Cut some slack

Posted by R. Berg on January 10, 2004

In Reply to: Cut some slack posted by Ward Fredericks on January 10, 2004

: : Could anybody please explain the meaning of this expression?
: : Thank you.

: :::It means to give a person some time and space to adjust the behavior or the situation that got them in trouble. "Give me a chance to fix this situation", might be one translation. I think it has a nautical origin, meaning to stop pulling on the rope and give me a chance to fix whatever is tangling it or otherwise wrong.

It's often used in a broader sense than that, roughly equivalent to "Give me a break."

• Yo, cut me some slack, Jack! Brian from Shawnee 10/January/04