nut-cutting time

English

Pronunciation
  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun

nut-cutting time (uncountable)

  1. Time to gather nuts before they are taken by other animals or buried in snow.
    • 1951, Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science, vol. 26-27, page 20
      The desire to follow traditions of hunting squirrel in Tennessee during mulberry season in June, and nut-cutting time in September, when squirrels concentrate, [...].
  2. (idiomatic) Time to exert maximum effort, for example, due to an approaching deadline or a looming competitive situation.

Usage notes
  • The association of the word nuts with testicles may limit the use of this idiom in formal settings, whatever the source of the term.

See also
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.