Cut Corners.
English
idiom
To skip steps to save time or money, often compromising quality.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To skip steps to save time or money, often compromising quality.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To do something in a way that saves time or money but reduces quality or safety.
When you cut corners, you skip steps or reduce standards to get something done faster or cheaper.
It is often used negatively to describe work that is done carelessly or below the required standard.
"Take Shortcuts"
—
Finding a faster route to a goal, which may or may not compromise quality
"Penny Pinching"
—
Being excessively careful about spending very small amounts of money
"Cut Corners"
—
Reducing quality or skipping steps to save time or money
I'm worried the new supplier is cutting corners — the finish quality has dropped noticeably.
Good catch — I'll set up a quality review before we approve the next shipment.
This report is missing several sections — what happened?
I won't cut corners again — I rushed it and I should have flagged the deadline earlier.
Do you think it's ever okay to cut corners on a project?
Only on things that genuinely don't matter — never on safety or client-facing work.
