cut corners


Do something in the easiest or least expensive way; also, act illegally. For example, Cutting corners in production led to a definite loss in product quality, or If the accountant cuts corners the auditors are sure to find out. This term alludes to rounding a corner as closely as possible in order to shorten the distance traversed and/or save time. [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

How to use cut corners in a sentence

  • It was at this point that he began to cut corners with disastrous results.

    The Day's Work, Volume 1 | Rudyard Kipling
  • That penny-pinching Skinner wants me to cut corners and get myself into trouble so he can fire me.

    Cappy Ricks | Peter B. Kyne