| idiom., brit. |
to perform some action in the quickest, easiest, or cheapest way (merriam-webster.com); to do something in the easiest or most inexpensive way (thefreedictionary.com); to do a less-than-thorough or incomplete job, to do something poorly, to take inappropriate shortcuts (The guy who built the fence cut corners when sinking the posts, and the fence fell over in the last storm.  wiktionary.org); to do something in the easiest, cheapest, or fastest way (I don’t like to cut corners when I have company for dinner. cambridge.org); to save time, money, or energy by doing things quickly and not as carefully as you should (Don’t try to cut corners when you’re decorating. • If it's rough, the manufacturer has cut corners by not sealing the back edge. • If I cut corners, I have something left on Saturday to go shopping with. • The agency accused the airline of cutting corners on safety. • Men working on the site complained of pressure to cut corners to save time on the delayed project. • I want something deeper than the stuff you usually do for me, so don't look for ways to cut corners. ldoceonline.com); to do something in a way that saves time, effort, or money, but that also results in it not being done properly (There’s a temptation to cut corners when you’re pushed for time, but it’s not worth it. ldoceonline.com); do something perfunctorily so as to save time or money (synonyms: skimp, economize): There is always a temptation to cut corners when time is short. • His staff complains that he is cutting corners to save money by putting ordinary cream cheese in the tiramisu. • Is the employee rewarded for finding ways to save money by cutting corners? • If you try to save money up-front by cutting corners, it can end up costing you much more in the end. • And, after all, you may only be able to make that one trip of a lifetime so don't cut corners by trying to save on the essentials. • With no real checks on our work, the temptation was to cut corners, and this happened regularly. lexico.com); to not do a job as thoroughly as you should, especially because you want to finish it quickly or save money (macmillandictionary.com); do something the cheapest or easiest way (Cut corners to make a cheaper product vocabulary.com); to do something in the easiest and shortest way, esp at the expense of high standards (We could finish this project early only if we cut corners. • An expensive budget computer is an odd oxymoron. It’s understandable to cut corners for a good price. • “What I can tell you is, we do feel the urgency of the moment,” he said. “We will not delay, but we will not cut corners.” • "We feel cautiously optimistic that we will be able to have a safe and effective vaccine, although there is never a guarantee of that,” Fauci said. On vaccines, he added, "There is no cutting corners.” • Tiramisu’s popularity became a double-edged sword. As more and more restaurants served it, including national chains, many began cutting corners. The dessert has so few ingredients that when one isn’t good quality, it shows — ending in a cloying confection. • As a result, students are highly vulnerable to the opportunism of for-profit colleges, which are inevitably tempted to increase profits by cutting corners. • This report lays bare the lie that Boeing cares about safety or the hundreds of lives they have ruined. ... Boeing cut corners, lied to regulators, and simply considers this the cost of doing business. • We should expect nothing short of the same rigor, professionalism and integrity from today’s FDA commissioner, Stephen Hahn, as he faces political pressure to cut corners in the approval process of any covid-19 vaccine. collinsdictionary.com); to do something in the easiest and shortest way, esp at the expense of high standards (Don't try to cut any corners as you'll only be making work for yourself later on. • Then in order to make any profit on the job at all, they had to cut corners in the construction of my center. collinsdictionary.com) |
