This mini episode teaches you the useful phrase “to cut corners.”
Episode 143 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the useful phrase “to cut corners.” Send your questions about English and your suggestions for future episodes to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
The expression I want to teach you today is “to cut corners.” To cut corners. That's cut, c-u-t. And corners, c-o-r-n-e-r-s. This is a very useful expression, and Katherine suggested that I talk about it on the podcast.
What does it mean to cut corners? To cut corners means to do something in a cheaper or quicker or more convenient way than is typical. It also suggests doing something too quickly or too cheaply or too easily, so that the result is not as good as it should be. If you cut corners, that means you are skipping some important steps, or you're not paying attention to something important that you should pay attention to.
When you hear the phrase “to cut corners,” you should think of a related word, which is shortcut. Do you know the word shortcut? That's s-h-o-r-t-c-u-t. Shortcut. A shortcut is a quicker way to get from one place to another or a quicker way to accomplish something. When you cut corners, you take too many shortcuts, so you miss some important things.
Here is an example of the phrase “to cut corners” used in a sentence:
“When you are repairing your home's electrical system, you should never cut corners.” When you are repairing your home's electrical system, you should never cut corners.
In other words, you shouldn't skip any important steps. You should use the best material. You should do everything the safest way you can, and you should follow all of the laws about electricity and about repairing electrical systems.
With this sentence, you really get a feeling for what this phrase means. “To cut corners.” It means to skip important things, to skip important steps, to do something too quickly or too cheaply, to try to finish a job quickly without worrying about safety or quality.
“To cut corners” is a pretty common expression, and I think it's one you should know.