make (or miss) the cut come up to (or fail to come up to) a required standard.

☞ In golf, a player has to equal or better a particular score in order to avoid elimination from the last two rounds of a four-round tournament. If the player succeeds, they make the cut.

☞ For other idioms containing cut, see the entry for the main word in the idiom (for example, cut the mustard at mustard).