Meaning of fish or cut bait | Babel Free

Definitions

To make a decision, especially after a period of delay; to either take action now or forgo the opportunity.

idiomatic

Examples

“It's time to fish or cut bait: either we buy this house now, or we must start looking for another one.”

“The admiral . . . may stay in the bay and keep approaches to the city of Manila tightly closed for a long time to come, until perhaps some demand from the governments of Europe that the United States fish or cut bait comes in such shape that it must be heeded.”

“"The Mayor cannot straddle this question any longer—he must either fish or cut bait."”

“"One of the attributes of an administrator is his ability to stick his neck out, to open his mouth and say something, to decide what side of the fence he is on and to take a stand there, to fish or cut bait, to put up or shut up," she says.”

““She told him fish or cut bait. Her and the kid, or him and the Army. He chose the Army.””

CEFR level