Cut us a break!

[Douglas G. Wilson]

"Cut" = "give" or so is in HDAS (sense 15).

"Cut [someone] some slack"
"Cut [someone] a break"
"Cut [someone] a deal"

... and probably in the same category ("cut" = "do" or so here):

"Cut [someone] a favor"
"Cut [someone] a huss"

... and I'm not sure about this one:

"Cut [someone] a check"

I don't know whether any of these has special priority.

Whence this "cut" anyway? Was it originally from a metaphor like "cut
[someone] a piece of the pie"?

-- Doug Wilson