deep cut

English

Etymology

A "cut" (track of a vinyl record) which is seen as being buried "deep" in an album.

Noun

deep cut (plural deep cuts)

1. (music) An obscure song by a well known musician.

   "Dig a Pony" is my favorite Beatles deep cut.

   • 2015, "Weekend Rock Question: What’s the Best Rolling Stones Deep Cut?", Rolling Stone, 10 April
   • 2016, Nate Chinen, "Norah Jones Returns to Her Jazz Roots", The New York Times, 15 September

     "With luck, her tour will include the standout Neil Young cover she included on “Day Breaks” — a deep cut called “Don’t Be Denied,” from 1973."

   • 2017, Eric Renner Brown et al, "New Music Friday: 14 releases to hear now", Entertainment Weekly, 26 May

     "But there are surprises, too, like the spooky Live/Dead deep cut “Death Don’t Have No Mercy..."

2. (idiomatic) Any obscure work, a thing likely to be recognized only by a connoisseur.

   I'm a fan of Kurosawa's films, but The Bad Sleep Well is a bit of a deep cut.

   • 2015, Vikram Murthi, "This Week in Home Video: ‘Age of Adaline’ with Blake Lively, ‘Dressed to Kill’ on Criterion, and More", IndieWire, 8 September

     "...there’s still an interesting batch of films on Blu-ray and DVD, like a Blake Lively vehicle, a Brian De Palma classic, and a Wes Craven deep cut."

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see deep,‎ cut.