Clean-cut

Posted by TheFallen on September 19, 2004

In Reply to: Clean-cut posted by ESC on September 18, 2004

: : : : Hi,
: : : : I saw this passage on a magazine. It sounds like something else to me than the original meaning.
: : : : -I heard that Mandy Moore is doing a nude scene n her new move. This can't be true-she's so "clean cut"??

: : : : 1. neat-looking: neat in dress or appearance
: : : : a clean-cut young officer in a spotless uniform

: : : :
: : : : 2. with sharp outline: distinctly outlined or designed

: : : :
: : : : Could that mean "pure"??

: : : : thanks

: : : Well, sort of. In my opinion, "pure" connotates unspoiled and in a sort of native state while I think clean cut implies more a conscious effort rather than a state of being. I say this because of the "cut" part. It implies human intervention.

: : I think "clean-cut" is used more often to describe a man.

: The image I get is a man with a traditional hair-cut, clean-shaven or with a beard neatly trimmed. But Merriam-Webster doesn't mention hair. It talks about sharp edges, etc.
: 1 : cut so that the surface or edge is smooth and even
: 2 : sharply defined
: 3 : of wholesome appearance

Just musing, but if you consider the antithesis "rough-cut", there may be a gem-cutting link here. This would cover off the "smooth-edged", "sharply defined" and "wholesome/pure" connotations quite neatly - as further circumstantial evidence, I'll call the phrase "a diamond in the rough" into the witness box.