cut a trail
To leave or head out somewhere.
Updated September 21, 2026
cut a trail pronunciation
/kut uh TRAYL/
Meaning
Time to go. You cut a trail when the visit's over, dark's coming on, or you'd rather be somewhere else. Still carries a little frontier picture of striking out down the road, even when you're just walking to the truck.
How folks use it
- “I better cut a trail before Mama locks the door on me.”
- “Storm's coming — we need to cut a trail home.”
Origin and etymology
Likely grew from the literal frontier job of cutting or blazing a trail through woods. In rural Southern speech it shifted to mean leaving or getting on the road, kin to "hit the trail."