cut somebody some slack

Meaning

To 'cut someone some slack' means to treat them with more leniency, understanding, or forgiveness than usual. It is used when someone is under stress, dealing with a difficult personal situation, or making mistakes because they are new to a task. The tone is supportive and defensive of the person in question.

Examples

• Could you cut him some slack? It's only his first day on the job.

  Could you cut him some slack? It's only his first day on the job.

• She's going through a tough divorce right now, so we should cut her some slack.

  She's going through a tough divorce right now, so we should cut her some slack.

• The boss cut me some slack on the deadline because of my family emergency.

  The boss cut me some slack on the deadline because of my family emergency.

• I'm trying my best, so please cut me some slack instead of pointing out every mistake.

  I'm trying my best, so please cut me some slack instead of pointing out every mistake.

• We need to cut the new interns some slack; they are still learning our software.

  We need to cut the new interns some slack; they are still learning our software.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ Cut some slack to him.

  ✓ Cut him some slack.

  The idiom follows a double-object pattern: 'cut [someone] [some slack]'. Rearranging the word order with 'to' sounds highly unnatural.

• ✗ The teacher gave me some slack.

  ✓ The teacher cut me some slack.

  The verb 'cut' is a fixed part of this idiom. While 'give someone slack' is occasionally used, 'cut' is the standard and most native-sounding form.

Related Expressions

Practice

• He made a mistake, but you should ___ since he's still in training.

  💡 be lenient with him

  Show answer

  cut him some slack

• I was hoping the manager would ___ on my late arrival, but she was very strict.

  💡 treat me with forgiveness

  Show answer

  cut me some slack