Meaning & use
cut corners
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Meanings
phraseidiominformaldisapproving
To save money, time, or effort by skipping proper steps, which usually lowers the quality or safety of the result.
Grammar: Verb phrase that changes tense: cut corners, cutting corners, cut corners yesterday; corners stays plural.
Patterns
- cut corners on something
- cut corners to do something
The builders cut corners on the wiring and the house caught fire.
You can't cut corners when you are repairing a car's brakes.
The company was cutting corners to meet the deadline.
phraseidiom
To take a shorter route by crossing the inside of a turn instead of following the path around it.
Grammar: Literal sense: refers to movement, often by drivers or runners.
Patterns
- cut a corner
The driver cut corners on the winding road and nearly hit a cyclist.
Runners were disqualified for cutting corners on the course.
Children cut corners across the grass to reach school faster.
Word forms
| third person singular | cuts corners |
|---|---|
| past tense | cut corners |
| past participle | cut corners |
| -ing form | cutting corners |
Common combinations
- accused of cutting corners
- The contractor was accused of cutting corners on safety.
- refuse to cut corners
- She refuses to cut corners, even when she is rushed.
- cut corners on safety
- Airlines must not cut corners on safety.
- no cutting corners
- There is no cutting corners in this recipe if you want the best flavor.
- tempted to cut corners
- Under pressure, many students are tempted to cut corners.
Synonyms and how they differ
- skimp
- Skimp means to spend too little of something such as money or time, whereas cut corners suggests leaving out proper steps.
- scrimp
- Scrimp is about being too thrifty, usually with money, and it carries less suggestion of lower safety.
- take shortcuts
- Take shortcuts can be positive when the shortcut is clever, but cut corners nearly always means a poorer result.
- skip steps
- Skip steps is a plain description of leaving out stages, and cut corners adds the judgment that it was done to save effort or cost.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: cut corners or cut back?
cut corners vs cut back
Cut back means to reduce an amount, such as spending, but cut corners means to lower standards to save effort.
Practice
The inspector found that the contractor had ______ on the foundation to save money, and the walls were already cracking.
Choose one answer.
Cut corners means to skimp on proper work, which led to the cracks. Cut back on would mean reduce an amount and does not carry the idea of poor quality.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cut corners”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.