cut
vb ( cut pt, pp )
(with scissors, knife, gen)
couper
→ She cut the cake and gave me a piece.
[+meat] découper
[+grass, lawn] tondre
→ We need a lawn mower to cut the grass.
(to specific shape)
[+key, hedge, crystal] tailler
I'll cut some bread. Je vais couper du pain.
to cut oneself se couper
to cut one's finger se couper le doigt
→ Robert cut his knee quite badly.
I cut my foot on a piece of glass. Je me suis coupé au pied avec un morceau de verre.
to cut a hole in sth faire un trou dans qch
to cut one's nails se couper les ongles
to cut one's hair se couper les cheveux
to get one's hair cut se faire couper les cheveux
to cut o.s. loose (from ropes, binding etc)
se libérer
He managed to reach the knife and cut himself loose. Il parvint à s'emparer du couteau et se libéra en coupant ses liens.
(=lower)
[+price, taxes, interest rates] baisser
→ a deal to cut 50 billion dollars from the federal deficit
[+costs, spending] réduire
→ We intend to cut arms spending.
→ The first priority is to cut costs
[+jobs] supprimer
→ Management announced that 400 jobs would be cut
→ The bank has recently begun to cut jobs in Hong Kong
[+workforce] réduire
→ The UN force is to be cut by 90%
(=remove)
[+scene, episode] supprimer
→ Her publishers insisted on cutting several stories.
to cut sth short [+conversation, interview] couper court à qch
→ in an effort to cut the conversation short, I mentioned the exams
→ She cut the interview short
[+holiday, visit, stay, trip] interrompre qch
→ They cut their holiday short when they heard about his accident
→ She cut her trip short when her father died.
*, not go to
[+appointment] manquer
→ For a while he cut his meetings and going out.
[+lecture] sécher
to cut class (US) sécher les cours
→ punishments for students who cut class or are rude to teachers
(=ignore)
[+person] ignorer
→ When I saw her, she cut me
to cut sb dead ignorer complètement qn
[baby]
to cut teeth faire ses dents
to cut a tooth percer une dent
(=make)
to cut a deal faire un marché, conclure un marché
*
(=cope)
he can't cut it il n'est pas à la hauteur, il n'est pas cap *
[scissors, knife] couper
→ Have you got a knife that cuts better than this one?
to cut loose (fig) (free o.s. from sb's influence or authority)
se libérer
→ I wanted to cut loose. I must have been a nightmare to my parents
to cut loose from sb/sth se libérer de qn/qch
→ Why not take the money and cut loose from the past?
to cut and run mettre les bouts *
to cut both ways être à double tranchant
(=slit, wound) coupure f
→ I had some cuts and bruises but I'm OK.
He's got a cut on his forehead. Il a une coupure au front.
(=lowering) (in prices, interest rates, taxes, salary)
baisse f , (in costs, spending)
réduction f
a cut in prices une baisse des prix
a cut in interest rates une baisse des taux d'intérêts
a cut in government spending une réduction des dépenses publiques
(=piece)
[+meat] morceau m
→ ... choice cuts of beef.
cold cuts (US) ~assiette f anglaise
(=shape, design)
[+clothes] coupe f
→ The cut of that jacket is all wrong.
(=haircut) coupe f
→
cut and blow-dry
to be a cut above sb/sth être nettement mieux que qn/qch
→ he is a cut above the rest - on and off the pitch
→ The film remains a cut above the average gory horror movie
the cut and thrust of sth la lutte acharnée de qch
→ Now he's retired, he doesn't miss the cut-and-thrust of politics much
adj
[jewel] taillé (e) → The Star of India is the biggest cut diamond ever.
clean-cut
adj
[man] soigné (e)
→ Costner added some stubble to his clean-cut screen persona
clear-cut
adj
[issue] clair (e)
[answer] précis (e)
→ These are not questions with clear-cut answers
[decision] clair (e)
→ The president never made a clear-cut decision on whether to use military force
[case, example] évident (e)
[victory] évident (e)
→ As the war in Vietnam dragged on with no clear-cut victory
crew cut
n
to have a crew cut avoir les cheveux en brosse
▲
cut back
vt sep
[+plants] tailler
→ Cut the stems back to within 50 cm of the soil.
[+production, expenditure] réduire
→ Congress cut back the funds.
▲
cut back on
vt fus
[+spending, investment] économiser sur
→ The government want to cut back on investment in public services
[+food, fat] réduire
→ We are working to cut back on fat in our diet.
