cut and run
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Make a speedy departure.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
If breakfast is a cut - and - run meal then a bar counter is a good idea and a nice compromise between setting a proper table and snatching a cup of coffee on the wing.
Its three big domestic rivals do not intend to cut and run either.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “Irreversible binomial” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29). Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “cut and run” mean?
Make a speedy departure.
Is “cut and run” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.