Language: en
Meaning: (idiomatic,dated)Aperson'sgeneralappearance,manner, orstyle.[from early 19th c.]1823December 23 (indicated as1824), [Walter Scott], “An Old-world Landlady”, inSt Ronan’s Well.[…], volume I, Edinburgh:[…][James Ballantyne and Co.] forArchibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co.,→OCLC,pages27–28:We have only farther to notice Meg's mode of conducting herself towards chance travellers, who,[…]stumbled upon her house of entertainment. Her reception of these was as precarious as the hospitality of a savage nation to sailors shipwrecked on their coast.[…][I]f she disliked what the sailor calls thecut of their jibb—or if, above all, they were critical about their accommodations, none so likely as Meg to give them what in her country is called asloan.1829,[Frederick Marryat], chapter V, inThe Naval Officer; or, Scenes and Adventures in the Life of Frank Mildmay.[…], volume II, London:Henry Colburn,[…],→OCLC,page132:About eleven o'clock, the captains who were to be ourMinosand ourRhadamanthus, made their appearance, and we all agreed that we did not much like the "cut of their jibs."1833, [Frederick Marryat], chapter IV, inPeter Simple.[…], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley,[…], published1834,→OCLC,page20:I axes you, because I see you're a sailor by thecut of your jib.1853, Pisistratus Caxton [pseudonym;Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XXIII, in“My Novel”; Or Varieties in English Life[…], volume I, Edinburgh; London:William Blackwood and Sons,→OCLC, book fourth,page366:"You'll not know him from any one else," said Mrs Avenel. "Well, that is a good one! Not know an Avenel! We've all the samecut of the jib—have we not, father?"1896,Robert Barr, chapter XIII, inA Woman Intervenes: Or The Mistress of the Mine, New York, N.Y.; London:Frederick A[bbott] Stokes Company,→OCLC,page122:I have seen that girl on the deck, and I like thecut of her jib. I like the way she walks. Her independence suits me.1911, John Oxenham [pseudonym;William Arthur Dunkerley], “An Unexpected Guest”, inThe Coil of Carne, Toronto, Ont.: The Copp, Clark Co.,→OCLC,page157:Jack thinks, by thecut of their jibs, they were Frenchmen, one an officer and the other his servant.1922February,James Joyce, “[Episode 13:Nausicaa]”, inUlysses, Paris:Shakespeare and Company,[…],→OCLC, part II[Odyssey],page351:Mr Bloom watched her as she limped away. Poor girl! That's why she's left on the shelf and the others did a sprint. Thought something was wrong by thecut of her jib. Jilted beauty. A defect is ten times worse in a woman.1934,John Masefield,The Taking of the Gry, London:William Heinemann,→OCLC,page22:We were drawn together from the first as young men will be: we liked thecuts of each other's jibs: we were both sailors (and there is only one sea-service in spite of the guns and gold-lace) and then the far distant dim relationship gave us the feeling that many of the barriers, of race and faith and custom, were down from between us.1959, Ken Jones, “The Eagles Gather”, inDestroyer Squadron 23: Combat Exploits ofArleigh Burke’s Gallant Force, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: Book Division,Chilton Company,→OCLC,page60:"By thecut of their jibsI shall know them!" That's the way Ham Hamberger summed it up as he looked ahead to his coming battle employment, and speculated upon those with whom he would be called upon to serve—not knowing. And by thecut of their jibshedidknow them when the time came, and they him,[…]1993,Conan O'Brien,Bill Oakley,Josh Weinstein,Greg Daniels,Dan McGrath,Bill Canterbury,Treehouse of Horror IV(The Simpsons), season 5, episode 5, spoken byMr. Burns(Harry Shearer), 20th Century Fox:Mr. Burns:Who's that goat-legged fellow? I like thecut of his jib. /Waylon Smithers:Uh, the Prince of Darkness, sir. He's your eleven o'clock.2003June,Ted Bell, chapter 42, inHawke[…], New York, N.Y.:Atria Books,→ISBN,page277:"You don't like me much, do you?" / "Let's just say I don't like thecut of your jib, Mr. Tate."
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