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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009To cut a dance
Hello: Who's cutting a dance: - the woman stopping from dance to change partners? or - the man intervening to have her dance with him, while she's already dancing with another man? E.g. http://tinyurl.com/mxdpyc -- Thanks. Marius Hancu > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > E.g. > http://tinyurl.com/mxdpyc I'm not sure what you're asking, and I can't find "cut" on the link, other than in the search term. So, without context: "to cut a dance" is not an idiom, but if it means something then it means to avoid the dance, like "cut class". This is more US than Br. "to cut in" is the second definition you give above: "May I cut in?". "dance" is understood.  SignatureDavid > > E.g. > >http://tinyurl.com/mxdpyc > > I'm not sure what you're asking, and I can't find "cut" on the link Well, on the page displayed at the above link (hope it opens for you), there's "Cutting" a Dance is Unpardonable right in the middle of the page. What does it mean and who's considered to be doing the cutting? The man or the woman? Thanks. Marius Hancu > "Cutting" a Dance is Unpardonable > right in the middle of the page. > > What does it mean and who's considered to be doing the cutting? The man > or the woman? It seems to mean almost exactly the same as 'cutting class' (AmE). From the context you give it is obvious that this is from the days of balls and dance-cards (q.v.). Each person carried a card on which the dances were listed and the man would book his dances with the ladies. So everyone had a personal programme of which dances were to be danced with whom. In the extract the 'cutting' is being done by the woman and is unpardonably bad manners. It simply means not being available and ready to keep the appointment to dance. >>> E.g. >>> http://tinyurl.com/mxdpyc [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > "Cutting" a Dance is Unpardonable > right in the middle of the page. It opens, but I get this: http://books.google.com/books?id=p9W38lDpt9sC&pg=PA98&dq="cutting+a+dance" with no "cutting" on the page anywhere. > What does it mean and who's considered to be doing the cutting? The > man or the woman? It's the "avoid" meaning. Avoid something which you really should not. I suppose it means that a lady must go through with a dance which she has already agreed to. SignatureDavid >>>> E.g. >>>> http://tinyurl.com/mxdpyc [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >I suppose it means that a lady must go through with a dance which she >has already agreed to. "Cut" (meaning "avoid", "fail to attend", "miss") can also used in some other phrases, such as "to cut a lecture" (at university) or "to cut a lesson" (at school). I suppose it's short for "cut out". It can also be used to mean "snub". "To cut" someone is deliberately ignoring someone (usually to cause offence to them). See: <http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:G2efPS4sAe8J:www.ollla.com/what-doe s-snub-mean+cut%2Bsnub&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk> not far from the bottom. SignatureIan Marius Hancu wrote, in <41fa82b8-1309-481a-810b-7f373ac6290a@d32g2000yqh.googlegroups.com> on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:28:42 -0700 (PDT): > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > E.g. > http://tinyurl.com/mxdpyc In that sort of dance the ladies had cards on which they wrote the names of those they had agreed to dance with for each dance, I think the men did not - they were supposed to remember. To cut a dance would be to fail to turn up for the scheduled dance. SignatureNick Spalding BrE/IrE > > E.g. > >http://tinyurl.com/mxdpyc [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > did not - they were supposed to remember. To cut a dance would be to > fail to turn up for the scheduled dance. Thanks. Marius Hancu |
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