cut (someone or something) short
cut (someone or something) short
1. To interrupt someone so that they stop talking. I was sick of listening to her story so I finally cut her short.
2. To end something unexpectedly or abruptly before its planned conclusion. No one was disappointed when the principal's microphone came unplugged, cutting his speech short.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
cut short
Abbreviate, stop abruptly, as in The thunderstorm cut short our picnic, or She cut her short, saying she'd already heard the story of their breakup. Shakespeare used this term to mean "put a sudden end to someone's life": "Rather than bloody war shall cut them short" ( 2 Henry VI, 4:4), a less common usage today. The broader usage dates from the mid-1600s.
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.
cut somebody ˈshort
stop somebody speaking: She was just about to say who had got the job, but I cut her short and asked her to keep it secret.cut something ˈshort
make something end before the natural time; interrupt something: We’ll have to cut our stay short, I’m afraid. My husband’s father is seriously ill. ♢ Our conversation was cut short by the arrival of the teacher.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
cut short
To stop before the end; abbreviate.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.