Have you seen the phrase 'cut me some slack' somewhere on the internet or in a text and would like to know more about what the saying means in context? 'Cut me some slack' is a common English figurative expression. This post unpacks the meaning, origin, and correct use of the saying.
Meaning
The phrase 'cut me some slack' is a common figurative saying that is mostly used in the English language.
'Cut me some slack' is a phrase that can be used to mean that someone is asking for a lack of judgment, or asking for a release from something.
The most common way to say the phrase is to say 'cut me some slack', though other forms of the phrase exists such as 'cutting [someone] slack' to render a valid form of the expression.
Someone can use the phrase 'cut me some slack' as a statement, as a response, or as a question asking for a lack of judgment in the conversation.
The phrase can also be used as 'cut me any slack' and the phrase does not always refer to the figurative 'some slack'.
Someone can also use the phrase in the negative form to indicate that someone has 'not been cut some slack'.
Similar phrases in the English language include saying the phrase 'give me a break' from one person to another.
Example Usage
“I meant that I didn't like the pineapple on the pizza. You could have just cut the guy some slack and asked him for a refund instead of punching him in the nose.”
“Cut me some slack. I said that I liked one Nickelback song, I didn't say that I liked everything that the band ever released.”
“Cut me some slack, I said that I don't have time to go fishing. Not that I didn't like your mother-in-law.”
“If you don't cut me some slack and relax about the three hundred rules around the house, I swear I'm just going to throw everything in the back of the van and move out by tomorrow morning.”
Origin
According to most online language resources, the figurative phrase 'cut me some slack' is likely to have come from somewhere in the 1900s although the literal and original meaning might have originated as much as 100 years before this as a nautical or seafaring term.
The phrase 'cut me some slack' would have referred to the action of literally 'cutting some slack' to a rope, or the request to do so while on the ocean.
While the nautical origins of the phrase are only used within this context, the figurative phrase only originated and became popular around the 1950s.
if someone says 'cut me some slack', the phrase is almost certainly figurative rather than literal.
Modern figurative use of the saying has continued, with the meaning of 'slack' often specific to the discussion's context.
Phrases Similar to Cut Me Some Slack
- Give me a break
Phrases Opposite to Cut Me Some Slack
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- Cut me some slack
Ways People May Say Cut Me Some Slack Incorrectly
There are several ways in which someone can use the saying 'cut me some slack' in the wrong way, or misunderstand the meaning of the phrase when it is applied.
The phrase is never said as 'cut me some slacks' as it would change the meaning: slacks are pants and it does not give a valid phrase.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Cut Me Some Slack
There are several acceptable ways to use the phrase 'cut me some slack', including to use the saying as a statement, response, or question that asks for some relief from the other speaker in the conversation.
Someone can use the phrase in the negative form as well, to say that someone has 'not been cut some slack' as the opposite meaning of the phrase.