I had the opportunity to use the phrase "cut the mustard," and then wondered about its origin. Of course, I first went to Quinion, who really didn't have a definitive answer. He thinks it's likely that the use is from the long-established use of mustard as a superlative. He seemed to nix the possibility that it was corrupted from the military "cut the muster" phrase. The The Phrase Finder presents another possibility by saying that mustard seeds are tiny, shiny and hard to cut.
What do you think? As a literalist, I like the cutting the mustard seed idea, but I suppose that's too easy.
There is an American saying "to put mustard on it" that refers to imparting heavy spin on a ball (in baseball or pool, for instance). That seems related to the "adding zest" meaning.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
We've discussed this before. At that time the Word Detective, World Wide Words (Quinion), and the OED all agreed that the first printed use of the phrase was in a story by O. Henry in 1907: The Heart of the West: “I looked around and found a proposition that exactly cut the mustard”. Shufitz came up with an earlier citation: April 16, 1899 - [certain] men, ... it is feared, cannot "cut the mustard" this year. The political tastes of the people are changing with the times. From Marion Daily Star, 13/2-3.
The Phrase Finder, in the link Kalleh posted above, has an even earlier citation: The Iowa State Reporter, August 1897, in a piece about the rivalry between two Iowa towns: Dubuque had the crowds, but Waterloo "Cut the Mustard."
The OED Online now has more recent citations:
quote:
mustard
A. n.
2c.slang (orig. U.S.). Something which adds piquancy or zest; that which sets the standard or is the best of anything. to cut the mustard and variants: to come up to expectations, to meet requirements, to succeed. to be (to) the mustard: to be exactly what is required; to be very good or special.
1891 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 9 Apr. 4/3 They applied several coats of carmine hue and cut the mustard over all their predecessors.
1892 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 12 Sept. 7/3 Time will reveal that he cannot ‘cut the mustard’.
1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy xv. 237 For fear they were not the proper mustard, he had that dog man sue him in court for the balance, so as to make him prove the pedigree.
1905 ‘H. McHugh’ You can search Me 17 Petroskinski is a discovery of mine, and he's all to the mustard.
1907 ‘O. Henry’ Heart of West x. 163, I looked around and found a proposition that exactly cut the mustard.
1922 C. Sandburg Slabs of Sunburnt West 7 Kid each other... Tell each other you're all to the mustard.
1930 P. G. Wodehouse Very Good, Jeeves iii. 70 Life at this juncture seemed pretty well all to the mustard.
1960 J. Mitford Hons & Rebels ix. 56 Perhaps I could get a job as a maid in somebody's house..but Idden convinced me I would never cut the mustard at this occupation.
1974 Citizen (Ottawa) 24 Aug. 78 What if I'm no good at it? What if I just can't cut the mustard?
1989 Daily Tel. 25 Nov. (Weekend Mag.) 31 The uniform does not cut much mustard there.
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