Englishcut someone to the quick
Meaning: To hurt or wound someone deeply.
Example: “Her careless remark about his weight cut him to the quick.”
Origin: "Quick" here is the Old English word for living, the same one preserved in the phrase about the quick and the dead — it has nothing to do with speed, which is a later development of the sense of being lively. The quick of a body is its living flesh: the tender tissue beneath a fingernail, under a scab, or inside a hoof, which is densely supplied with nerves and normally shielded by something insensitive on top. Cutting to the quick therefore means going past the protective layer into the part that actually feels, and the idiom keeps that structure precisely — a remark that cuts to the quick has not simply caused offense but has got underneath whatever a person normally has covering the place where injury registers.
More English idioms
- divide the spoils To give portions of the goods captured during a war to the winners of the war.
- do or die To make a final, all-out effort, whatever the risk.
- do someone a good turn To do someone a favor without having been asked and without expecting a favor in return.
- dot the i's and cross the t's To be very careful and attentive to detail.
- down and out Poor.
- down in the dumps Depressed.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
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- Sei una forza della natura You're unstoppable — your energy and drive are bigger than any obstacle.
- Hai le mani d'oro You're extraordinarily skilled with your hands — a craftsperson, cook, or fixer of legend…
- Sei una persona d'oro You're genuinely wonderful — kind, trustworthy, and precious to have in one's life.
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