Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to stop doing something; often as imper.

1807		Morn. Post (London) 8 June 3/3: The Revolutionist’s New Song [...] ‘No Morning Post’ is all the cry / [...] / A fig for solid sense, says I, / ’Tis time to cut it — what say you? / A fiddlestick for constitution!
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 271: To stash drinking, card-playing, or any other employment you may be engaged in, for the time present, signifies to stow it, knife it, cheese it, or cut it, which are all synonymous, that is, to desist or leave off.
1837		Morn. Post (London) 2 Sept. 3/2: Cut it, Canning; you may look!
1842		Whip & Satirist of NY & Brooklyn (NY) 10 Sept. n.p.: Marten never made the slightest show of fight [...] he had no other object in view than to seize the first opportunity of ‘cutting it’ .
c.1851		‘New Beer House Act’ in C. Hindley Curiosities of Street Lit. (1871) 92: Any person [...] who shall dare to keep the said house open one minute after the clock has said cut it.
1860		Melbourne Punch 9 Aug. 6/2: ‘Slangiana’ [...] Come, Bella, do, ‘tis beastly rot / Let’s hook it — Cremorne go to blazes / Let’s cut it, dearest.
1864		B. Hemyng Eton School Days 8: Cut it. You will only get us into a row. Do you hear? Cut it, or I’ll lick you till you can’t stand.
1879		‘’Arry on the Road’ in Punch 9 Aug. 83/2: But cave in and cut it? Not me!
1888		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms (1922) 69: Why not cut it now and stick to the square thing?
1898		in Overland Monthly (CA) July 59: Cut it, Jake. Tom’s dead.
1900		Sporting Times 6 Jan. 5/2: ‘Racin’ to-day, Bill?’ asked one sharp of another as they met in the slush of Piccadilly Circus. ‘Not me. Sickenin’ I calls it. I’m going to cut it — chuck that game, an’ take to golf.’.
1907		Eve. Statesman (Walla Walla, WA) 5 Mar. 3/3: We [in NY] don’t ‘cut it out’, and don’t tell anybody else to cut it out. We say, ‘Oh, can that stuff!’.
1910		‘O. Henry’ ‘Robe of Peace’ in Strictly Business (1915) 88: ‘Oh, cut that, Tommy,’ said Bellchambers, cheerfully.
1915		Wodehouse Psmith Journalist (1993) 271: There’s going to be something doing if they don’t cut it out quick.
1922		S. Lewis Babbitt (1974) 270: D’you realize [...] you eat one cigarette right after another? Better cut it out for a while.
1923		D. Hammett ‘Gatewood Caper’ Story Omnibus (1966) 147: Cut it, kid! For God’s sake, not that!
1933		J.T. Farrell Gas-House McGinty 47: They gotta cut that stuff out.
1938		R. Chandler ‘King in Yellow’ in Spanish Blood (1946) 62: ‘Cut it,’ Steve drawled.
1946		J. Evans Halo in Blood (1988) 132: Cut it, Clyne. I won’t take that kind of answer.
1948		(con. 1944) N. Mailer Naked and Dead 627: Let’s cut it out men, let’s get movin’.
1950		‘Hal Ellson’ Tomboy (1952) 41: Let’s cut it and get down to this business about the Roaches.
1953		K. Amis letter 15 Dec. in Leader (2000) 349: People laughed too much so we had to cut it out.
1962		(con. 1953–7) L. Yablonsky Violent Gang (1967) 40: The detective, he kept wipin’ his feet on my suit. So I told him to cut it out.
1962		A. Wesker Chips with Everything II x: Cut it! stuff it! Shoot your load on someone else, take it out on someone else.
1978		R. Price Ladies’ Man (1985) 26: Kenny, cut it.
1978		P. Theroux Picture Palace 88: I said I would not stand for it and if they didn’t cut it out they could get their picture taken elsewhere.
2000		G. Pelecanos Shame the Devil 56: ‘Karras is a booty monger from way back.’ ‘Cut it out.’ ‘I’m tellin’ you, man.’.

2. to break off relations with.

1844

New Sprees of London 26: The time was when the renowned Jem Harris was grand serag [...] but the rumcull has cut it with Jem, and took it on his own account .