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Cut the mustard

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Cut the mustard: to meet the required standard or expectation; of uncertain origin, possibly agricultural, the phrase appears in verse to test whether someone measures up to the task.

Detailed Definition
Cut the mustard means to meet the required standard, prove competent, or be good enough for a task. In poetry, the idiom can be used in dramatic or colloquial voices to test worth: a lover, soldier, artist, worker, leader, or poem itself may be judged and found capable or lacking. Its informal flavour makes it useful in modern verse, satire, or character speech. The phrase also invites reflection on standards, performance, social expectation, and the anxiety of being measured by others.
Example
Example in poetry:
A comic poem might say the young bard's rhymes failed to cut the mustard at court; In a craft poem, cut the mustard can mean meeting the standard of art; The phrase suits satire about competence, performance, and judgement; A poet could use it playfully when a hero's courage is tested.
Additional Notes
Cut the mustard means meet the required standard or prove adequate. Its exact origin is debated, but the phrase is informal and evaluative. In poetry it can introduce comic judgement, social testing, artistic ambition, or working-class speech. Students should note its idiomatic oddity: mustard is sharp, ordinary, and domestic, so the phrase can bring lofty aspiration down to kitchen-table directness.
Also Known As
meet standards
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