verb phrase🎓 English idiom
cut corners
to do something cheaply or poorly to save time
What it means
To do something in the cheapest, quickest, or easiest way, often by ignoring rules or sacrificing quality. It usually carries a negative tone, implying carelessness or a poor result.
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Examples
- The builders cut corners, and now the roof is leaking.
- We can't cut corners on safety, no matter how tight the budget is.
- He cut corners on the recipe, and the cake came out flat.
- Cutting corners now will only cause bigger problems later.
Where it comes from
From the literal act of taking a shortcut by cutting across the corner of a path or turn rather than following the longer proper route. The figurative sense was established by the 19th century.
Related idioms
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