.

If you're unsure about what some or all of them mean, read on for our quick lesson and look at the examples below first before heading to our main blog and trying the exercise.

-- CUTTING IT CLOSE means to almost be late for something or to not give yourself ample (enough) time before a scheduled event.

Give yourself ample time for your flight. You don't want to CUT IT TOO CLOSE and be stressed going through airport security. 

-- CUT CORNERS means to miss steps in a process.
His manager advised him not to CUT CORNERS in order to make a good impression with his colleagues.

-- CUT OUT FOR means to be made for or be naturally good at a certain job. This is followed by a noun or a gerund.
He didn't think he was CUT OUT FOR parenting after babysitting his friend's kids.

-- CUT OUT TO also means to be naturally good at something. However, the preposition "to" in this idiom has to be followed by a verb.
He didn't think he was CUT OUT TO be a parent after babysitting his friend's kids.

-- MAKE THE CUT means to be selected in a round of competition.
Sally practiced night and day for the dance competition. Unfortunately, she didn't MAKE THE CUT.

-- CUT SOMEONE SOME SLACK means to not be so strict with someone.
The new employee has made several mistakes. Fortunately, the manager is CUTTING HIM SOME SLACK since it's just his first week on the job.

-- Telling someone to CUT IT OUT means to tell that person to stop the annoying thing that he or she is doing.
CUT IT OUT! I'm trying to study!

-- Telling someone to CUT THE CRAP means to tell that person to stop lying or to start being serious.
Will you CUT THE CRAP and just tell us exactly what happened?

-- NOT CUT IT means not good enough.
I thought I did an excellent job on my essay, but my teacher said it DIDN'T CUT IT and that I had to edit it for mistakes before handing it in.

So do you have a better grasp (understanding) of these idioms now? Then it's time to head over to our main blog to try the exercise there. Good luck!

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-- Joe Yu, ESL instructor