Fish or cut bait

Cultural  

1. Make a decision now; stop hesitating. To cut bait is to stop fishing.

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fish or cut bait Idioms  

1. Either proceed with an activity or abandon it completely. For example, You've been putting off calling him for hours; either fish or cut bait. This expression, often uttered as an imperative, alludes to a fisherman who should either be actively trying to catch fish or cutting up bait for others to use. It was first recorded in the Congressional Record (1876), when Congressman Joseph P. Cannon called for a vote on a bill legalizing the silver dollar: “I want you gentlemen on the other side of the House to ‘fish or cut bait.’” A vulgar synonym from the 1940s is shit or get off the pot.

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Example Sentences

“I just think we need to get to the bottom of this and stop messing around. We either need to fish or cut bait, and right now, all we’re doing is cutting bait,” Mr. Burchett, Tennessee Republican, said on NewsNation.

From Washington Times

While Disney has long denied the contentions of Universal and its then-parent, MCA, Stein didn’t hold back, telling The Times in 1989 that “Disney took what we had, and we had to fish or cut bait,” explaining that Universal shifted from a tram-focused park to one based instead on stand-alone attractions.

From Los Angeles Times

"It's getting to be time to fish or cut bait," Duy said, and either agree the economy needs time to fully adjust to the aggressive rate hikes enacted over the last year - a core argument for pausing - or "stick with the hawkish position of waiting for inflation data to roll over" and continue raising rates until then.

From Reuters

“At some point, you have to fish or cut bait to get this done,” Aresco said.

From Seattle Times

"It's fish or cut bait," Mr Cornyn told reporters on Thursday.

From BBC