cut and run
Also found in: Dictionary, Wikipedia.
cut and run
1. To depart very quickly. The robbers tried to cut and run when they heard the approaching sirens. Oh, when I heard my mother-in-law was coming to town, you better believe I cut and run to the store for cleaning supplies! Kids cut and run in every direction when they realized the cops were coming.
2. By extension, to leave a situation or arrangement as soon as things go awry. I don't trust that investor, and I expect him to cut and run as soon our company's stock dips the slightest bit. You're married now—you can't just cut and run when things get hard. I can't believe my business partner just cut and run like that! I thought we were in this together.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
cut and run
Sl. to run away quickly. (Alludes to cutting loose a ship's or boat's anchor and sailing away in a hurry.) Wilbur decided to cut and run when he heard the police sirens. As soon as I finish what I am doing here, I'm going to cut and run. I've got to get home by six o'clock.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
cut and run
Clear out, escape, desert, as in He wished he could just cut and run. This term originally (about 1700) meant to cut a vessel's anchor cable and make sail at once. By the mid-1800s it was being used figuratively. Charles Dickens had it in Great Expectations (1861): "I'd give a shilling if they had cut and run." Also see cut out, def. 7.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cut and run
If someone decides to cut and run from a difficult situation, they suddenly escape from it in order to avoid dealing with it in a responsible way. In relationships, he had an unfortunate tendency to cut and run when things didn't go his way. America will see the job through — we will not cut and run. Note: Cut-and-run can also be used before a noun. These are the consequences of the government's cut-and-run policy. Note: In the past, ships' anchors were attached to ropes. If a warship was attacked, rather than causing delay by pulling up the anchor, the sailors would sometimes cut the rope.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
cut and run
make a speedy or sudden departure from an awkward or hazardous situation rather than confront or deal with it. informalCut and run was originally an early 18th-century nautical phrase, meaning ‘sever the anchor cable because of an emergency and make sail immediately’.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
cut and ˈrun
(informal) make a quick or sudden escape: She can’t rely on Jason — he’s the type to cut and run as soon as things get difficult.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
cut and run
in. to stop what one is doing and flee. The cops were coming, so we cut and run.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
cut and run
To leave an unsettled situation or abandon a risky enterprise.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cut and run, to
To make a hasty departure. The term comes from the nautical practice of cutting a ship’s anchor cable to let it run before the wind, usually done only as an emergency measure. It was defined in Rigging and Seamanship (1794) as “to cut the cable and make sail instantly without waiting to weigh anchor.” It soon was used figuratively, as in Dickens’s Great Expectations (1861): “I’d give a shilling if they had cut and run.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer