To do a less than thorough or complete job; to do something poorly or take short cuts
The guy who built the fence cut corners when sinking the posts, and the fence fell over in the last storm.
To bypass a prescribed route so as to gain competitive advantage or to circumvent traffic signals or other rules of the road
I believe the old man did not ride fair, as he cut corners.
(deyim) 1. (Fig.) Take shortcuts; to save money or effort by finding cheaper or easier ways to do something.2. Do something in the easiest, quickest, or cheapest way, often harming the quality of your work
do something the cheapest or easiest way; "Cut corners to make a cheaper product
attempt to save time (or money, etc.) in a way that lowers quality, make detrimental cutbacks in an effort to economize