A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

cut both ways • have it both ways
cut both ways —have a mixed effect; have both favorable and
unfavorable results: In the Griese family, father and son are
both cool, which cuts both ways.
have it both ways —
1
. have both of two incompatible things
or situations: We all want to have it both ways: take frequent
days off, but still have plenty of money. 2. (sl.) have both ho-
mosexual and heterosexual tastes (also: walk both sides of the
street): People who have it both ways are seldom lonely.
cut from the same cloth • cut out of whole cloth
cut from the same cloth —said of two or more people who are
very similar: Don’t assume that all women are cut from the
same cloth. Jill won’t necessarily react the same way I did.
cut out of whole cloth —(also: made out of whole cloth) wholly
fabricated or false: We would never again wage a war for the
wrong reasons, or even worse, for reasons cut out of whole
cloth.
cut it • cut it out
cut it—(coll.) be effective or successful: Getting an average
of four hours of sleep doesn’t cut it for me any longer.
cut it out—(coll.) stop doing smth.: This is unacceptable
behavior, so please cut it out.
cut it short • take a short cut
cut it short—(coll.) 
1
. leave a very narrow time margin; nearly
miss smth. by being late: You’ve cut it short, the train’s just
leaving. 2. bring to an end what one is doing or saying: Felix
began a long, irrelevant speech and he resisted calls to cut it
short.
take a short cut—
1
. follow a shorter path: I got there as fast
as I could (I even took a short cut), but everyone had left. 2.
use a quicker method to achieve smth.: Frankly, I took a short
cut to a scholarly reputation I haven’t yet deserved.