Synonyms for cut loose


Grammar : Verb
Spell : loos
Phonetic Transcription : lus


Définition of cut loose

Origin :
  • early 13c., "not securely fixed;" c.1300, "unbound," from Old Norse lauss "loose, free, vacant, dissolute," cognate with Old English leas "devoid of, false, feigned, incorrect," from Proto-Germanic *lausaz (cf. Danish løs "loose, untied," Swedish lös "loose, movable, detached," Middle Dutch, German los "loose, free," Gothic laus "empty, vain"), from PIE *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart" (see lose). Meaning "not clinging, slack" is mid-15c. Meaning "not bundled" is late 15c. Sense of "unchaste, immoral" is recorded from late 15c. Meaning "at liberty, free from obligation" is 1550s. Sense of "rambling, disconnected" is from 1680s. Figurative sense of loose cannon was in use by 1896, probably from celebrated image in a popular story by Hugo:
  • You can reason with a bull dog, astonish a bull, fascinate a boa, frighten a tiger, soften a lion; no resource with such a monster as a loose cannon. You cannot kill it, it is dead; and at the same time it lives. It lives with a sinister life which comes from the infinite. It is moved by the ship, which is moved by the sea, which is moved by the wind. This exterminator is a plaything. [Victor Hugo, "Ninety Three"]
  • Loose end in reference to something unfinished, undecided, unguarded is from 1540s; to be at loose ends is from 1807. Phrase on the loose "free, unrestrained" is from 1749 (upon the loose).
  • verb let loose
Example sentences :
  • In the simpler phrasing of Uncle Peter Bines, he will "cut loose."
  • Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson
  • But you thought the girl had cut loose from you, and it hurt you.
  • Extract from : « Way of the Lawless » by Max Brand
  • Take a sip of water, Mike, like a reg'lar one, and cut loose.
  • Extract from : « The Cruise of the Dry Dock » by T. S. Stribling
  • But something had come over him since he cut loose from the old life.
  • Extract from : « Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930 » by Various
  • Modern man has cut loose from leading-strings; he stands on his own feet.
  • Extract from : « Another Sheaf » by John Galsworthy
  • He stuck until we were over the rough of it, and then he cut loose.
  • Extract from : « The Treasure Trail » by Marah Ellis Ryan
  • He had cut loose from the Mudge household, as he trusted, forever.
  • Extract from : « Paul Prescott's Charge » by Horatio Alger
  • I can't stand slatterns, and you must cut loose from her once for all.
  • Extract from : « They of the High Trails » by Hamlin Garland
  • The man in Asunción isn't dead—he's been seen—but he's cut loose.
  • Extract from : « Astounding Stories of Super-Science, May, 1930 » by Various
  • You're rather a dangerous officer to cut loose in a navy like yours.
  • Extract from : « Soldiers Three, Part II. » by Rudyard Kipling

Words or expressions associated with your search


Most wanted synonyms

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019