cut corners VS botching

Status
Not open for further replies.

majid72

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Persian
Home Country
Iran
Current Location
Iran
Hello

I'm looking for a word or an expression to mean a task which is done out of laziness, lack of interest, hastiness incompletely and in little quality. I found that cut corners could mean the same thing, what about botching? Could you think ofAny other words or idioms?

Many thanks
 

victorr

New member
Joined
May 12, 2016
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Great Britain
Hello

I'm looking for a word or an expression to mean a task which is done out of laziness, lack of interest, hastiness incompletely and in little quality. I found that cut corners could mean the same thing, what about botching? Could you think ofAny other words or idioms?

Many thanks

To half-ass something sounds good :).
 

majid72

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Persian
Home Country
Iran
Current Location
Iran
To half-ass something sounds good :).

1- What about " botching"? Could it fit in the following sentence like "half ass" and " cut corners"?

A-Since I found the job so boring and I was in a hurry too, I botched my job.
B-Since I found the job so boring and I was in a hurry too, I cut corners to finish it.
C-Since I found the job so boring and I was in a hurry too, I did a half ass job doing it.
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
To me, 'to half-ass' something doesn't sound good. Maybe it does in Polish.

A, B, and C have different meanings.
To botch something means to make a complete mess of it. It's not necessary that corners be cut.
To cut corners means to leave out some parts of the activity, not doing something properly, or do something sloppily. Sometimes the results will be OK, and sometimes they won't.
If you do a half-assed job of something, you haven't necessarily botched it completely, but the results won't be as good as they should be.
 

Lazz

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2016
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Canada
Hello

I'm looking for a word or an expression to mean a task which is done out of laziness, lack of interest, hastiness incompletely and in little quality. I found that cut corners could mean the same thing, what about botching? Could you think ofAny other words or idioms?

In the arcane terminology of traditional English manual crafts, "bodging" refers to the art of concealing a clumsy mistake. "To botch" is a derivative meaning "to mend" or "to repair" (a botcher was once the name for a cobbler or shoe-mender) but evolving useage has now lent the term its indelible association with the clumsiness and ineptitude of the original mistake (whereas bodging, its root, the art of rendering that mistake imperceptible, clearly demands enormous skill).

But the original mistake, or botch, does not need to be the result of laziness or indifference or haste.
(Although indeed it might be)

"To cut corners" is to attempt a reduction of cost in terms of time and/or money. Neither laziness nor lack of interest are necessary for this, although haste and incompleteness may be the unavoidable result.

So neither expression meets your description adequately enough.

If I wished to indicate that a task had been performed lazily, without due attention, in a rush, or incompletely, I think I would simply call it "careless".
 

fencecat42

Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2016
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I am not a teacher.

A common phrase that you could use is "phone it in." This means that you did not give your best effort. It implies laziness and lack of interest in the task.

"Since I found the job so boring and I was in a hurry too, I phoned it in."

The phrase comes from the idea that important business is conducted in person, while less important business may be conducted over the telephone.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top