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I was reading in Wall Street Journal that says:

..., the company BlackBerry just doesn't cut it anymore.

What does the phrase mean?

snumpy
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Salman Virk
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5 Answers5

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Take at look at this list of idioms, and observe the entry for "cut the mustard."

Figurative use of "mustard" as a positive superlative dates from 1659 in the phrase "keen as mustard", and use of "cut" to denote rank (as in "a cut above") dates from the 18th century.

The term "mustard" here may be a corruption of "muster," or ability to accomplish a task - suitability (viz: to pass muster).

Ergo, it's quite likely that the expression in question has ellided the word "mustard," as "to cut it" is now a standalone idiom in its own right. As snumpy notes above, the meaning is that "The Blackberry is no longer good enough for general business users."

The Raven
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    There is also of course the phrase make the cut, meaning to be assessed as reaching some 'cut-off' point below which you'd consider yourself to have failed the assessment. Quite possibly also derived from "muster" (which I'm inclined to agree was probably corrupted into "mustard"). – FumbleFingers Jun 06 '11 at 16:28
  • Yes, I note the possible connection with "muster" in my answer above. The dates all work out. "Making the cut" - and the negative, "failed to make the cut" - seems to be entirely unrelated. Agree? – The Raven Jun 06 '11 at 19:07
  • I really don't know, but I lean to the idea that make the cut and cut the mustard [muster] are in fact related, through that sense of 'rank' or 'pass level'. And that keen as mustard, cut a fine figure, etc., may not really be part of that etymological pathway. Some more research or a more knowledgeable contributor would help. I for one will still be interested in this one for some while to come. – FumbleFingers Jun 06 '11 at 20:08
  • @TheRaven, This answer seems like a stab in the dim. Are there better citations? – Pacerier Jul 03 '15 at 07:16
  • "Cut the mustard" can't be a conflation with "muster" because there is no earlier phrase "cut the muster". Muster is a military assembly for inspection, which is not something you would cut in any sense. – Tysto Feb 09 '22 at 01:30
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If something doesn't cut it, it is not sufficient for a task. So you could say:

..., the company BlackBerry is no longer sufficient for its intended task.

snumpy
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    I think there's usually the implication that "something else" does "cut it". If our current 'best' antibiotic doesn't cut it with some new deadly bacterial mutation, chances are that's being said by someone proposing an alternative, not bewailing our helplessness. – FumbleFingers Jun 06 '11 at 16:38
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The rest of the WSJ article is about issues of employees using personal smartphones with company data, so perhaps the company Blackberry is no longer cutting edge.

Henry
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    I'm a bit dubious that "cutting edge" and "cut the mustard" actually share much etymology, but it may be they both help each other gain/retain currency in the modern vernacular. – FumbleFingers Jun 06 '11 at 16:30
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WHEN MUSTARD was one of the main crops in East Anglia, it was cut by hand with scythes, in the same way as corn. The crop could grow up to six feet high and this was very arduous work, requiring extremely sharp tools. When blunt they "would not cut the mustard".

https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-2242,00.html

ChildishGiant
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  • https://www.dictionary.com/e/cut-the-mustard/ opinions differ and here also https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cut-the-mustard.html – Mari-Lou A Feb 08 '22 at 23:18
  • Since others have mentioned mustard, this would benefit from an explanation of how this excerpt answers the question. I encourage you to take a moment to [tour] the site and see the [help], and welcome! – livresque Feb 09 '22 at 00:11
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"Can't cut it" (also "can't hack it") means "unable to perform adequately or cope with the demands of a situation". It is a shortening of two old phrases: "to cut the mustard" and also "to cut ice". The former originated in the early 1880s in the Midwestern US. The latter originated in the early 1890s in the Northeastern US. The specifier "mustard" or "ice" began to be dropped in the 1940s. "Hack" became an alternative in the 1950s.

"CAN'T CUT THE MUSTARD - ... The only thing they seem to hope to accomplish is the defeat of the republican party, and in this they will fail most gloriously." Independence Tribune via Burden Saturday Journal (Burden, KS), 14 Aug 1884.

"There is one grand reason why Thomas J Lingle will not attend to the post-office duties at Clinton: he 'didn't cut the mustard.'" Clinton Eye (Clinton, MO), 27 Mar 1886.

"As the small boy would remark, they 'can't cut the mustard' this year." - Weir Weekly Tribune (Weir, KS) - 21 Oct 1887.

"[T]he Hummer made application in the Democratic burglar-ring at Brownstown, and failed to cut mustard." - Jackson County Banner (Brownstown, IN) - 25 Aug 1887.

"A little rebuke more or less 'doesn't cut any ice,' as the boys say." Buffalo Evening News (Buffalo, NY), 25 May 1893.

"Another new bit of slang is 'He doesn't cut any ice.' It simply means that he or she ... plays no part." New York Sun via Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY), 5 Mar 1894.

"Again the world of letters is under obligation to the prize ring. Gentleman Jim Corbett avers that 'These people ... can't cut ice with me.'" Lawrence Daily Journal (Lawrence, KS), 29 Sep 1894.

"The latest bit of New York slang, 'That doesn't cut any ice," won't apply to Sayers and Hutchison." Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX), 7 Sep 1894.

Many years later...

"'I know I can't cut it anymore,' he says every year." Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK), 26 Jan 1947.

"An obviously city-bred lad of about 16 said: 'I can't hack this place.' The old-fashioned aroma of a cow barn cowed him." News Tribune (Tacoma, WA), 20 Sep 1955.

Tysto
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