TO CUT THE PAINTER, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To send away; to cut adrift; to interfere to prevent mischief: also see CUT.
c. 1696. B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, s.v. PAINTER. I’ll CUT YOUR PAINTER for ye, I’ll prevent ye doing me any Mischief; the Tar-Cant when they quarrel one with another.
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. PAINTER. I’ll CUT YOUR PAINTER for you; I’ll send you off; the painter being the rope that holds the boat fast to the ship.
