cut across

verb

1. intr to be contrary to ordinary procedure or limitations

   opinion on European integration still cuts clean across party lines

2. to cross or traverse, making a shorter route

   she cut across the field quickly

Idioms and Phrases

Go beyond, transcend, as in The new regulations cut across class lines . This figurative use of cut across , which literally means “run through” or “intersect,” dates from the 1920s.

Example Sentences

In the unfinished painting, the tormented saint tilts his head far to one side, capping a long diagonal line made from an outstretched arm that cuts across the picture.

From Los Angeles Times

Directing his hips one way, Koch would shape to kick it left or right but cut across the ball and slice it in the other direction.

From BBC

Norris took second place from Verstappen by cutting across the grass, missing the right-hander that makes up the second part of the chicane at Turns Four and Five.

From BBC

Ms Debens said they would see Gareth with bruises, which he would brush off, and on one occasion, a cut across his nose.

From BBC

Milton is then due to cut across the peninsula before ending up in the Atlantic Ocean.

From BBC

Related Words

• cruise
• navigate
• pass over
• ply
• sail
• span
• traverse