# Old advert of fridge- what's this mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 21, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944 "2016-06-21T04:53:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/1 "2016-06-21T04:53:42Z")
[This is the advertisement](http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa411/richtintera/13466429_10209322134668376_5880525559538859219_n.jpg), probably from a magazine. On the right side, between the words “refrigerator” and “$10.00” are the words “like cut”. It probably meant something to greatgrandpa, but I’ve no clue. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/2 "2016-06-21T05:23:27Z")
Wild guess: it means “the refrigerator we are offering for sale is just like the one illustrated in the woodcut printed on the left”. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/3 "2016-06-21T05:30:48Z")
[Websters: cut](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cut) > [@](#): > > a pictorial illustration Examples: [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19130412&id=rLkgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mWkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3031,5740880&hl=en](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19130412&id=rLkgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mWkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3031,5740880&hl=en) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/4 "2016-06-21T12:46:46Z")
One of the earliest examples of a CYA discalimer. The advertiser pastes in an available “cut” of a picture of an appliance, but stated that the one for sale is not exactly like the now shown. I get mail flyers al the time from car dealers, showing a used car for a special price, with wording (which I can’t recall the exact term) indicating that the picture is an example of the '87 Ford Taurus, but not exactly the same car. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/5 "2016-06-21T13:00:36Z")
The old Glanville Furniture Store. https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211sYQ_1slnHMUEkhkEcK-NqcQ%212m2%211d39.1155341%212d-94.628027%213f132.0%214f8.699%215f0.75 ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/6 "2016-06-21T13:44:34Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > One of the earliest examples of a CYA discalimer. The advertiser pastes in an available “cut” of a picture of an appliance, but stated that the one for sale is not exactly like the now shown. So you think “as cut” means “not necessarily like the one shown”? Strange way of saying it imo. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/7 "2016-06-21T13:49:04Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > So you think “as cut” means “not necessarily like the one shown”? Strange way of saying it imo. Well it says “like cut” not “as cut” which would be kind of like those Etsy disclaimers but in shorthand. “The item you will get will be like the product pictured but as the item is made by hand, small changes or discrepancies in appearance may occur.” and so on. So it’s like the picture, but not exactly the picture. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/8 "2016-06-21T13:55:59Z")
Professional driver on closed course. Vehicle shown with extra options. See dealer for details. Not to scale. Human head not included. . ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/9 "2016-06-21T14:00:20Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > Well it says “like cut” not “as cut” … :o note to self: wake up before you post ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/10 "2016-06-21T14:43:06Z")
“Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear.” One of my faves, but also very scary. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/11 "2016-06-21T15:17:26Z")
So would “cut” as an abbreviation for “woodcut” have been common in early newspapers? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/12 "2016-06-21T15:35:57Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > “Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear.” > > One of my faves, but also very scary. :eek: [Obligatory _The Far Side_ cartoon](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/73/90/2a/73902af86e69ff0ae60476a7486a6eb6.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/13 "2016-06-21T15:49:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Obligatory _The Far Side_ cartoon](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/73/90/2a/73902af86e69ff0ae60476a7486a6eb6.jpg) Which also reminds me of Jurassic Park (the blockbuster motion picture show) ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/14 "2016-06-21T16:00:34Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > So would “cut” as an abbreviation for “woodcut” have been common in early newspapers? Yes, because that is what they had. Just like we might say “photo” for the photographs that appear in today’s newspapers. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/15 "2016-06-21T17:06:28Z")
A borderline tacky cheap furniture place near me has this awkward disclaimer on their ad “Furniture photographs for illustration photos only.” A well-known national chain has “The appearance of actual covers may differ from what you see on [La-Z-Boy.com](http://La-Z-Boy.com)” It makes me wish we were back in the days of “Like cut.” Two dollars down to buy a fridge? It’s probably actually an icebox, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/16 "2016-06-21T17:35:00Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > A borderline tacky cheap furniture place near me has this awkward disclaimer on their ad “Furniture photographs for illustration photos only.” > > A well-known national chain has “The appearance of actual covers may differ from what you see on [La-Z-Boy.com](http://La-Z-Boy.com)” > > It makes me wish we were back in the days of “Like cut.” Two dollars down to buy a fridge? It’s probably actually an icebox, but still… Remember “game cards do not actually talk” - [Guess Who? - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_Who%3F#Advertising) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XjW43YUgUA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XjW43YUgUA) ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/17 "2016-06-21T17:57:21Z")
As previously stated, the “cut” is the illustration (illustrations/photos in ads were called “cuts” for a long time). I don’t think it has any implication of “picture for representative purposes only”; rather, the ad looks like it is trying for the “a picture is worth a thousand words” effect. I.e., they already paid extra to insert a picture in the ad, they don’t want to have to also buy another column inch to describe the thing. Also, it looks like the ad is from the 1900-10’s, in which case $2 is more like $20-30 in today’s money. So it would be ~$100 for that insulated box. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/18 "2016-06-21T18:30:55Z")
“Cut” is still used in exactly the same context, in “Cut and paste”, which you do daily on your computer. To “cut” means to extract from an existing body of resources, which can then be pasted into a new construction. The store had a book full of illustrations of ice boxes, and sent one over to the make-up man at the newspaper advertising department. He pasted it into the ad copy, rather than have the staff artist go over and make a picture just like the real thing… Or maybe the newspaper already had a book of stock illustrations, and the ad department just “cut and pasted” up the ad. With the appropriate disclaimer so the shopper would know that the merchandise in stock might not look exactly like the example in the ad. It was close enough, so it was like the cut. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/19 "2016-06-21T19:39:13Z")
In addition to what has been said, it probably is meant to let the customer know that the refrigerator is not delivered with a couple bottles of milk and some ice already in it, without actually having to put that into print. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944/20 "2016-06-21T20:58:12Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > “Cut” is still used in exactly the same context, in “Cut and paste”, which you do daily on your computer. To “cut” means to extract from an existing body of resources, which can then be pasted into a new construction. The store had a book full of illustrations of ice boxes, and sent one over to the make-up man at the newspaper advertising department. He pasted it into the ad copy, rather than have the staff artist go over and make a picture just like the real thing… Or maybe the newspaper already had a book of stock illustrations, and the ad department just “cut and pasted” up the ad. With the appropriate disclaimer so the shopper would know that the merchandise in stock might not look exactly like the example in the ad. It was close enough, so it was like the cut. That kind of cut-and-paste was only possible for photographic reproduction; the original use of “cut” refers to cutting the engraving block (as in “woodcut”). The illustration in the OP was produced by an actual metal or wooden block inserted into the printing frame with the type; either the store had the block made by an engraver and sent it to the newspaper with their ad copy, or (less likely) they sent the original illustration over and paid the newspaper to engrave it. And again, I doubt that the phrasing is supposed to imply any sort of disclaimer… in fact, I expect that the illustration would be considered more accurate and informative than a purely text description. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-advert-of-fridge-whats-this-mean/757944.md?page=2)