Cut and run
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Cut and run is a pejorative phrase used in the context of a war or battle meaning cowardly retreat. Thus, stripped of emotional connotation, the phrase simply means withdraw or retire from the conflict at issue. The added pungency of the phrase comes from the partially obscured implication that this withdrawal is a course only undertaken by dishonorable fools whose fear and confusion has overcome their better judgment.
According to William Safire the phrase, suggesting panic, "is always pejorative. Nobody, not even those who urge leaders to 'bring the troops home,' will say, 'I think we ought to cut and run."
Eugene McCarthy used the phrase as follows: "As [the Vietnam war] continued to go badly, its advocates became more defensive. The motives of those who spoke out against the war were questioned, as was their patriotism, and in the case of the Democrats their loyalty to the party. Critics were called 'nervous Nellies' and 'special pleaders,' and, in the language of cattle handlers, as ready to 'cut and run.'" (Quoted by Bob Herbert in the New York Times, December 15, 2005.)
Congresswoman Jean Schmidt imfamously used the phrase in the U.S. house of Representatives on November 18, 2005: "A few minutes ago, I received a call from Colonel Danny Bubp, Ohio representative from the 88th District in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run, Marines never do."
Schmidt's remarks were immediately criticized and within ten minutes, she withdrew them and apologized. Karen Tabor, Bubp's spokeswoman, said Bubp "did not mention Congressman Murtha by name nor did he mean to disparage Congressman Murtha...He feels as though the words that Congresswoman Schmidt chose did not represent their conversation." [1] Bubp told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he never mentioned Murtha by name when talking to Schmidt and would never call another US Marine a coward. Bubp later said, "I don't want to be interjected into this. I wish she never used my name." [2]
Contrary to what Rush Limbaugh and Tucker Carlson have claimed during the controversy, Bubp was not in Iraq when he spoke to Schmidt, nor has he ever served in the Iraq war [3].
The phrase originates in nautical usage. The OED quotes Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship (1794) which defines the phrase to mean "to cut the cable and make sail instantly, without waiting to weigh anchor." Here cable refers to the anchor line, hence the anchor is lost. Run is used in the sense of to sail downwind.
William Safire discussed the term in Cut and Run: Headlong 'retrograde movement' in The New York Times Magazine; May 2, 2004.
John Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia said "we are not going to cut and run from Iraq Mr Speaker".
U.S. president George W. Bush uses this phrase to describe those who support the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.
[edit] Example of Cut and Run
On Feb. 3, 1984, President Ronald Reagan told the Wall Street Journal, in an exclusive interview, “As long as there is a chance for peace, the mission remains the same. If we get out, that means the end of Lebanon.” In a barb directed at House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr. (D, Mass), Reagan had said, “He may be ready to surrender, but I’m not.” Reagan had repeatedly described the U.S. presence in Lebanon as vital to the survival of a stable government, and his administration had vigorously resisted congressional efforts to compel a withdrawal of the Marines.
On Feb. 4, 1984, in his weekly radio address, Reagan had said the dangers of the U.S. mission in Lebanon were “no reason to cut and run.” “If we do,” Reagan had added, “we’ll be sending one signal to terrorists everywhere: They can gain by waging war against innocent people.
In a move that took Washington lawmakers by surprise, In the statement issued by the White House the evening of Feb. 7, however, it was announced that Reagan had ordered the approximately 1,400 Marines in Beirut to begin “shortly” a phased withdrawal to U.S. ships offshore.”
[edit] See also
- Roller hockey A phrase used in roller hockey when an exceptional player breaks away with the puck, and scores a goal.
