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You do everything around here?
Yes.I'm going to cut the deal.
Why isn't the phrase just "you do everything here"?
I know cut and deal, but it doesn't seem not mean "cut the deal" or "cancel the deal;" it means "make the deal."
For many times, I know each word of a sentence, but I still cannot understand the sentence. This is my feel about English.
The phrase around here is a colloquial expression that's used to suggest a region that's broader or less defined that simply saying here. Take this sentence:
You do everything here?
This might mean "you do everything in this office", or "you do everything in this particular place".
You do everything around here?
This might mean "you do everything at this company" or "you do everything in this general area".
The phrases aren't entirely distinct, and there are many situations where either might be appropriate, however.
To answer the second part of your question, cut a deal is a colloquial way to say "make a deal." I never realized before how counter-intuitive it is, but you're right: It sounds like the opposite of making a deal. The Online Slang Dictionary defines cut a deal but doesn't give its origin. There is another site that claims the phrase
goes back to ancient practice of killing an animal and slicing it up to mark the beginning of a new agreement.
Yes, "cutting a deal" means "making a deal" (usually in a disparaging sense, that the person arranged a shameful bargain with the enemy, betraying his allies). For speculation on the origin of the phrase (first found in print in 1979!), see here.
To my ear, "You do everything here" means "Everything that you do, you do here." whereas "You do everything around here" means "Everything that is done here, you do."
