cut-and-paste

[kuht-n-peyst]

adjective

1. assembled or produced from various existing bits and pieces.

   The book purports to be a history but is just a cut-and-paste job of old essays and newspaper clippings.

cut and paste

noun

1. a technique used in word processing by which a section of text can be moved within a document

Idioms and Phrases

Describing a patched-up job or trivial work. For example, The revision was easy, just cut and paste, or The new assistant had expected some training, but all she got was cut and paste. This term alludes to simple artwork done by small children—cutting out pictures and gluing them to paper. [Mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

But Izumi also has raised the alarm that pervasive AI use could counteract the benefits of homework by enabling cut-and-paste laziness.

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Mia may be looking for Riley, but what we’re ultimately searching for is much more than “Shelby Oaks” has to offer, its cut-and-paste components never jelling into a clench-worthy, singular horror vision.

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"We need to be able to ensure that we're not talking about cut-and-paste action plans, but we can demonstrate that action has been taken and that recommendations are implemented."

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Austin began laying out Architectural Pottery advertisements and catalogs at a time when the work was cut-and-paste.

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There are the usual lines of attack — conflating Harris’ diplomacy in Central America with her being a “border czar” — but it’s largely a cut-and-paste job.

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