deep cut

plural deep cuts

1. idiomaticentertainmentAn obscure song by a well known musician.

   "Dig a Pony" is my favorite Beatles deep cut.

   3 more examples

   2015, "Weekend Rock Question: What’s the Best Rolling Stones Deep Cut?", Rolling Stone, 10 April

   2016, Nate Chinen, "Norah Jones Returns to Her Jazz Roots", The New York Times, 15 September "With luck, her tour will include the standout Neil Young cover she included on “Day Breaks” — a deep cut called “Don’t Be Denied,” from 1973."

   2017, Eric Renner Brown et al, "New Music Friday: 14 releases to hear now", Entertainment Weekly, 26 May "But there are surprises, too, like the spooky Live/Dead deep cut “Death Don’t Have No Mercy..."

2. idiomaticAny obscure work, a thing likely to be recognized only by a connoisseur.

   I'm a fan of Kurosawa's films, but The Bad Sleep Well is a bit of a deep cut.

   1 more example

   2015, Vikram Murthi, "This Week in Home Video: ‘Age of Adaline’ with Blake Lively, ‘Dressed to Kill’ on Criterion, and More", IndieWire, 8 September "...there’s still an interesting batch of films on Blu-ray and DVD, like a Blake Lively vehicle, a Brian De Palma classic, and a Wes Craven deep cut."

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see deep, cut.