[+treats] se permettre moins de
▲
cut down
vt sep
(fig)
to cut sb down to size remettre qn à sa place
▲
cut down on
vt fus
(=reduce intake of)
[+fat, salt, alcohol] réduire sa consommation de
▲
cut in
vi
(=interrupt) (on conversation)
interrompre
→ Mrs Travers began a reply, but Mrs Patel cut in again.
to cut in on sb couper la parole à qn
(in car)
faire une queue de poisson
→ The idiot tried to overtake me, and had to cut in at the last moment.
▲
cut off
vt sep
(=remove)
[+piece, part] couper
→ I had to buy a door that was slightly too large, and cut the bottom off.
[+area, town] isoler
→ The town was cut off.
(=disconnect)
[+electricity, gas, water supply] couper
→ Gas supplies had now been cut off.
The electricity was cut off. L'électricité a été coupée.
we've been cut off (on phone, during a call)
nous avons été coupés
(permanently)
la ligne a été coupée
▲
cut out
vt sep
[+picture] découper
→ I cut out the form and sent it off.
(=remove) supprimer
→ He cut out all the references to the baron being a fool.
(=stop using, stop taking)
[+alcohol, fatty food] arrêter
→ He ought to cut out the alcohol.
to cut out smoking arrêter de fumer
to cut out cigarettes arrêter la cigarette
▲
cut up
vt sep
(=chop up)
[+food] couper
[+meat] découper
(=dissect)
[+dead animal, corpse] disséquer
→ You start the lesson by cutting up a worm.
(in car)
faire une queue de poisson à
cut and blow-dry
n coupe-brushing m
cut-and-dried , cut and dried
adj
(=clear-cut)
[answer, situation, situation] net (te)
[formula] tout (e) fait (e)
→ We are aiming for guidelines, not cut-and-dried answers
[issue] simple
→ Mr Byers accepts that the issue is not cut and dried and that there are complex technical issues to be overcome.
cut glass
n verre m taillé
cut-glass
modif
[bowl, vase, mirror] de cristal taillé, en cristal taillé
[accent] distingué (e)
→ his cut-glass English accent
cut off
adj
(=isolated) isolé (e)
→ Without a car we still felt very cut off.
cut-off , cutoff
cut-off point (in age)
limite f
→ On young girls it can look really great, but there is a definite age cut-off on this.
(in time)
seuil m limite
→ The cut-off point depends on age and length of employment ...
→
cut-off date
[+supplies, services] suspension f
→ The United States resisted an arms cutoff.
→
cutoff switch
cut-off date , cutoff date
n date f limite
→ The cut-off date for registering is yet to be announced ...
cut out
adj
to be cut out for sth être fait (e) pour qch
→ I left medicine anyway. I wasn't really cut out for it ...
to be cut out to do sth être fait (e) pour faire qch
to be cut out to be sth [+a doctor, a leader etc] avoir l'étoffe de qch
→ He doesn't feel he is cut out to be a leader.
cut-out
n
(=paper figure) silhouette f en carton
→ You'd swear he was a cardboard cut-out except that he'd moved his rifle ...
→ You can have your picture taken with a cutout of David Beckham.
(for device, machine)
coupe-circuit m inv
→ Use a kettle with an automatic cut-out so it doesn't boil for longer than necessary ...
→ ... a cut-out to prevent the battery from overcharging.
cut-price , (British) cut-rate (US)
adj
[deal, fare, ticket, flight] à prix réduit
[airline] qui pratique des prix réduits
[clothes, car, cigarettes] à prix réduit
cut-throat , cutthroat
n
old-fashioned
(=assassin) assassin m
adj
(=ruthless)
[market, industry] férocement compétitif (-ive)
→ It's an increasingly global, cut-throat market
→ It's a cut-throat business with a lot of money involved.
cut-throat competition concurrence f sauvage, concurrence f impitoyable
cut up (mainly British)
*
adj
(=upset) affecté (e)
to be cut up about sth être affecté (e) par qch
→ Terry was very cut up about Jim's death.
low-cut
adj
[dress] décolleté (e)
pay cut
n réduction f de salaire
power cut
n (British) coupure f de courant
price cut
n réduction f de prix
razor cut
n coupe f au rasoir
short cut , short-cut, shortcut
n
(to get somewhere)
raccourci m
I took a short cut. J'ai pris un raccourci.
We took a short cut across the fields. Nous avons coupé à travers champs.
(to achieve something)
moyen m rapide
→ Parents of twins simply have to find short cuts in housework.
a short cut to getting sth, a short cut to sth un moyen rapide d'obtenir qch
→ Fame can be a shortcut to love and money ...
→ a shortcut to economic recovery
(COMPUTING)
(=icon) raccourci m
(=keystroke) raccourci m
→ ... ways to move or copy icons or create shortcuts in Windows.
→ ... a handy keyboard shortcut that takes you to the top of the screen.
tax cut
n réduction f d'impôt
→ those party members who still favour tax cuts as an election-winning formula,