cut your losses

cut (one's) losses

To stop an action that has resulted in loss or failure or leave a failing situation before it gets worse. Man, this venture is going nowhere—I think we're better off cutting our losses than agreeing to rent this space for another year.
See also: cut, loss
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

cut your losses

COMMON If you cut your losses, you decide to stop spending time, energy, or money on an activity or situation on which you have already spent a lot without having any success. Competition in the market was so strong, we decided to cut our losses and close the business. Only you can decide if you should push on to the end of your degree or cut your losses and get out.
See also: cut, loss
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

cut your losses

abandon an enterprise or course of action that is clearly going to be unprofitable or unsuccessful before you suffer too much loss or harm.
The sense of cut here is probably ‘sever yourself from’ rather than ‘reduce in size’.
1991 Jane Smiley A Thousand Acres Ginny is eternally hopeful, you know. She never cuts her losses. She always thinks things could change.
See also: cut, loss
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

cut your ˈlosses

stop doing something that is not successful before the situation becomes even worse: When our rent went up we decided to cut our losses and close the store.
See also: cut, loss
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
See also:
References in periodicals archive ?
Don't be afraid to cut your losses and accept that a smaller loss is as good as a small win or a large POTENTIAL win.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
I've advised my daughter - and advise you - to cut your losses and get rid of your selfish husband.
Dear MIRIAM: Well-Paid Job; YOUR VERDICT
Statistics like these, when read by fearful consumers who have found it necessary to place loved ones in long-term care facilities, coupled with aggressive advertising by some members of the legal profession, underscored by tenacious state reviewers working for government monitoring systems, all combine to create a mind-set for the long-term care profession: You are going to have problems; accept them, cut your losses, "admit" defeat--but keep doing your job caring for America's elderly.
Targets of opportunity--no more
Most experts and small business "joiners" agree that if--provided you're devoting enough time and energy and in spite of your early research--the group doesn't produce benefits within a year, then it's definitely time to cut your losses and move to another group.
To join or not to join? Trade groups can boost business--if you pick the right one
Cut your losses are the three most important words in any employee's vocabulary.
If you decide to cut your losses and leave, there are other things you can do.
Should you fight it out or walk away? (In the Trenches)
However, the hard-nosed advice to investors is - cut your losses and sell-out.
Hearts on a loser
Usually the best and most practical solution is to cut your losses, terminate the contractor and find another contractor to complete the project.
What to do when a contractor defaults
Spraying with Dithane 945 will control downy mildew but in a case like this I suggest you cut your losses and remove the plant promptly in case the infection spreads.
Your LIFE: Shakes and ladder; GARDENING
Learning to cut your losses is one of the most valuable lessons a growth manager on Wall Street must embrace to become successful.
Sell--and buy back: market conditions caused Peggy Woodford Forbes to adjust her strategy to avoid losses. (Stock Update)
Maybe the problem is a personal issue: You are being treated so badly--sexual harassment, overwork, or sheer abuse--that you wonder whether you should fight the boss, the system, and top management or get another job and cut your losses. All of us, at some time, have felt so strongly about a workplace issue that it became an obsession.
Stay and fight or cut your losses?
'Then it is cut your losses, not make a profit, " he said.
Workout veterans discuss troubled property
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