shilling
Related to shilling: British currency
cut off
1. verb Literally, to remove something from something else by cutting. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "off." Your plant might bloom again if you cut off the dead flowers.
2. verb To abruptly move in front of another driver, either intentionally or unintentionally. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "off." Can you believe that jerk cut me off like that? I nearly hit him!
3. verb To interrupt one and stop them from talking. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "off." After my mom had been droning on for nearly five minutes, I just had to cut her off. Hey, don't cut me off—I'm not done my story.
4. verb To stop something from working; to turn something off. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "off." When the fuse blew, it cut off the power to the entire second floor. Look, if you don't pay your bill, the electric company will cut off your electricity.
5. verb To stop giving money to someone or something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "off." My parents have threatened to cut me off as soon as I turn 30, so I need to find a job. If the school board cuts off funding for the arts, then what will become of the theater program?
6. verb To change direction. Follow the river to where it cuts off to the left and then you'll see the picnic area.
7. verb To turn off a particular road. And then you cut off here and get on this dirt road. I swear we're almost there.
8. verb To prevent access to a particular area or thing. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "off." I had to take a detour because the water department had blocked a bunch of streets, cutting me off from my house.
9. verb To isolate or sequester someone. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "off." The investigators plan to cut the suspect off from his bosses, in the hope that he will confess.
10. verb To end unexpectedly or abruptly. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "off." No one was disappointed when the principal's microphone came unplugged, cutting off his speech. Aw man, why did the music cut off?
11. verb To intercept someone or something that is en route to another location. The shipment of humanitarian supplies was cut off at the border by the government troops. The sheriff cut off the robbers just as they were about to pass through the gulch.
12. In baseball, to intercept a ball that has been thrown to a different player. The shortstop cut off the throw from the outfield because the runner had already scored.
13. verb To disinherit or disown someone. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "off." If you continue to fight with your mother like this, she may just cut you off and leave you with nothing.
14. verb To stop serving one alcohol, typically because they are intoxicated. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "off." They're going to cut off Tina if she keeps acting like that in here.
15. adjective Indicating an end point for something. In this usage, the phrase is usually written as one word. The cutoff date for the contest is tomorrow, so I hope you've finished your entry.
16. adjective In baseball, describing one who intercepts a ball thrown to a different player. In this usage, the phrase is usually written as one word. The shortstop acted as the cutoff man and then threw the ball to the catcher.
17. adjective Too intoxicated to keep being served alcohol. When I nearly fell off my stool for the third time, the bartender told me that I was cut off.
18. noun The act of ending or stopping something. In this usage, the phrase is usually written as one word. If there is a cutoff of funding, then what will become of the theater program?
19. noun A deadline. In this usage, the phrase is usually written as one word. When is the cutoff for applications to be sent in?
20. noun Pants that have been cut into shorts, typically with a ragged hem. In this usage, the phrase is usually written as one word and pluralized ("cutoffs"). I had only brought jeans with me on the trip, and it was so hot that I had to turn them into cutoffs.
See also: cut, off
cut off with a cent
dated cliché Intentionally excluded or disinherited from someone's will or the fortune of one's family. Primarily heard in US. The young entrepreneur, cut off with a cent, sailed to Europe to seek a new life without the aid or influence of his family. My father never liked that I gave up medicine to become a writer, and so I was cut off with a cent when he died.
See also: cent, cut, off
cut off with a shilling
dated cliché Intentionally excluded or disinherited from someone's will or the fortune of one's family. Primarily heard in UK. The young duke, cut off with a shilling, sailed to America to seek a new life without the aid or influence of his family. My father never liked that I gave up medicine to become a writer, and so I was cut off with a shilling when he died.
See also: cut, off, shilling
no more than ninepence in the shilling
obsolete Having no or little intelligence or common sense. Primarily heard in UK. The fool, who is no more than ninepence in the shilling, took the natives' aggressive overtures as being an enthusiastic greeting to the colonists.
See also: more, ninepence, no, shilling
not the full shilling
Rather stupid or unintelligent; slightly crazy or unhinged. He's not the full shilling if he thinks that plan is going to work. Of course he's not the full shilling—he's wearing pajamas at the beach!
See also: full, not, shilling
shill
1. noun Someone who promotes or endorses some product, service, event, etc., in an extravagant, misleading, or insincere manner in return for money or some other self-interest. Originally referred to someone who poses as a satisfied customer in order to lure other people into engaging in a swindle or con. It's sad seeing such a respectable actor become a shill for a used car company. I'm not a shill for their amusement park or anything, I just genuinely think everyone would love going there!
2. verb To promote, endorse, or advertise something in such a manner. It's part of my contract to shill for this movie, even though I know that it is a total piece of garbage. I never trust anyone shilling for alternative medicines or miracle cures.
take the King's/Queen's shilling
old-fashioned To fight in a war in the name of England and its King (or Queen, depending on the ruling monarch of the time). Many Irish soldiers who took the King's shilling in World War I either died in battle or returned home to a country that now viewed them as traitors to the revolutionary cause.
