cut a figure

English

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

cut a figure (third-person singular simple present cuts a figure, present participle cutting a figure, simple past and past participle cut a figure)

(idiomatic) To present an image; to make an impression.
- 1913, Jeffery Farnol, chapter 57, in The Amateur Gentleman:
  Your desire was to cut a figure in the Fashionable World. Well, to-day you have your wish—to-day you are famous.
- 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 27”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], OCLC 365836:
  Dirk Stroeve cut such an absurd figure that I felt inclined to laugh.
- 1950, The Crisis, page 647
  As a leader of the free world the United States cuts an unconvincing figure with its racial segregation.
- 2010 Sep. 9, Karl Vick, "Israel's Military on the Spot Over Activist's Death," Time:
  Composed and genial, the Corries cut an impressive figure in the sun-drenched Haifa courthouse.

Usage notes

Often used with an adjective that modifies figure.