cheat sheet

American  

[cheet sheet] / ˈtʃit ˌʃit /

noun

Informal.

1. a sheet of paper or a digital document containing information used by a student for cheating on an exam or in the classroom.

   She had a cheat sheet for the history test with a list of the correct answers.

2. a document containing notes or other aids used as a reference in studying or remembering certain information.

   I used a cheat sheet with statistics and bar graphs to prepare for my radio interview.

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Etymology

Origin of cheat sheet

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Here’s a year-end cheat sheet for making the most of it.

From MarketWatch

The pros I spoke with offered this “common clutter” cheat sheet using a spectrum from “don’t bother” to “you’re sitting on a fortune”:

From The Wall Street Journal

But just in case you're joining us for the first time and keen to catch up on the major movies, here's a quick cheat sheet with each contender's plot summarised in one sentence:

From BBC

Now that you understand the stakes, here’s a cheat sheet to the types of pots and pans you might encounter in the marketplace.

From Salon

Anticipating that bewildered tourists will need help figuring out what shows to see, TDF is already dispatching red-jacketed staffers to preview performances and updating a sprawling cheat sheet as the employees brace for questions on what the new shows are about and who is in them.

From New York Times