make the cut

From the sport of golf, in which players are said to make the cut when they match or exceed a certain score, thus avoiding elimination during the final two rounds of a four-round tournament.

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make the cut (third-person singular simple present makes the cut, present participle making the cut, simple past and past participle made the cut)

1. (idiomatic, informal) To succeed at something or meet a requirement; to be chosen out of a field of candidates or possibilities.

   Out of a pool of 20 applicants, only three made the cut.

• cutline
• make the grade

• Oxford Dictionary of Idioms