class cutup
old-fashioned A mischievous or impudent student who frequently disrupts the class with jokes, pranks, or wry comments as a means of drawing attention to themselves. Every teacher has to deal with class cutups eventually. My grandfather was always so strict and straightlaced that I was surprised to hear that he was quite the class cutup when he was a schoolboy. I came from a big family, so I was a bit of a class cutup in school as a way to get attention.
cut up
1. verb To chop something into smaller pieces. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "up." You need to cut up these onions so we can brown them. Dad's outside with his chainsaw cutting up the big branch that fell. Can you cut the cheese into cubes for the charcuterie board?
2. verb To judge or criticize someone or something harshly. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "up." I thought I had done a good job on the project, but my boss just cut it up, pointing out every little thing I had overlooked. After I flubbed that easy catch in the outfield, I knew the coach was gonna cut me up back in the dugout. Yikes, Millie's advisers totally cut her thesis up? I hope my advisers aren't as harsh!
3. verb To cause someone to laugh. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cut" and "up." His remark cut up the rest of the group, but I just didn't think it was funny. That comedian's stand-up routine really cuts up an audience. Nothing cuts me up faster than my baby's precious laugh.
4. verb To joke or play around. Boys! Stop cutting up and focus on these math problems! Shh! The meeting has started, so stop cutting up! No, with the way those two cut up, they can't sit together, or they'll disrupt the whole class.
5. verb To behave in an angry and perhaps violent manner. In this usage, "up" is typically followed by "rough." Don't leave those guys alone together—they've been known to cut up rough when they disagree with each other. If you're gonna cut up rough with my patrons, I'll have no choice but to toss you out, Burt. Can you separate those two belligerent drunks before they cut up rough?
6. noun One prone to joking or playing around. In this usage, the phrase is usually hyphenated or spelled as a single word. My son is constantly getting in trouble at school because he's such a cut-up. I bet you he's such a cut-up because he's actually insecure. No, those two cutups can't sit together, or they'll disrupt the whole class.
7. adjective Anguished. After the funeral, I was cut up for the rest of the day. Peggy seems awfully cut up. She must have gotten some pretty bad news. I didn't even know she liked that actor, but she is really cut up about his sudden death.
8. adjective, slang Having well-defined abdominal muscles. Did you see that lifeguard with his shirt off? He's totally cut up! Tom used to be a skinny little dude, but he spent the summer getting totally cut up! Ugh, there are always these cut up dudes who strut around the boardwalk with their shirts off, like they're going to impress someone or something.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
cut someone or something up
Fig. to criticize someone or something severely. Jane is such a gossip. She was really cutting Mrs. Jones up. The professor really cut up my essay.
cut someone up
Fig. to make someone laugh. That comedian's routine really cut me up. Tommy's rude noises cut the whole class up, but not the teacher.
cut someone up
Fig. to make someone laugh. That comedian's routine really cut me up. Tommy's rude noises cut the whole class up, but not the teacher.
cut up (about someone or something)
Sl. emotionally upset about someone or something. She was all cut up about her divorce. You could see how cut up she was.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
cut up
1. Divide into smaller parts, break the continuity of, as in These meetings have cut up my whole day. [c. 1800]
2. Severely censure or criticize, as in The reviewer cut up the book mercilessly. [Mid-1700s]
3. be cut up. Be distressed or saddened, as in I was terribly cut up when she left. [Mid-1800s] Charles Dickens used this idiom in A Christmas Carol (1844): "Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event."
4. Behave in a playful, comic, or boisterous way, as in On the last night of camp the children usually cut up. [Late 1800s]
5. cut up rough. Act in a rowdy, angry, or violent way, as in After a beer or two the boys began to cut up rough. [Slang; first half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.