cut your losses
Abandon failing venture
To cut your losses is to abandon a failing endeavor before it costs you more—money, time, or effort.
The phrase comes from investing, where selling a declining stock prevents further loss: The project was going nowhere, so we cut our losses and moved on.
It implies pragmatic acceptance that something isn't working rather than stubbornly persisting.
- quitCease doing something
- throw in the towelConcede defeat voluntarily
- bailCourt-set release payment
- walk awayDepart from something
- foldBend onto itself
walk away clean · surrender · take the L · retreat · sunk cost · gamble · damage control · stop the bleeding · give up · salvage · exit · abandon · cut bait · write off · let go · move on · accept defeat · pull out
- strategystrategy, grand strategy, tactics, tactic, tactical
- decisionschoice, make a decision, choices, yes, no
- investingstocks, stock, bonds, investing, investor
- trading slangbull, short, long, dip, pump
- giving upgive up, giving up, quit, quitting, surrender
- risk phrasestake a chance, take a gamble, risk it all, go for broke, roll the dice
cut your lossesdouble down
Strengthen one's stance
throw good money after bad · go all in · bet the farm · raise the stakes · sunk cost fallacy
cut your lossesnever give up
Maintain effort indefinitely
persevere · stick it out · see it through · hold the line · stay the course
cuts, cutting, cutter, cutters, your, yours, yourself, yourselves, loss