long cut

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableinformalhumorous

   A route or method that takes longer than necessary, used humorously as the opposite of a shortcut.

   Grammar: Takes a/the: we took the long cut.

   Patterns

   • take the long cut
   • the long cut to something

   We tried a shortcut but it turned out to be a long cut.

   Taking that detour was a long cut, and we arrived an hour late.

   Doing it by hand instead of using a spreadsheet was the long cut.

2. 2nouncountabletechnical

   In film and video editing, the full, uncut version of a recording before it is trimmed down.

   Grammar: Takes a/the: the long cut of the film.

   Patterns

   • the long cut of something

   The director showed the crew the long cut of the film.

   The long cut of the interview ran for three hours.

   They trimmed the long cut to a ninety-minute version.

Word forms

Common combinations

take the long cut

He took the long cut home and missed dinner.

a shortcut or a long cut

It was a shortcut or a long cut, depending on the traffic.

turn out to be a long cut

The back road turned out to be a long cut.

the long cut of the film

Fans asked to see the long cut of the film.

Synonyms and how they differ

detour

A detour is a deliberate or forced change of route, while long cut is a joke about a route that was meant to be quick.

roundabout way

Roundabout way describes a route that is indirect, but it does not carry the ironic contrast with shortcut.

scenic route

Scenic route is positive and suggests a pleasant journey, while long cut suggests wasted time.

director's cut

A director's cut is a specific edited version a director prefers, while the long cut is just the longer version.

Opposites

Word family

cut noun

a route or edited version

shortcut noun

a quicker way to get somewhere

short cut noun

a spelling variant of shortcut

cut verb

to shorten or trim

Commonly confused: long cut or short cut?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “long cut”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words