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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.

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  • I think you may have misheard cut the deal, which doesn't occur at all in a couple of Insomnia subtitle files I just checked. Far more common in general parlance is cut a deal, which is said several times in this movie. Using the implies the details of the arrangement are already known to the speaker. Normally when you cut a deal you agree something with the other party, rather than impose your own predetermined settlement. – FumbleFingers Apr 14 '11 at 15:33
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    Please keep questions limited to one question. Asking about the phrase, "You do everything around here?" is a good question; so is asking about the phrase "cut the deal." They both come from the same source but they are still two separate questions. Keeping them separated helps us organize the site better, give more discrete answers and allows better searching in the future. – MrHen Apr 14 '11 at 15:40
  • @MrHen Your're right. OK. – lovespring Apr 14 '11 at 21:26
  • @FumbleFingers Yes! thank you. I check the film again. the actor says: I'm gonna cut a deal. – lovespring Apr 14 '11 at 21:28
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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.

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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.

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  • I can't give any credence to this supposed ancient hebrew origin for cut a deal, considering how it's shot into prominence since about 40 years ago. Anyway, however it arose, I think it owes at least some of its popularity to a somewhat sleazy association with gambling. You cut the deck of shuffled playing cards before they're dealt out. – FumbleFingers Apr 14 '11 at 15:13
  • @FumbleFingers: Actually, I think your idea is more likely. I didn't mean to lend significant weight to the animal-slicing explanation. – Kelly Hess Apr 14 '11 at 15:46
  • Since the Corpus of Historical American English has not one single citation of "cut a deal" before the 1980's, I think can be fairly sure that it doesn't "go back to the ancient practice" of anything. – Colin Fine Apr 14 '11 at 15:59
  • OK guys. Let's all make a mental note to be a bit wary of etymology from The Online Slang Dictionary (that'll be along with Noah Webster for me). – FumbleFingers Apr 14 '11 at 18:11
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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."

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