What Does “Cut Corners” Mean in Business English?

What Does “Cut Corners” Mean in Business English? by REAL Business English

Learn Business English phrases with our Phrase of the Week!

This week’s phrase is all about what not to do when you're working fast and trying to meet deadlines.

What Would You Do in This Situation?

Picture this:

Your team is late on a big project.

You’re running out of time.

Your manager says, “Just get it done! Fast!”

So you skip a few steps.

You don’t double-check everything.

You just want to finish on time.

And later?

Something breaks. A client complains. It wasn’t done right. You cut corners.

So, what does "cut corners" mean in Business English?

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This Week’s Phrase:

CUT CORNERS

idiom

to do something too quickly or cheaply by skipping important steps, usually to save time or money, but it often causes problems later

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What Does “Cut Corners” Mean in Business English?

Listen to a Real-Life Example

What Does “Cut Corners” Mean in Business English? by REAL Business English

Cut Corners: More Real-Life Examples

Customer Complaint

– The packaging was a mess when it arrived.

– Not surprised. That company’s been cutting corners lately.

Product Quality

– The new batch isn’t working well.

– Yeah, the supplier cut corners on materials.

– We need to fix this ASAP.

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Software Release

– This update is full of bugs.

– They clearly cut corners to launch on time.

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Let’s Chat!

Have you ever seen someone cut corners at work? What happened?

Yes, during a big project. One of the contractors cut corners on safety checks. We had to stop everything and redo it. It cost us time and money. (Kevin, native English speaker)

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