Definition of the word cut across

The phrase "cut across" has its roots in the world of navigation and cartography. It was originally used to describe a shortcut through a body of water that involved cutting diagonally, or "across," the main channel or route. This allowed sailors to save time and distance by bypassing longer shoreline portions of the route. The term likely derived from the verb "cut," meaning to slice or divide, and the preposition "across," meaning in a direction that crosses or traverses something. The expression "cut across" was then adopted into common language to describe a similar effect in other contexts, such as traveling diagonally through a park or cutting directly to the front of a line.