1
general::
Phrase(s): cut and run
Sl. to run away quickly. (Alludes to cutting loose a ship’s or boat’s anchor and sailing away in a hurry.) • Wilbur decided to cut and run when he heard the police sirens. • As soon as I finish what I am doing here, I’m going to cut and run. I’ve got to get home by six o’clock.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Clear out, escape, desert, as in He wished he could just cut and run. This term originally (about 1700) meant to cut a vessel's anchor cable and make sail at once. By the mid-1800s it was being used figuratively. Charles Dickens had it in Great Expectations (1861): "I'd give a shilling if they had cut and run." Also see CUT OUT, def. 7.
American Heritage Idioms