cut-corners
/kʌt ˈkɔːr.nərz/To do something in a quick, cheap, or easy way by skipping important steps. It usually results in lower quality, safety risks, or mistakes.
- They cut corners on safety to finish the building faster.
- Don't cut corners when writing your report — check every fact.
- The chef cut corners and used cheap ingredients.
Adinary Nuance
The physical origin of "cut corners" tells you everything about its meaning. Imagine a carriage driver who slices diagonally across a road corner instead of following the proper curve — it saves a second or two, but risks clipping a post, a pedestrian, or the ditch. That built-in danger is why the idiom always carries a negative tone: cutting a corner is never just "being efficient," it implies something important was sacrificed. Unlike "take a shortcut," which can be neutral or even clever, "cut corners" almost always signals carelessness or dishonesty. When the phrase became popular in 19th-century British English, it quickly attached itself to workmanship, business, and responsibility — exactly where corners should never be cut.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- cắt góc
- Spanish
- tomar atajos
- Chinese
- 偷工减料
- Japanese
- 手を抜く
- Korean
- 지름길을 가다
Etymology
The phrase comes from the literal act of cutting a corner — a driver or walker taking a diagonal shortcut across a bend instead of following the full curve of the road. By the mid-1800s in English, the image had shifted metaphorically to mean skipping proper steps in any task to save time or money.
Common phrases
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is 'cut corners' always negative?
- Yes, almost always. The phrase implies that something important — quality, safety, or honesty — was sacrificed to save time or money. It is rarely a compliment.
- Should I say 'cut a corner' or 'cut corners'?
- The plural form 'cut corners' is the standard idiom. 'Cut a corner' can describe a literal action (like turning sharply while driving), but for the metaphorical meaning, always use 'cut corners'.
- What is the difference between 'cut corners' and 'take a shortcut'?
- 'Take a shortcut' can be neutral or positive — finding a smarter, faster path. 'Cut corners' is almost always negative — it means skipping steps that should not be skipped, with a real cost to quality or safety.
- Can 'cut corners' be used in formal or business writing?
- Yes, it is common in both formal reports and everyday conversation. It is a well-established idiom that reads naturally in business contexts, such as 'the audit found that contractors had cut corners on inspections'.