Definition

The magical word that means your shift is over and you can finally stop smiling through the pain. Usually followed by the fastest clock-out in human history and the sweet exodus toward a beer.

Example Usage

Once you finish closing your station, you're cut—and don't forget to clock out this time.

Origin

Restaurant labor terminology

Fun Fact

The phrase 'getting cut' can make a dead-tired server move faster than a fire alarm.

Source: Restaurant industry slang

Related Terms

Beginner

truffle

Either an expensive fungus that grows underground and costs more per ounce than gold, hunted by specially trained pigs and dogs, or a luxurious chocolate confection that merely pretends to be expensive. Real truffles smell like earth and garlic had a baby; chocolate truffles just make you feel fancy. Both will empty your wallet, just at different scales.

🍳 Food / Culinary
Intermediate

confit

A French cooking technique where food (usually duck) takes a leisurely bath in its own fat at low temperatures for hours, emerging ridiculously tender and flavorful. It's preservation through decadence, originally invented before refrigeration as a way to keep meat edible for months. The culinary equivalent of a spa day that makes everything delicious.

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Intermediate

skunked

When beer has been exposed to light and develops a distinctly unpleasant aroma reminiscent of its namesake animal. It's what happens to your imported beer in the clear bottle after sitting on the shelf too long.

🍳 Food / Culinary
Intermediate

rondeau

A wide, shallow, round pan with two loop handles that's basically a sauté pan's bigger, more capable sibling. Essential for braising, shallow poaching, and proving you know your equipment names in French.

🍳 Food / Culinary
Intermediate

breaking

The catastrophic moment when an emulsion separates into its component parts—oil, eggs, and despair. What happens to hollandaise when you add butter too fast, stop whisking, or simply anger the culinary gods.

🍳 Food / Culinary
Beginner

turn and burn

The art of flipping tables as quickly as humanly possible to maximize revenue, often sacrificing ambiance for efficiency. High volume restaurants live by this mantra.

🍳 Food / Culinary

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See “cut” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

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