See also: shilling, take
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
cut off
1. to stop by itself or oneself. The machine got hot and cut off. Bob cut off in midsentence.
2. to turn off a road, path, highway, etc. This is the place where you are supposed to cut off. When you come to a cutoff on the left, continue on for about mile.
See also: cut, off
cut someone or something off (from something)
to block or isolate someone or something from some place or something. They cut the cattle off from the wheat field. The enemy tanks cut off the troops from their camp.
See also: cut, off
cut someone or something off (short)
Fig. to interrupt someone or something; to prevent someone from continuing to speak. (See also chop someone off.) In the middle of her sentence, the teacher cut her off short. Bob cut off Mary when she was trying to explain.
See also: cut, off
cut something off
1. to shorten something. Cut this board off a bit, would you? Cut off this board a little, please.
2. to turn something off, such as power, electricity, water, the engine, etc. Would you please cut that engine off? Cut off the engine, Chuck.
See also: cut, off
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
cut off
1. Separate from others, isolate, as in The construction debris cut off the workers from the canteen, or The new sect was cut off from the church. [Late 1500s]
2. Stop suddenly, discontinue, as in He quickly cut off the engine, or The drama was cut off by a news flash about tornado warnings. [Late 1500s]
3. Shut off, bar, Their phone was cut off when they didn't pay the bill, or Tom's father threatened to cut off his allowance. [c. 1600]
4. Interrupt the course or passage of, intercept, as in The operator cut us off, or The shortstop cut off the throw to the plate. [Late 1500s]
5. Also, cut off with a shilling or cent . Disinherit, as in Grandfather cut him off with a shilling. This usage dates from the early 1700s; the purpose of bequeathing one shilling (a small sum) was to indicate that the heir had not been overlooked but was intentionally being disinherited. In America cent was substituted from about 1800 on.
See also: cut, off
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
not the full shilling
BRITISH, INFORMALIf you say that someone is not the full shilling, you mean that they are stupid or crazy. We all thought he wasn't quite the full shilling because he was slow — slow at sums and slow at writing.
See also: full, not, shilling
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
no more than ninepence in the shilling
of low intelligence. datedSince the decimalization of the British coinage, this phrase has gradually fallen out of use, but there are numerous other humorous variations on the theme of someone not possessing their proper share of brains or intelligence, for example a sandwich short of a picnic (see sandwich).
See also: more, ninepence, no, shilling
not the full shilling
not mentally alert or quick-thinking.See also: full, not, shilling
take the King's (or Queen's) shilling
enlist as a soldier. BritishIt was once the practice to pay a shilling to a man who enlisted as a soldier.
See also: shilling, take
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
cut off
v.
1. To remove something by cutting: I cut off the tree branch. He cut his beard off.
2. To interrupt someone who is speaking: Don't cut me off like that. The speaker was cut off by the crowd. The principal cut off the discussion when the assembly started.
3. To separate someone from others; isolate someone: I don't want to cut my brother off from his friends. She was cut off from her family while she was gone. All contact was cut off.
4. To stop something from functioning by disconnecting it from its source of power: Cut the power off. The landlord cut off the heat. The lights got cut off.
5. To interrupt the course or passage of something: The infielder cut off the throw to the plate. The police cut all the routes of escape off.
6. To interrupt or break the line of communication of someone: The telephone operator cut us off. The storm cut off the phone lines.
7. To stop or come to an end suddenly: The music suddenly cut off.
8. To change from one direction to another: The road goes straight over the hill and then cuts off to the right around the pond.
9. To disinherit someone: They cut their heirs off without a cent. My parents changed their will and cut me off after I left home.
10. To discontinue the funding for something, such as a government program: School breakfasts were cut off after the funding cuts. The mayor cut off free school lunches from the budget.
11. To drive into the space in front of a moving car, often suddenly and recklessly: That taxi cut me off on the highway. The truck cut off the small car abruptly.
See also: cut, off
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
shill
(ʃɪl)1. n. someone planted in the crowd to urge others to buy something, participate in something, etc. The guy’s a shill! Don’t fall for this setup!
2. in. to advertise for something; to give a sales pitch for something. Four stars of an old television show were there shilling for a major computer firm.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
cut off with(out) a shilling/cent
Disinherited. To write a will leaving someone just one shilling is equivalent to being left nothing; without a shilling, of course, explicitly means left nothing. The former is not just an insult. English law at one time required that some bequest be made so as to show that the disinheritance was intentional, and not an oversight. In America, “cent” was sometimes substituted for “shilling.” A cliché since about 1800, the term is now dying out.
See also: cent, cut, off, shilling
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- add in
- all right
- add on
- a/the feel of (something)
- (I) wouldn't (do something) if I were you
- a straw will show which way the wind blows
- a whack at (something)
- a crack at (someone or something)
- (you) wanna make something of it?
- all for the best