snip off

snip off

To sever something (from something else) with a quick, clean cut. A noun or pronoun can be used between "snip" and "off." I was so glad when Charlie finally snipped off that disgusting rat-tail. Didn't he realize how repellant it looked? The man snuck into his neighbor's garden at night and snipped all the rosebuds off the bushes.
See also: off, snip
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

snip something off (of) something

 and snip something off
to cut something off something. (Of is usually retained before pronouns.) she snipped a dead blossom off the rosebush. Jane snipped off a bud.
See also: off, snip
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • base off (of) (something else)
  • check off
  • bite off
  • blow off
  • blow someone/something off
  • blow off the map
  • brass off
  • brass someone off
  • brassed off
  • call off
References in periodicals archive
Local hairdresser Bex Deutrom was called in to snip off her ponytail which will be sent to China by the charity to make into a wig.
| Snip off dead heads of pansies and trim back any dead stems.
Snip off the dead heads of pansies and trim back any dead stems - they will soon come back to life again.
Snip off snapdragons once they have finished flowering and replace with universal pansies that will supply colour through the autumn and winter.
Prune old-fashioned roses and climbers after flowering, and when dead-heading don't just snip off the dead flower, follow the stem back for a few centimetres and cut it off just above a healthy leaf.
A If you leave them on the plant nature will do this for you but if you want to be more decisive as to where they go then snip off the seed heads and dry them in a cool dry place.
Snip off individual leaves when they're about 4 inches long.
They are not fast-growing, so shouldn't need regular pruning, but for tidying up snip off unkempt stems in mid-spring.
Spoon the yellow icing into a piping bag and snip off the tip.
The writing device uses electromagnetics to snip off the end of a strip, making a tiny bubble with a pair of VBLs in its wall.
He said Clarke, was trying to do something about his addiction, worked for a scaffolding company and he had used the shears to snip off plastic ties.
When the last bloom fades snip off the flower spike to just above the bud an inch or so below the last flower.
Snip off and discard the elastic string from the chicken, open out the legs and press down on the breast so that the chicken cavity is opened, to help hot air to circulate in the oven.
WITH a pair of sharp scissors, snip off faded flowers from annuals to prevent them from setting seed and to encourage a longer flowering season.
Snip off a few stems and take them indoors if you want to make the most of the smell.