Idiom
cut corners
Meaning
To do a less-than-thorough or incomplete job; to do something poorly; to take inappropriate shortcuts.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Don't cut corners when you build a house.”
“The builders cut corners to save money, and now the roof leaks.”
“The company cut corners on safety inspections to boost profits, a decision that later led to a costly public scandal.”
Examples
simple
“Don't cut corners when you build a house.”
contextual
“The builders cut corners to save money, and now the roof leaks.”
complex
“The company cut corners on safety inspections to boost profits, a decision that later led to a costly public scandal.”
Origin
19th-century; from literally taking a shortcut by rounding a corner tightly rather than following the full path, as in riding or driving.
Key words
Related idioms
- Level
- B1 · Intermediate
- Updated