"laid" and other random BE slang in the HDAS

[Mullins, Bill]

> The only bell that this has ever
> rung with me is the "cut" in "can't cut it" = "can't do it."
> But I doubt any connection. "Can't cut it," to my mind,
> implies "tried [one's best] and failed [anyway]" and "can cut
> it" has, for me, only the literal meaning involving the use
> of some edged instrument.
>
>

Any relationship to "cutting heads"; two guitarists facing off in
competition?