Meanings
present singular third person cuts the cheese · participle present cutting the cheese
- CanadaUSeuphemisticidiomaticslangTo fart loudly.
I cannot believe that you cut the cheese at the dinner table!
1 more example
You know, did you cut some cheese? Did you fart?
1991, Hal Shymkus, Nightcrawlers, Bait, and Beer to Go, page 82
Synonyms & antonyms
verbUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cut, cheese.
Origin
This idiom references the foul smell emitted by some cheeses, many of which have a rind that keeps the odor in. Once the rind is pierced, as in the case of slicing it, the smell is released.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French coupe fromage
- coupe fromageto flatulate
Polish puszczać bąka, puścić bąka
- puszczać bąkato flatulate
- puścić bąkato flatulate
Spanish cortar el queso
- cortar el quesoto flatulate
Cite this entry
cut the cheese. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cut%20the%20cheese
“cut the cheese.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cut%20the%20cheese. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cut the cheese,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cut%20the%20cheese.
Source: cut the cheese on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.