cut the mustard

Save This Word!

See synonyms for cut the mustard on Thesaurus.com

Perform satisfactorily, as in We need a better catcher; this one just doesn't cut the mustard. The origin of this expression is disputed. Some believe it alludes to mustard in the sense of the best or main attraction (owing to its spicing up food), whereas others believe it is a corruption of pass muster. Still others hold that it concerns the preparation of mustard, which involves adding vinegar to mustard seed to “cut” (reduce) its bitterness. The expression is often in negative form, as in the example. [Slang; c. 1900]

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Words nearby cut the mustard

Cutter number, cutter-rigged, cut the comedy, cut the Gordian knot, cut the ground from under, cut the mustard, cutthroat, cutthroat contract, cutthroat trout, cutting, cutting board

How to use cut the mustard in a sentence

France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In this cockamamie get-rich scheme, would they all issue an apology if he cut a check?
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

My understanding was that according to most Christian beliefs, being trans or gay was a sin, cut and dry.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If the "Y" Beach lot press their advantage they may cut off the enemy troops on the toe of the Peninsula.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Sleek finds it far harder work than fortune-making; but he pursues his Will-o'-the-Wisp with untiring energy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
At the reserve bank they may borrow as a standing right and not as a favor which may be cut off.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
It occurred to him then, for the first time, that a third resource was open—he might cut the rope, and let the kite go free!
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
My thought was to keep pushing in troops from "W" Beach until the enemy had fallen back to save themselves from being cut off.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton

cut the mustard

Words nearby cut the mustard

Words related to cut the mustard

How to use cut the mustard in a sentence