cut [ME] There is evidence for the verb cut from the end of the 13th century. It may well have existed before that in Old English, but there are no written examples to prove it. You say something is cut and dried [E18th] when it is completely settled or decided. There used to be a distinction between the cut and dried herbs sold in herbalists’ shops and those that had been freshly gathered. The cut of someone’s jib [E19th] is their appearance or expression. A jib is a triangular sail set forward of the mast on a sailing ship or boat. Its proportions were variable and the characteristic shape of a particular jib helped to identify a ship. Hence the term came to be applied to the impression given by a person’s appearance. Something cuts the mustard [L19th] when it comes up to expectations or meets the required standard. In early 20th-century US slang mustard had the meaning ‘the best of anything’. Cut to the chase [L19th], meaning ‘come to the point’, comes from film-making. The idea is of moving straight to the most exciting part.