What does “in the cut” mean?

Off in a hidden, out-of-the-way spot — tucked away from the main action, by design.

Entry · catalog no. 4319

in the cut

/ /ɪn ðə kʌt/ /in thuh KUT

phrase · nationwide · 1980s

✓ Verified

In a secluded, out-of-the-way place — a side street, a tucked-away corner, a spot you would not find unless you knew it was there. To be in the cut is to hang back, out of sight of the main action, usually on purpose and with composure.

“He wasn't hiding, just posted in the cut watching the whole thing play out.”

Origin & Attribution

African American Vernacular English. "Cut" for a gathering spot appears in Lavada "Dr. Hepcat" Durst's "The Jives of Dr. Hepcat" (1953), the printed jive guide by the first Black disc jockey in Texas; the hidden-place sense of "in the cut" is documented on the Cold Crush Brothers' "Fresh, Wild, Fly and Bold" (1984).

1953

"Cut" for a gathering spot in Dr. Hepcat's jive guide

1984

"In the cut" for a hidden place on a Cold Crush Brothers record

1990s

Carried into wide use by hip-hop

Region of origin

West

Midwest

N.East

South

Nationwide / diaspora

nationwide · 1980s

Spoken by

Black American and hip-hop speakers

$INTHECThe Record · cultural traction

▲ Steady

73 yrs

ahead of the mainstream

55/100

peak cultural energy

Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.

Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest

First used

1953

in the culture

Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.

Hear it spoken

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@auntiereg

Atlanta, GA

@deltasoul

Memphis, TN

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Citations & Sources

■

Lavada "Dr. Hepcat" Durst, The Jives of Dr. Hepcat

1953

■

Cold Crush Brothers, "Fresh, Wild, Fly and Bold"

1984

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