on the cuff
Idioms-
On credit, as in He tried to hire a detective on the cuff . It is sometimes put as put on the cuff , meaning “extend credit to,” as in They asked to be put on the cuff until they got their monthly check . This usage probably alludes to the practice of recording bar tabs on the bartender's cuff. Also see off the cuff . [ Slang ; 1920s]
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Free of charge, as in We hope these drinks are on the cuff . [ Slang ; 1920s] Also see on the house .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Art had made a formal shirt for me with a spread collar back in 2022, monogrammed with my initials on the cuff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
Detectives had some forensic evidence: a bloody fingerprint on a shopping bag and a footprint on the cuff of a white blouse from Wendy's flat.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2021
Jackson laced up her oversized practice gloves with her nickname, “T REX,” on the cuff — 16 ounces, compared with the 10-ounce gloves she fights in.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 15, 2020
If we do take vacation it is on the cuff, and it is just another weight to be paid later with more sacrifice and harder work.
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2016
She was wearing her black pants and a white shirt with a faded soy-sauce stain on the cuff, and from this Mia knew she was headed in to work.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
