cut and run


cut and run

1. To depart very quickly. The robbers tried to cut and run when they heard the approaching sirens.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.See also: and, cut, run

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.See also: and, cut, run

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. See also: and, cut, run

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. See also: and, cut, run

cut and run

make a speedy or sudden departure from an awkward or hazardous situation rather than confront or deal with it. informal Cut and run was originally an early 18th-century nautical phrase, meaning ‘sever the anchor cable because of an emergency and make sail immediately’.See also: and, cut, run

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.See also: and, cut, run

cut and run

in. to stop what one is doing and flee. The cops were coming, so we cut and run. See also: and, cut, run

cut and run

To leave an unsettled situation or abandon a risky enterprise.See also: and, cut, run

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.”See also: and, cut