cutting edgen.adj.
/ˌkʌtɪŋ ˈɛdʒ/, U.S. /ˌkədɪŋ ˈɛdʒ/ A. n.
1. A sharp edge on an implement, etc., used for cutting, esp. on the blade of a knife or tool.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > sharpness of edge or point > [noun] > sharp edge
edgeOE
facea1382
cutting edge1825
knife-edge1871
knife-blade1902
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > [noun] > cutting part of
headOE
bit1594
web1600
cutting edge1825
1825 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Agric. §501 It resembles a large..shovel, strongly prepared with iron on the cutting edge.
1871 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 161 218 The trenchant margin of the upper carnassial is worn, as usual, obliquely from without upward and inward, the cutting-edge of the enamel being external.
1916 Times (advt.) The guaranteed stainless knife with the keen cutting edge.
1944 J. Millar in R. Greenhalgh Pract. Builder x. 336/2 A lewising tool is used for cutting lewis holes, and the cutting edge is made slightly wider than the top portion.
1999 Woodworker July 81/2 One is the pocket cutter, another is the ‘stagger tooth’ which lacks any bottom cutting insert but allows the chippings to eject quickly because the cutting edges alternate in height, thus giving extra clearance.
2. figurative.
a. A dynamic, invigorating, or incisive factor or quality, esp. one that delivers a decisive advantage. Hence: the latest or most advanced stage in the development of something; the forefront, esp. of a movement; frequently in at (also on) the cutting edge.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > [noun] > innovation or avant-gardism
innovation1553
innovating1591
cutting edge1851
avant-gardism1950
vanguardism1952
innovativeness1962
gee-whizzery1971
1851 National Era 10 July 110 We turn the cutting edge of the same judgment to him that answers a necessity of our nature and a pledge and promise of the Divine Master with the cool criticism of ‘visionary’!
1916 H. G. Wells Mr. Britling sees it Through ii. iv. 359 It was all a dream, the dream of a prosperous comfortable man who had never come to the cutting edge of life.
1934 E. D. Mitchell & B. S. Mason Theory of Play xii. 283 As individualism and laissez faire with its ruthless competition diminishes in favor of a more cooperative type of community life, the intense drive to win in athletics will doubtless lose its cutting edge.
1958 W. M. Cruickshank in W. M. Cruickshank & G. O. Johnson Educ. Exceptional Children i. 41 No one of these people..would ever have considered themselves an educational pioneer, but the work they did was always at the cutting-edge of program development.
1976 Birmingham (Alabama) News 5 Sept. e2/1 From my perspective, awash in a vast wave of albums, press releases and sales and play charts, it looks as if pop, and its cutting edge, rock, is in the doldrums.
1997 Sunday Times 26 Oct. (Sport section) 3/8 Leeds enjoyed most of the play and most of the chances, but never looked to have the cutting edge to make it count.
b. spec. Directness, trenchancy, and insight (in speech or writing); a scathingly incisive quality or style.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [noun] > incisiveness
edgea1593
pointa1643
pointedness1693
penpoint1805
incisiveness1865
trenchancy1866
crispness1885
trenchantness1892
cutting edge1929
1929 L. P. Stryker Andrew Johnson iii. 21 He published for a time what he called a newspaper; it was known as the ‘Jonesboro Whig’, but it was known as a good many other things besides, especially by those who had felt its cutting edge.
1950 Times 14 July 7/4 A little more cutting-edge to the wit..would have added salt to the sometimes insipid performances of musical comedy in its prime.
1993 Guardian 17 July 25/3 Never famed for his cutting edge, he was surely never as bumblesome in the Commons as he was in the Lords this week.
B. adj.
Usually in form cutting-edge. At the latest or most advanced stage of development; innovative, pioneering.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > [adjective] > innovative or innovated
innovating1591
novelling1621
innovated1635
new-set1714
innovative1806
innovational1817
adventurous1841
innovatory1853
unclichéd1946
cutting edge1975
1975 Social Stud. Sci. 5 427 Therefore, one wonders whether the references contained in such ‘cutting-edge’ reports differ in kind from those in full-length articles, which often elaborate on results and their origins.
1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 17 Sept. c1 We were not members of the civil-rights movement. We were not the cutting-edge folk. We were people who ran a paper in a small town.
1984 Harper's Feb. 20/1 Some large cutting-edge projects are too risky to be financed even by today's relatively healthy venture capital markets.
1996 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 25 Mar. 12/6 The Independent Spirit Awards..are often given for cutting-edge films which are not necessarily box office draws.
2002 B 149/2 The club-spawned weekends offer cutting-edge music, and visual and performance art in intimate surroundings.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1825